Stone Cold Steve Austin

The Dangerous Alliance (1991–1992)

Austin was originally paired with a valet named Vivacious Veronica,^[19] but was later joined by Jeannie Adams, known as "Lady Blossom".^[3][19] Just weeks after his debut, Austin defeated Bobby Eaton for his first WCW World Television Championship on June 3, 1991 and later that year joined Paul E. Dangerously's Dangerous Alliance.^[3][20] Austin lost the WCW World Television Championship to Barry Windham in a two out of three falls match on April 27, 1992, but regained the title from Windham on May 23 and enjoyed a second lengthy reign as champion before losing the title to Ricky Steamboat on September 2, while The Dangerous Alliance disbanded shortly thereafter.^[21] At Halloween Havoc on October 25, Austin replaced Terry Gordy, teaming with "Dr. Death" Steve Williams to wrestle Dustin Rhodes and Windham for the unified WCW and NWA World Tag Team Championships.^[21] The teams wrestled to a thirty-minute time limit draw.^[21]

The Hollywood Blonds and The Stud Stable (1993–1995)

In January 1993, Austin formed a tag team known as The Hollywood Blonds with Brian Pillman.^[3] They won the unified NWA and WCW World Tag Team Championship on March 3 by defeating Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas and held the title for five months.^[3] At Clash of the Champions XXIII on June 16, the Blondes faced Ric Flair and Arn Anderson in a two out of three falls tag team title match and were defeated, but retained the title as one fall had been determined by a disqualification.^[22] At Clash of the Champions XXIV on August 18, Austin and Pillman were scheduled to defend their title against Anderson and Paul Roma, but a legitimate injured Pillman was replaced by Steven Regal, with whom Austin lost to Anderson and Roma.^[23]

With Pillman still injured, Austin joined Colonel Robert Parker's Stud Stable.^[24] After Pillman returned, Austin betrayed and defeated him in a singles match at Clash of the Champions XXV on November 10.^[25] At Starrcade on December 27, Austin defeated Dustin Rhodes in a two out of three falls match with two straight falls to win the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship.^[3] Austin lost the title to Ricky Steamboat on August 24, 1994 and was scheduled to face Steamboat in a rematch for the title at Fall Brawl on September 18, but Steamboat was unable to wrestle due to a legit back injury and Austin was awarded the title by forfeit. His second reign with the title ended just minutes later when he lost to Steamboat's replacement, Jim Duggan, in a match that lasted thirty-five seconds.^[26] Austin unsuccessfully challenged Duggan for the United States Heavyweight Championship at both Halloween Havoc on October 23 and Clash of the Champions XXIX on November 16.^[27][28]

After returning from a knee injury in early 1995, Austin took part in a tournament for the vacant WCW United States Heavyweight title, where he defeated Duggan via countout in the first round, but lost to Randy Savage in the quarterfinals. In 1995, Austin was fired by WCW Vice President Eric Bischoff after suffering a triceps injury while wrestling on a Japanese tour—Bischoff and WCW did not see Austin as a marketable wrestler.^[3][29] Additionally, Bischoff thought Austin was hard to work with.^[30]

The Million Dollar Corporation (1995–1996)

Austin joined the WWF after Kevin Nash and Jim Ross helped convince WWF's owner Vince McMahon to hire him in late 1995.^[3][33] He debuted on the January 8, 1996 episode of Raw and was awarded the Million Dollar Championship^[36] by his manager, Ted DiBiase.^[3] Austin had his debut match on the January 15 episode of Raw where he defeated Matt Hardy.^[37] Initially, Austin wrestled as The Ringmaster, but his full name was acknowledged by announcers, although it was not part of his official billing.

While making his first pay-per-view appearance at the Royal Rumble on January 21, where he was 'scripted' to be in the Final Four, which could have given him an early push, Austin botched the ringpost save against Fatu and slipped out of the ring early,^[38] Austin soon thought the Ringmaster idea was weak and so asked for a change.^[30] The WWF gave Austin a list with names inspired by "The Iceman" Richard Kuklinski, including Otto Von Ruthless, Ice Dagger, Fang McFrost and Chilli McFreeze.^[30] Austin shaved his head bald and grew a goatee, while on March 11 "The Ringmaster" moniker (now merely a prefix to his ring name) would be discarded in favor of his most famous nickname, "Stone Cold". The name itself was inspired by a cup of tea,^[39] while his persona for the new name was inspired by serial killer Richard Kuklinski.^[40] Austin wrestled Savio Vega on the March 11 episode of Raw to a double countout, before defeating Vega in his first WrestleMania appearance at WrestleMania XII on March 31.^[41] At In Your House: Good Friends, Better Enemies on April 28, Austin lost to Vega in a rematch. At In Your House: Beware of Dog on May 26, Austin lost a Caribbean strap match to Vega. In accordance to the pre-match stipulations, DiBiase was forced to leave the WWF, giving Austin the opportunity to forge his own path.^[42] Austin later told announcer Dok Hendrix that he had purposely lost the match in order to rid himself of DiBiase, who in reality was headed for rival promotion WCW.

Austin 3:16 (1996–1997)

Austin's rise to stardom began at the 1996 King of the Ring, where he won the King of the Ring tournament by defeating Jake "The Snake" Roberts in the finals.^[3][42] At the time, Roberts was portraying a born-again Christian, so after the match, Austin cut a now famous promo during his coronation, telling Roberts:^[43] "You sit there and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere! Talk about your Psalms, talk about John 3:16... Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!". Austin's win and rise to stardom proved to be an un-telegraphed stroke of luck. Triple H was originally scheduled to win the 1996 King of the Ring, but was punished for the infamous Curtain Call incident that had transpired earlier that year. "Austin 3:16" ultimately became one of the most popular catchphrases in wrestling history^[3] and subsequently the slogan became one of the best-selling T-shirts in WWE merchandise history. It is also credited as the iconic moment that began the WWF's "Attitude Era".

Austin in 1996

Austin spoke about Bret Hart, challenging him constantly and taunting him relentlessly. Hart finally accepted Austin's challenge and returned to the WWF in October 1996. At Survivor Series, in a match to determine the number-one contender to the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, Austin lost to Hart when Hart used the turnbuckle to push himself backwards while locked in the Million Dollar Dream and pinned Austin (this match would go on to create the foundations for the eventual year-long feud between the two).^[42] The match came hot on the heels of an incident broadcast live on Raw Is War, which saw Austin "break into" Brian Pillman's house, with Pillman holding a gun. During the 1997 Royal Rumble match, Austin was originally eliminated by Bret Hart, but the officials did not see it, and he snuck back into the ring and eliminated Hart by throwing him over the ropes, winning the match himself.^[44] This led to the first-ever pay-per-view main event of Austin's WWF career at In Your House 13: Final Four, after Shawn Michaels suffered a knee injury and left the WWF World Heavyweight Championship suddenly vacant. Austin was eliminated early from the four-way match at In Your House 13 for the title after injuring his own knee, but was involved in the finish which saw Hart win his fourth WWF World Heavyweight Championship,^[42] which he lost the next night on Raw Is War to Sycho Sid due to Austin's interference, continuing his feud with Hart. At WrestleMania 13, Hart defeated Austin in a Submission match with Ken Shamrock as a special referee. During the match, Austin had been cut and was bleeding profusely from his face, but he still refused to tap out when Hart locked in his Sharpshooter. Austin finally passed out from blood loss, still held in the Sharpshooter, and lost the match. After the bell, Hart continued to hold the Sharpshooter on Austin, who despite his wounds refused any assistance back to the locker room, thus turning Hart heel and Austin babyface in a rare double-turn.^[42] However, Austin portrayed an anti-hero instead of a traditional babyface. Austin eventually got his revenge on Hart in the main event of In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker, in a match to determine the number-one contender to The Undertaker's WWF World Heavyweight Championship. Austin won when Hart was disqualified due to assistance from The British Bulldog, earning him a title match against The Undertaker at In Your House 15: A Cold Day In Hell. Austin faced Hart once again in a street fight on the April 21 episode of Raw Is War, injuring his opponent's leg with a steel chair during the bout. The match was ruled a no contest, but Austin proceeded to beat Hart while he was on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance. At A Cold Day In Hell, Austin had The Undertaker down with the Stone Cold Stunner, but distracted by timely interference on the part of Brian Pillman, Austin's old tag team partner from WCW, who rang the bell before Austin got the cover, Undertaker then nailed Austin with a Tombstone Piledriver and achieved the victory off the distraction.^[42]

During this time, Austin found a way to win the WWF Tag Team Championship on two separate occasions. On May 26, 1997, Austin and Shawn Michaels defeated Owen Hart and The British Bulldog for the title. They held the title until July 14, before Michaels was forced to vacate due to an injury.^[45] That same night a tournament was held to determine who would face Austin and a partner of his choosing for the vacant championship. Hart and Bulldog won the tournament, with Austin refusing to pick a partner and choosing to wrestle the former tag team champions by himself.^[46] Late in the match, a debuting Dude Love came out to offer assistance and Austin became a two-time tag team champion.^[47] Austin continued his feud with the Hart family, becoming embroiled in a heated rivalry with Owen Hart, who pinned a distracted Austin and secured victory for The Hart Foundation in the ten-man Tag Team match main event of In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede, where Austin was partnered with Ken Shamrock, Goldust and The Legion of Doom.^[48]

At SummerSlam, Austin and Owen Hart faced each other with Hart's Intercontinental Championship on the line and an added stipulation that Austin would have to kiss Hart's buttocks if he lost.^[46] During the match, Hart botched a piledriver and dropped Austin on his head, resulting in a legitimate broken neck and temporary paralysis for Austin. As Hart stalled by baiting the audience, Austin managed to crawl over and pin Hart using a roll-up to win the Intercontinental Championship. A visibly injured and dazed Austin was helped to his feet by a number of referees and led to the back. Due to the severity of his neck injury, Austin was forced to relinquish both the Intercontinental Championship and the Tag Team Championships. On September 22, 1997 on the first-ever Raw Is War to be broadcast from Madison Square Garden, Hart was giving a speech to the fans in attendance. During his speech, Austin entered the ring with five NYPD officers following, and assaulted Hart. As it looked like Austin was going to fight the officers, Vince McMahon ran into the ring to lecture Austin about why he could not be physically able to compete. After telling McMahon that he respects the fact that he and the WWF cared, Austin attacked McMahon with a Stone Cold Stunner, leaving McMahon in shock. Austin was then arrested as part of the storyline. Austin was sidelined until Survivor Series. However, in the interim he made several appearances, one being at Badd Blood where he was involved in the finish of a match between Hart and Faarooq, which was the final match in a tournament for the Intercontinental Championship. Austin hit Faarooq with the Intercontinental Championship belt while the referee's back was turned, causing Hart to win the match.^[46] Austin's motive was to keep the Intercontinental Championship around Hart's waist, as demonstrated when he interfered in Hart's matches on the October 20 and 27 episodes of Raw Is War.^[46] Austin regained the Intercontinental Championship from Hart at Survivor Series.

With Hart out of the way, Austin set his sights on The Rock, who stole Austin's title belt on the November 17 episode of Raw Is War after Austin suffered a beating by his Nation of Domination stablemates.^[46] In the weeks to come, The Rock began declaring himself to be "the best damn Intercontinental Champion ever".^[46] The Rock kept possession of the title belt until D-Generation X: In Your House, when Austin defeated him to retain the title and get his title belt back. As Austin had used his pickup truck to aid in his victory, McMahon ordered him to defend the title against The Rock the next night on Raw Is War.^[46] In an act of defiance after forfeiting the title to The Rock, Austin tossed the title belt into a New Hampshire river.^[1]

Feud with Vince McMahon (1997–1999)

After Bret Hart's controversial departure for WCW, Austin and Shawn Michaels were the top stars in the company. Austin won the 1998 Royal Rumble, lastly eliminating The Rock.^[49] The next night on Raw Is War, Austin interrupted Vince McMahon in his presentation of Mike Tyson, who was making a special appearance, over the objection of McMahon referring to Tyson as "the baddest man on the planet". Austin flipped off Tyson, which led to Tyson shoving Austin much to McMahon's embarrassment, who began to publicly disapprove of the prospect of Austin as his champion. Tyson was later announced as "the special enforcer" for the main event at WrestleMania XIV, although he appeared to be aligning himself with WWF World Heavyweight Champion Shawn Michaels' stable D-Generation X.^[3][50] This led to Austin's WWF World Heavyweight Championship match against Michaels at WrestleMania XIV, which he won with help from Tyson, who turned on DX by making the deciding three-count against Michaels and later hit him with his knock-out punch. This was Michaels' last match until 2002 as he had suffered two legitimate herniated discs and another completely crushed at the hands of The Undertaker in a casket match at the Royal Rumble.^[3] With Michaels' absence and winning the WWF World Heavyweight title, the Austin Era was ushered in.^[3]

Austin as WWF Champion

On the Raw Is War after Austin won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, Vince McMahon presented him with a new title belt and warned Austin that he did not approve of his rebellious nature and that things could be done "the easy way or the hard way". Austin gave his answer in the form of another Stone Cold Stunner. This led to a segment a week later where Austin had pledged a few days prior in a meeting to "play ball" with McMahon, appearing in a suit and tie, with a beaming McMahon taking a picture of himself and his new corporate champion. The entire thing was a ruse by Austin who in the course of the segment proceeded to tear off the suit, tell McMahon it was the last time he would see Austin dressed like this, punch his boss in the "corporate grapefruits" and take another picture of the two of them while McMahon was doubled over in pain. In April 1998, it appeared Austin and McMahon were going to battle out their differences in an actual match, but the match was declared a no contest when Dude Love made an appearance. This led to a match between Dude Love and Austin at Unforgiven: In Your House, where Austin hit McMahon with a steel chair, then the following month they had a rematch at Over the Edge: In Your House for the WWF Championship. Austin managed to retain the title despite McMahon acting as the referee and his "Corporate Stooges" (Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson) as timekeeper and ring announcer, respectively. McMahon continued to do everything he could to ruin Austin and he finally scored a big victory for his side at King of the Ring.^[3] Austin lost the WWF Championship to Kane in a First Blood match after The Undertaker accidentally hit him with a steel chair while the ref was incapacitated, despite Austin having knocked Kane unconscious and thwarted an earlier intervention by Mankind.^[3]

Austin further angered McMahon by winning back the championship the next night on Raw Is War.^[3] Austin also emerged victorious against The Undertaker at SummerSlam. In response, McMahon set up a Triple Threat match at Breakdown: In Your House, where The Undertaker and Kane pinned Austin at the same time. McMahon decided to vacate the WWF Championship^[3] and award it based on a match between The Undertaker and Kane, in which Austin was the guest referee on Judgment Day: In Your House. Austin refused to count for either man and attacked both towards the end of the match. McMahon later fired him, although Austin got revenge by kidnapping McMahon and dragging him to the middle of the ring at "gunpoint", which ended up being a toy gun with a scroll that read "Bang! 3:16". During that segment, McMahon also learned that Stone Cold was later re-signed by his son, Shane McMahon. In the semifinals of the Survivor Series tournament to award the vacant WWF Championship, Austin lost to Mankind after Shane double-crossed Austin. The next night on Raw Is War, Judge Mills Lane ruled that The Rock had to defend his newly won WWF Championship against Austin that night, as stipulated in the new contract Austin had signed two weeks earlier with Shane. The Undertaker interfered and hit Austin with a shovel, earning Austin a disqualification victory. However, because the title would not change hands via disqualification, The Rock still kept the championship. At Rock Bottom: In Your House, Austin defeated The Undertaker in a Buried Alive match after Kane performed a Tombstone Piledriver on The Undertaker into the grave. With this victory, Austin qualified for the 1999 Royal Rumble.

Austin celebrates with referee Earl Hebner

Austin's next definitive chance to exact revenge on Mr. McMahon came during the 1999 Royal Rumble match. On Raw Is War, McMahon drew Austin's entry number with the obvious intention of screwing him over. Austin drew entry number one, while McMahon drew number two thanks to WWF Commissioner Shawn Michaels. During the Royal Rumble match, McMahon slipped out of the ring and into the crowd as Austin chased him down. It turned out to be a trap as McMahon led Austin into the lobby restroom where he was ambushed by members of The Corporation. Austin was injured and taken away in an ambulance. With Austin gone and not in the Rumble match, McMahon joined the announcers table in calling the match. Later on, however, Austin returned in an ambulance and re-entered the Royal Rumble, delivering a Stone Cold Stunner to Big Boss Man and eliminating him. With the assistance of The Corporation and a last minute interference from The Rock, Austin was eliminated by McMahon himself, who won the 1999 Royal Rumble.^[3]

With McMahon turning down his number-one contender spot against The Rock, WWF Commissioner Michaels awarded Austin the title shot the next night on Raw Is War. At St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Stone Cold got a one-on-one match against McMahon in a steel cage match, with the WWF Championship opportunity at WrestleMania XV at stake.^[3] During the match, Paul Wight made his debut, breaking through from under the ring and attacking Austin. Wight's attack propelled Austin into the side of the cage forcing the cage to give way and dropping Austin to the floor first, making him the victor.^[3] Austin defeated The Rock at WrestleMania XV to win his third WWF Championship.^[3] Austin faced The Rock in a rematch at Backlash, in which Shane McMahon was the referee. During the match, Vince McMahon approached the ring, only to hand Austin back his Smoking Skull title belt and take Shane out of the proceedings. Austin won the match when another referee made the count. Austin would lose the title to The Undertaker at Over the Edge. Due to events revolving around Vince McMahon, Stephanie and Linda McMahon made Austin the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company as part of the storyline. Vince and Shane McMahon challenged Austin to a handicap ladder match at King of the Ring with the CEO title on the line, which the duo of father and son won. The next night on Raw Is War, Austin made it clear that while he was the CEO of the company he could have a title shot at any time and place to be determined by himself. Austin made the WWF Championship match that night on Raw Is War and defeated The Undertaker to win his fourth WWF Championship. However, after he won it The Undertaker came and hit him with the title belt, leading to a First Blood match between the two at Fully Loaded, where Mr. McMahon stipulated that if Austin lost he would never be able to wrestle for the WWF Championship again, and if Austin won he would never see McMahon again. Austin won after interference from X-Pac, hitting The Undertaker with a TV camera and gave McMahon a goodbye Stone Cold Stunner.

Feud with Triple H (1999–2001)

Austin with a fan

Austin held on to the WWF Championship until SummerSlam when he lost it to Mankind in a triple threat match also featuring Triple H.^[3] Triple H was originally scheduled to win his first championship at the event, but Austin refused to drop it to him, believing Triple H was not over enough with the crowd yet, so Mankind would be used as a transitional champion, dropping the title to Triple H the next night on Raw Is War. Austin would get his rematch at No Mercy against Triple H, but he lost after The Rock accidentally struck him with a sledgehammer that was meant for Triple H. When Survivor Series rolled around, Triple H was still champion. Austin was booked into a Triple Threat match for the WWF Championship against Triple H and The Rock. However, Austin was run down by a car in the parking lot.^[3] Austin then underwent neck surgery by Dr. Lloyd Youngblood, due to Austin's injury from the piledriver at SummerSlam two years prior.^[51] He was away for a nine-month rehabilitation, with the car angle as his reason for leaving.^[3]

In April 2000, Austin appeared at Backlash, attacking Triple H and Vince McMahon to help The Rock reclaim the WWF Championship. After Austin's official return at Unforgiven, Commissioner Mick Foley led an investigation to find out who ran Austin down at Survivor Series the previous year.^[3] Rikishi admitted to being the driver because "he did it for The Rock". Rikishi felt that Austin occupied the top spot in the company and with him gone, Rock, a fellow Samoan, would be able to ascend to the top of the company. At No Mercy, Austin was back to face Rikishi in a No Holds Barred match. During the match, Austin mentioned he was going to drive his truck into Rikishi, who by that time was a bloody mess. Before he could, he was stopped by officials, the match being deemed no contest and Austin was (kayfabe) arrested and later bailed out by Commissioner Foley. During a handicap match against Rikishi and Kurt Angle, Triple H came down with the apparent intention of teaming with Austin. After clearing the ring, Triple H smashed his sledgehammer over Austin's head, and revealed it was actually him behind the whole scheme, devised to shield the WWF Championship from Austin and end his career. At Survivor Series, Triple H had plotted to run Austin down again during their match but his plot failed when Austin lifted Triple H's automobile with a forklift, then let it drop 20 feet. Austin won his third Royal Rumble in January 2001,^[52] last eliminating Kane. His rivalry against Triple H ended at No Way Out in a Three Stages of Hell match, with Triple H beating Austin two falls to one.

The Two-Man Power Trip and The Alliance (2001–2002)

With The Rock defeating Kurt Angle for the WWF Championship at No Way Out, Austin was set to face The Rock at WrestleMania. In the weeks leading up to WrestleMania, animosity grew between Austin and The Rock, stemming from Austin's wife, Debra, being assigned to be The Rock's manager by Mr. McMahon, but then relieved of that role after failing to prevent a brawl between Rock and Austin. At WrestleMania X-Seven, Austin faced The Rock for the second time and before the match began it was announced that the match had been made no disqualification. Midway during the match, Mr. McMahon made his way to ringside, then prevented The Rock from pinning Austin on two separate occasions and provided Austin a steel chair to hit The Rock with. Austin then hit The Rock several times with the chair and pinned him to win the WWF Championship for the fifth time.^[3] After the match, Austin celebrated by shaking hands with Mr. McMahon, turning Austin heel.

The next night on Raw Is War, after teasing a quick face turn, the heel turn continued and he also altered his character considerably over the next few months, in a deliberate turn from the rebellious and anti-establishment character beloved by the fans, Austin became a whiny, temperamental primadonna who complained incessantly when he felt he was not getting the respect from the fans and wrestlers that he deserved. He also developed an infatuation with McMahon, going to great lengths to impress him and even going so far as to hugging him and bringing him presents. McMahon, though visibly uncomfortable and wary by the attention, was still grateful to have Austin with him instead of against him. During a steel cage match with The Rock in a rematch for the title, Triple H came down to the ring with a sledgehammer and together with Austin viciously attacked The Rock and put him out of action. Austin further cemented his heel turn the following Thursday on SmackDown!, when, during an interview with Jim Ross about his actions at WrestleMania, he thought Ross was denouncing their friendship and then proceeded to attack and brutally assault Ross. Austin and Triple H became a team and called themselves The Two-Man Power Trip.^[3]

Austin and Triple H were the top heels in the company, and feuding with The Undertaker and Kane. After defeating Kane and The Undertaker for the WWF Tag Team Championship at Backlash, they held the tag team titles, the WWF Championship (Austin) and the Intercontinental Championship (Triple H) all at once. At Judgment Day, Triple H lost his Intercontinental title to Kane. The following night on Raw Is War, Austin and Triple H wrestled against Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit with the tag team titles on the line. Midway through the match, Triple H tore his quadriceps muscle.^[3] As planned, the team lost the tag team titles at the end of the match when Triple H accidentally hit Austin in the stomach with a sledgehammer but the injury to Triple H, which kept him out for the remainder of the year, forced the WWF to go in another direction. Austin officially broke up The Power Trip on that week's SmackDown!, criticizing Triple H for his injury and for hitting him with the sledgehammer. He continued to align himself with McMahon and began feuding with Jericho and Benoit by himself, with Kurt Angle joining the group as Triple H's replacement. For most of the next month leading to King of the Ring, he constantly fell victim to a double submission involving Jericho's Walls of Jericho and Benoit's Crippler Crossface, Austin did not wrestle as he was nursing an injury, but continued to feud with the reigning tag team champions, eventually costing them the titles on the SmackDown! preceding King of the Ring against the Dudley Boyz. Austin defeated Jericho and Benoit in a Triple Threat match, despite interference from the debuting Booker T. Stone Cold suffered a back injury during the match after Booker T dropped Stone Cold through the announcer's table.

Austin's signature ring entrance at WrestleMania XIX

After King of the Ring, Austin was left without a feud as Benoit was lost for the next year after neck surgery and Jericho moved on to other things. He began a small spat with Angle over who was McMahon's biggest supporter. Meanwhile, the purchase of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) by McMahon began to bear fruit as The Invasion began. McMahon was not able to fight off the invading WCW wrestlers, and when they formed an alliance with a group of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) alumni that were signed to the WWF and both Shane and Stephanie McMahon were now aligned against their father, McMahon's empire began to crumble and he had zero help from his two biggest stars at the time. Austin made it known that he was against teaming with Angle, whom Austin saw as both a threat to his WWF Championship, as well as an annoying tag-along. Finally, a frustrated McMahon called Austin out and demanded that he bring "the old Stone Cold" back, even going as far as asking Austin to give him a Stone Cold Stunner, so he could effectively captain a team of WWF wrestlers in a ten-man tag team match at the upcoming InVasion pay-per-view in July. A dejected Austin initially refused, but on the following episode of Raw Is War he returned to his old ways and hit Stunners on every member of the Alliance, turning face again. At InVasion, Austin captained the WWF team consisting of himself, Angle, Jericho, and The Undertaker and Kane against the team of WCW's Booker T and Diamond Dallas Page and ECW's Rhyno and The Dudley Boyz. Late in the match, however, as Angle had Booker in the ankle lock, Austin turned on Angle by Stunning him and joined the Alliance, turning Austin heel once again.^[3] The reason why Austin did this was that he felt McMahon was grooming Angle to take over his spot, that he was trying to get in touch with The Rock to return, and that he himself was "unappreciated" when McMahon insisted he return to the old Austin. Austin was immediately made the Alliance's new leader and began to feud with Angle over his WWF Championship.

Austin lost his title to Angle at Unforgiven by submitting to the ankle lock, but began badgering Angle for a rematch due to his hand being under the ropes. Austin received that rematch on the October 8 episode of Raw and won the title after WWF Commissioner William Regal betrayed Angle and joined the Alliance.^[3] Austin then began feuding with Alliance member Rob Van Dam, who was the only member of the Alliance to be cheered by the fans despite the villainous tactics of the group. Austin faced Angle and Van Dam at No Mercy later that month and won by pinning the latter. On the October 29 episode of Raw, Angle joined the Alliance and became the second most powerful wrestler in the group. Survivor Series was coming up^[3] and it was ultimately decided to have a winner-take-all Survivor Series tag match with the winning team becoming the surviving entity. Austin was chosen to captain team Alliance, which consisted of Angle, Shane McMahon, Van Dam and Booker T, against Team WWF which was captained by The Rock, who had returned the week following Austin's betrayal of the WWF at InVasion. The Rock's team included Jericho, Kane, The Undertaker and Big Show.

At Survivor Series, Austin was one of the last two wrestlers in the match, with The Rock being the other, and was the last remaining hope for the Alliance to survive. Late in the match, Austin attempted to win the match with the Rock Bottom, the Rock's finishing maneuver, but failed to earn a three count. He then kicked out of his own Stone Cold Stunner, which the Rock nailed on him, and attacked two referees including Alliance referee Nick Patrick. With the officials down, Angle ran to the ring and picked up Austin's title belt. He then entered the ring and struck Austin with it, betraying the Alliance and enabling The Rock to hit the Rock Bottom on Austin for the pin and the victory. With that, the InVasion ended, the Alliance was forced to disband, and Austin's future in the company was in question. Eventually, McMahon decided he was going to strip Austin of the title and award it to Angle for his actions. Just before he could, Ric Flair returned to the WWF for the first time since his 1993 departure and announced he was now half owner of the company. Austin returned moments after this announcement and attacked Angle and McMahon for their actions. He was then handed his title belt by Flair and celebrated with him in the ring, turning him face once again.

Flair then decided that Austin would face off against The Rock, who was still in possession of the former WCW World Heavyweight Championship (which was renamed the World Championship), at the upcoming Vengeance pay-per-view in December to unify the titles. However, since Austin was still feuding with Angle and Rock had an unresolved feud with Jericho over his own title, McMahon overruled Flair and said that both men would wrestle their respective rivals for their respective titles at Vengeance, with the winners to face each other and the winner of that match to be crowned Undisputed WWF Champion. Austin won his first match by defeating Angle and faced World Champion Jericho in the unification match. Austin lost the match and his title after McMahon and Booker T interfered. Immediately after, Austin and Booker T began feuding which led to various fights in strange venues, such as a church confessional, a bingo hall and a supermarket.

Beginning 2002, although Austin's character remained with the WWF's most popular wrestlers as top face, his upcoming storylines in the build-up to WrestleMania were somewhat questionable compared to those of his previous years. In the 2002 Royal Rumble, Triple H made his long-awaited return from injury, with him and Austin two of the last four participants in the ring along with Kurt Angle and Mr. Perfect. Austin was eliminated by Kurt Angle, but he shortly went back in the ring and hit all three with a steel chair. A few days later on Raw, he defeated Kurt Angle to earn a shot at Chris Jericho's Undisputed WWF Championship at No Way Out.

Final feuds and in-ring retirement (2002–2003)

In the build-up to No Way Out, McMahon had re-signed the New World Order (nWo), who started a feud with him after (kayfabe) Austin refused a beer gift following them costing him his match against Jericho. Problems in the backstage creativity were however then seemingly beginning to surface. Austin was reported as being unhappy regarding Hulk Hogan's return to the WWF, and was reported as refusing to lose to Hogan in a proposed match at WrestleMania X8, while Hogan reportedly told McMahon the same regarding losing to Austin. In recent years, Austin has this to say about why the match never took place: "I guarantee you, if my head had been at a little different place, then by all rights, a [match] should have happened", Austin told JR. "Physically and mentally where I was at, I could go. I think Hogan probably would have been a step or two behind that. That wasn't acceptable to me, and I didn't want to slow myself down. I say that with all due respect to Hulk Hogan, because he had a hellacious run. That was my thought process back in the day. I didn't think we could deliver".^[53] Consequently, the match was re-billed as The Rock defeating Hogan, whilst Austin defeated Scott Hall, climaxing his feud with the nWo.

In a surprise altercation, the next night on Raw, Austin refused to show up and took a week-long break without the company's consent, claiming exhaustion. McMahon claimed his actions caused fury among fans who had paid to see him that night. Austin returned on the April 1, 2002 episode of Raw, the first of the new "brand extension" era. The show was centered on which show he would sign with, and he ultimately chose Raw. Austin entered a feud with The Undertaker that resulted in a number-one contender's match for the Undisputed WWF Championship at Backlash, which Austin lost despite having his foot on the rope when he was pinned. He would later be betrayed by Big Show, who went on to rejoin the nWo, and Ric Flair. Austin then defeated Big Show and Flair in a handicap match at Judgment Day. In an interview on WWE's premier Internet program, Byte This!, in May 2002, Austin stunned the company and fans by launching a verbal attack on the direction the company was heading in and slated the creative team for not using him the way he felt they previously did.^[54] The commentators struggled to keep Austin's opinions on a neutral wavelength, leading to the WWE apologising to fans for the outburst and stated it was not part of Austin's current or upcoming storylines. McMahon responded a week later on the same show playing down the outburst, claiming that Austin was merely the type of wrestler who was occasionally difficult to work with. The WWE rehired Eddie Guerrero for Austin to feud with, while also prepping Austin for a feud with Brock Lesnar. However, Austin vetoed any matches that would result in him losing to Lesnar and ultimately walked out of the company.^[55] Austin later explained that he thought hot-shotting a rookie made Austin look weak and did not give Lesnar a proper stage for such a big win over a star of the magnitude that Austin held. Further fanning the flames amongst Austin's growing number of detractors was a well-publicized domestic dispute incident between Austin and his wife Debra (see below).^[55]

After Austin no-showed the June 10 episode of Raw, his storylines were dropped.^[55] Austin walked out again, publicly stating he felt bad storylines were presented to him by the creative team. This time his departure was for good.^[55] McMahon, along with longtime Austin supporter and real-life friend Jim Ross, buried Austin on WWE programming, referring to him as "taking his ball and going home" because he was not getting his way, whilst also explaining to the fans that neither he nor Ross were able to persuade Austin to change his mind. McMahon insisted that Austin owed an apology to all the fans across the world, especially those who paid solely to see him that night. McMahon toasted to Austin's career with a beer thanking him for all his hard work nonetheless. The same night, Austin's entrance theme was played during an in-ring segment by Ric Flair, but it was transitioned to Eddie Guerrero's theme and he entered the arena. The Rock also made an appearance on Raw that night, despite being drafted to SmackDown!, and announced his frustrations towards Austin and threw a can of beer at McMahon. Austin's merchandise continued to sell greatly in the weeks following his departure, however with no sign of a return likely to be seen, the company stopped marketing his character, his merchandise, and removed his profile from WWE.com.

For the remainder of 2002, Austin kept a low profile and did not make any public appearances. It was reported, however, by the end of the year, Austin and McMahon met and resolved their differences. He then agreed to return to the company in early 2003. In an interview with WWE Raw Magazine, he announced deep regret over the situation that led to his departure and the way in which he had left, and deeper regret over inaccurate speculation regarding his alleged grudges held against other WWE wrestlers, claiming he had no problem with Scott Hall rejoining the company. However, he admitted he still held strong reservations about his singles match with Hall at WrestleMania only lasting seven minutes and felt the build-up to the match did not live up to the expectations of his fans or Hall's, and was angered by speculation suggesting he disagreed with Kevin Nash re-joining the company, insisting he and Nash have always been good friends. In an interview with Vince McMahon on his podcast in 2014, Austin revealed for the first time that McMahon had fined him $650,000 upon his return, but he was able to lower the amount to $250,000.^[56]

Austin (left) faces off against The Rock at WrestleMania XIX in Austin's last match

Austin confessed he had a major rift with Triple H's role in the company upon his return in 2002, but insisted as of 2003 they resolved their issues. In addition, he claimed a brief dispute with The Rock was resolved quickly upon his return, and that none of his disputes with the talent roster continued or played the major part in his departure. In February, Austin returned at No Way Out by defeating Eric Bischoff. Austin would wrestle only one match between then and WrestleMania in another short match against Bischoff on Raw, but was then defeated by The Rock at WrestleMania XIX, who returned about the same time as a smug, "sell out" villain, which, ultimately, became Austin's last official match in WWE. The night after on Raw, Austin was fired in the storyline by Bischoff on medical grounds. The next day, Austin gave an interview on WWE.com announcing his retirement from wrestling, although he stated that he and Vince McMahon had reached an agreement seeing him only appear in non-wrestling roles on a weekly basis. In reference to Bischoff firing him on Raw that week, he said that although firing was for storyline purposes, he admitted the medical problems read out on Raw were legitimate and mainly related back to his injury sustained at SummerSlam in a match with Owen Hart in August 1997, and had begun to seriously plague him since late 2001. He confessed wrestling against the advice of his doctors up until his departure in 2002, which forced him to quit wrestling, and cited this as the sole reason as to why he suddenly departed, with doctors advising an awkward or violent move performed on him could have resulted in Austin being permanently disabled or resulting in death.

Sheriff of Raw (2003–2004)

Austin in Iraq, 2003

The following week, Austin began his non-wrestling career with WWE and began a fresh storyline when he was brought back by Linda McMahon as the Raw Co-General Manager. He continued this storyline for the remainder of the year, still showing wrestling moves including the Stone Cold Stunner and several exchanges of punches and kicks, although limiting regularity of these being performed. On the November 17, 2003, episode of Raw, Austin was "fired" from Raw as the result of a stipulation in a match at Survivor Series where Austin's hand-picked team of wrestlers failed to beat Bischoff's team of wrestlers. After Survivor Series, Mick Foley would become the new Co-General Manager of Raw, and began a (kayfabe) petition to have Austin re-instated. Austin quickly returned to WWE television before the end of 2003 when he was part of the Tribute to the Troops taped live in front of U.S. troops in Iraq, posing and attacking Mr. McMahon. He returned to Raw on December 29 as its "Sheriff", giving a Stone Cold Stunner to Eric Bischoff and rehiring Shawn Michaels, who had just been "fired" by Bischoff.

Austin appeared on-and-off as 2004 began, culminating in him being the special guest referee for the Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg match at WrestleMania XX. On April 17, WWE announced that they were unable to settle long-running contract disputes with Austin and had again parted ways.

Sporadic appearances (2005–present)

Austin made his first appearance on WWE programming in a year at WrestleMania 21 where he was confronted by Roddy Piper in Piper's Pit, until Carlito interrupted to insult both. This resulted in Carlito receiving a stunner from Austin and Piper throwing him out of the ring. The segment ended with Austin and Piper celebrating with beer until Austin gave Piper a Stone Cold Stunner as well. Austin was involved in the concluding segment at ECW One Night Stand in which he had a beer bash with the ECW locker room and brawled with the anti-ECW invaders, led by Eric Bischoff. He returned at Raw Homecoming, delivering Stone Cold Stunners to Mr. McMahon, Shane McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Linda McMahon.^[57] An angle including Jim Ross being fired led to a match in which Austin agreed to face Jonathan Coachman at Taboo Tuesday, with the stipulation of Ross regaining his announcing job had Austin won and Austin losing his own job had he lost. Austin hurt his back prior to the match and could not wrestle unless he was heavily medicated, so the match was cancelled. To explain away his failure to appear at Taboo Tuesday, Vince McMahon said on Raw that Austin had been involved in an accident, thus preventing him from competing. Batista substituted for Austin, defeating Coachman along with Vader and Goldust. The stipulation was dropped due to Austin not competing.^[58] He returned to WWE briefly to face John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) in a beer drinking contest at the March 5, 2006, episode of Saturday Night's Main Event. Austin inducted Bret Hart into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 1, 2006.^[3]

Austin would often referee matches after retiring from wrestling

Austin returned to WWE programming (appearing on Raw, ECW, and SmackDown!) in March 2007, partially to promote his starring role in the release of WWE Films' production, The Condemned. On March 31, 2007, Austin inducted Jim Ross into the WWE Hall of Fame. At WrestleMania 23, Austin, as a special guest referee, officiated the match between Bobby Lashley and Umaga. The stipulation for the match was that if Lashley lost, Donald Trump's head would be shaved, and if Umaga lost, Mr. McMahon's head would suffer that fate. During the match, Austin delivered Stone Cold Stunners to Umaga, Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and Donald Trump. Lashley won the match and Trump, Austin and Lashley then shaved Mr. McMahon's head. Austin ended by hitting the Stone Cold Stunner on McMahon, as well as Donald Trump.^[59] He then appeared in a video on the June 11 episode of Raw as part of "Mr. McMahon's Appreciation Night", where he shared his thoughts on his past feuds with McMahon.^[60] Austin appeared on the August 18, 2007 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event, as a possible illegitimate child of Mr. McMahon and stunned McMahon and Jonathan Coachman. He then appeared at SummerSlam to aid Matt Hardy in battling Montel Vontavious Porter in a beer drinking contest. The match ended in a no contest after Austin handed a beer to MVP and gave him the Stone Cold Stunner.^[61] Austin made another appearance at Cyber Sunday, where he guest refereed a World Heavyweight Championship match between Batista and The Undertaker. On the November 5 episode of Raw, Austin made an appearance to confront Santino Marella for criticizing The Condemned.^[62] The argument ended as Marella received a Stone Cold Stunner from Austin, who then walked backstage only to return with a Budweiser beer truck to hose down Marella and his valet Maria with beer.^[62] Austin appeared on the Raw 15th Anniversary special, attacking Vince McMahon. On October 26, 2008, at Cyber Sunday, Austin was the special guest referee during a match between Batista and Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship.^[63]

Austin is noted for his signature "beer smash", seen here at WrestleMania XXV

On the January 12, 2009, episode of Raw, Austin was announced to be the first member of the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2009.^[64] He was inducted by his long-term on-screen rival Vince McMahon, who referred to Austin as "the greatest WWE [wrestler] of all time". During the induction, Austin said he was officially closing the door on his wrestling career and starting a new chapter in his life.

Austin appeared as the guest host of Raw on the March 15, 2010, episode, where he moderated a contract signing between Vince McMahon and Bret Hart for their match at WrestleMania XXVI. In early 2011, Austin was announced as the head trainer and host for the revival of Tough Enough. On the March 7 episode of Raw, Austin interrupted the contract signing of the special guest referee to the Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler match at WrestleMania XXVII, originally scheduled to be John "Bradshaw" Layfield; Austin attacked Layfield and signed the contract instead.^[65] Although Lawler won by submission, the Anonymous Raw General Manager reversed the decision and disqualified Lawler, claiming that Austin had "overstepped his authority". He appeared on Raw the following night with the cast from Tough Enough, while also getting into an altercation with The Miz and Alex Riley. On the June 6 episode of Raw, Austin appeared to declare Andy Leavine as the winner of Tough Enough. He also served as the special guest referee in the evening's tag team main event, John Cena and Alex Riley against The Miz and R-Truth, hitting Miz with a Stone Cold Stunner and aiding Cena. However, the Anonymous Raw General Manager chimed in and the Anonymous Raw General Manager's ringside mouthpiece Michael Cole announced that since Austin had abused his authority as referee, The Miz and R-Truth had won via disqualification. Austin did not take kindly to the Anonymous Raw General Manager overturning his decision and Cole also received a Stone Cold Stunner, which was followed with another Attitude Adjustment courtesy of Cena. Austin and Cena closed the show, celebrating with a beer bash. Austin appeared as the special guest General Manager on the "WWE All-Stars" episode of Raw. During the show, Austin destroyed the Anonymous Raw General Manager's laptop by running over it with his ATV.

Austin (center) with Hulk Hogan (left) and The Rock at WrestleMania XXX

Austin appeared at WrestleMania XXX on April 6, 2014, with Hulk Hogan and The Rock in the opening segment.^[66] Austin made an appearance on the October 19, 2015 episode of Raw, introducing The Undertaker and promoting the WrestleMania 32 event.^[67] Austin again appeared on Raw the following week, where he promoted the WWE 2K16 video game in a backstage segment.^[68]

At WrestleMania 32 on April 3, 2016, Austin, alongside Mick Foley and Shawn Michaels, confronted The League of Nations, where Austin delivered a Stone Cold Stunner to Rusev and King Barrett. While Austin was celebrating with Michaels and Foley, The New Day tried to convince Austin to dance with them in celebration. While Austin reluctantly at first danced along, he attacked Xavier Woods with a Stone Cold Stunner.^[69] On Raw's 25th anniversary episode on the January 22, 2018, Austin appeared and performed a Stone Cold Stunner on Shane McMahon and Vince McMahon.^[70]

Feature films

Television