Stone Cold Steve Austin is a six-time WWE Champion. Throughout his career, he has battled multiple superstars including a few fellow Hall of Famers.
Born in the state of Texas, Austin made his way to the world of professional wrestling back in 1989. He first stepped foot into WCW under the ring name The Ring Master. From there he moved on and evolved into ‘Stunning’ Steve Austin. The ‘Stunning’ moniker quickly faded away as he became the infamous “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
Throughout his career, he has managed to capture multiple championships and has also won the King of the Ring tournament once in his career. He is also the only wrestler to have won the 30-Men Royal Rumble match a record three times. Austin was also inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.
Let’s take a look at a few of the Texas Rattlesnake’s biggest rivalries.
Austin vs. McMahon
When one talks about The Texas Rattlesnake probably the first thing that comes to mind is his feud with the owner of WWE, Vincent Kenndy McMahon.
Stone Cold was one of the stars who never bothered to abide by the rules, nor did he follow any orders from his bosses. This slowly evolved into an ever-lasting feud. A huge chunk of the Attitude Era involved Austin battling Vince McMahon and his family. At one point in time, he managed to hit the Stunner on all the members of the McMahon Family.
The two fought inside the ring, outside the ring, Austin even attacked McMahon when he was injured and lying on a hospital bed.
The rivalry between the two heated up to the point that back in 1999, the entire 30-Man Royal Rumble match revolved around these two. Throughout the match, both wrestlers fought each other all over the arena. In the end, McMahon managed to get one up on The Texas Rattlesnake by being the one to eliminate him from the Rumble.
The 1999 Rumble may have been McMahon’s night. But, every other time it has been Austin who got the last laugh. To date, if the Bionic Redneck makes an appearance on WWE TV then McMahon usually ends up eating a Stunner.
The Return of the Texas Rattlesnake
Although Austin did not play a major part during the build of this feud, this storyline is worth mentioning. The current generation of wrestling fans finally got to see the return of Stone Cold Steve Austin thanks to Kevin Owens.
The internet was buzzing when The Prizefighter began to use the Stunner as his finisher. Many suspected that this might lead to a match between him and the original owner of the signature move. This finally came to fruition at WrestleMania 38 when the Showcase of Immortals took place in Dallas, Texas.
Leading to the show, Kevin Owens impersonated Stone Cold Steve Austin fooling the WWE Universe in attendance and also the ones watching through the television screens. He demanded that he get Austin as the special guest for the Kevin Owens show.
The Texas Rattlesnake accepted the offer and he showed up at the grandest stage of them all. The KO Show quickly turned into a No Holds Barred match. This was the first time Austin competed in a match in nearly two decades. Both wrestlers battled all over the arena and in the end, the Rattlesnake hit the Stunner and pinned the former Universal Champion for the victory.
The Two-Man Powertrip
The feud between Triple H and Austin is an interesting one, to say the least. The two stars have battled each other on multiple occasions and have also gelled well as a team. They formed an alliance called the Two-Man Powertrip where both stars held all the gold in the company.
While that came a little later in their careers, the two had been feuding with each other since 1996. An interesting factor to be noted is that throughout the six years they battled each other, Austin was the babyface every time.
Their rivalry culminated at the 2001 No Way Out Premium Live Event in the form of a Three Stages of Hell match. After a hard-fought battle, The Game managed to emerge victorious.
The two once again crossed paths at the 2002 Royal Rumble when The Game made his return to in-ring competition following a quadriceps injury. Triple H managed to win the Rumble as well.
Rock vs. Austin
Besides the above-mentioned feuds one of the most iconic rivalries of the Attitude Era was between Austin and The Rock. The two had a battle with each other to try to outwork one another to earn the title of ‘The Best Wrestler in the World’.
Both veterans went face-to-face at several pay-per-views. Some of the events include WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, Rebellion, Survivor Series, and many more. While both stars managed to get their hands raised on several occasions, the last laugh was The Rock’s as he defeated Austin in their final encounter.
Austin boasted wins over The Rock at WrestleMania XV and X-7, the latter thanks in part to an assist from Mr. McMahon. WrestleMania XIX featured the third WrestleMania match between the two, and Austin taunted The Rock about not beating him there. In the end, The Rock got the win over Austin in what was Austin’s last match for 19 years (until the Owens match).
What is your favorite rivalry involving The Texas Rattlesnake? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
