Over the course of his WWE career, Stone Cold Steve Austin provided some of the most must-see moments in WWE history. From brawling in supermarkets to headlining WrestleMania, Austin's run through the Attitude Era and beyond was the stuff of legend. There is nobody quite like the Texas Rattlesnake.
This list goes beyond his matches and focuses on the moments that made Stone Cold a household name, inside and outside of wrestling. In the WWE, his chants are still heard and his shirts are still sold by the thousand today. Outside of wrestling, he remains a pop culture phenomenon. These are Stone Cold Steve Austin's best WWE moments.
10 The 'What?' Promo
A Questionable Legacy Is Left Behind by This Polarizing Wrestling Chant
Causing the "what?" chant is among Steve Austin's longest-lasting achievements. As iconic as "and that's the bottom line (because Stone Cold said so)" and "gimme a hell yeah", Stone Cold would begin to use the word "what?" as the heel leader of the ECW and WCW Alliance in 2001. "What?" was originally used for intimidation, being employed as a hostile way of responding to his adversary during their promos. It would eventually become a "call and response" mechanic for Steve during some of his most popular face runs.
The lasting legacy of the "what?" chant is divisive. In 2024, there is a collective groan if the audience begins to chant "what?" at a talent when they're trying to deliver their promo. This isn't the case live, as the WWE audience can still be relied upon to use the "what?" chant at some point in every televised broadcast. That it's still relevant in 2024 remains one of Steve's biggest moments, whether he'd care to accept it or not.
9 Losing To Bret Hart at WrestleMania
He May Have Been Beaten, but He Left to a Hero’s Reception
Back in 1996, Steve Austin was still establishing the Stone Cold character and needed the right opponent to help fully do so. Having begun to create magic by winning King Of The Ring that year, defeating Jake Roberts in the process, Bret Hart would return after his defeat to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII and go straight after The Texas Rattlesnake. In the minds of creative, Hart would play the valiant babyface while Steve Austin would belittle Hart's achievements and taunt him over his loss to Michaels at WrestleMania.
Working with each other from October of 1996 to WrestleMania XIII, fans would lean towards Stone Cold's brash and uncompromising nature, over Hart's valiant and dogged babyface persona. Hart would begin to snap at the crowd for siding with Austin, blurring the traditional face-and-heel dynamic on the road to the match. A bloodied Steve Austin would eventually lose to the Sharpshooter at WrestleMania after ing out, but his rise in popularity after the match was the real win of that night.
8 Singing With The Rock
A Duet for the Ages on Monday Night Raw Back in 2003
It wouldn't be a stretch to suggest that Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock is WrestleMania's definitive rivalry. The road to their third and final match was defined by their differences. The Rock's Hollywood persona annoyed everyone and Steve Austin provided the alternative on the road to WrestleMania XV in his trademark, whoop-ass fashion. On the March 10th episode of Monday Night Raw, Austin, and The Rock delivered one of the most entertaining segments of both of their legendary careers.
Beginning with both men cutting each other off before delivering their signature catchphrases in infuriating fashion, things began to loosen up between the two. The Rock would call into question Austin's ability to entertain like he could. The men would then trade off in a karaoke contest including songs by Kenny Rogers, Tanya Tucker, and Glen Campbell before duetting on Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. Song licensing makes it hard to find a video, but it's worth searching for.
7 Austin Turns Heel at WrestleMania
Stone Cold Makes a Deal with the Devil Himself
Without question, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Vince McMahon will forever be one another's greatest rivals, and this was the climax to one of the best WrestleMania Main Events in history. Their disputes defined the Attitude Era and essentially established the character Vince McMahon would play on screen for the rest of his career. Austin and The Rock's WrestleMania X-Seven WWE Championship match was made No Disqualification on the night of the event. It didn't seem suspicious at the time, or when both meant were taking each other apart using chairs and tables, but then Mr McMahon appeared.
With both men desperate to secure the three count, Austin screamed at Vince to him a steel chair. Mr McMahon would give Austin the chair and encourage him to dismantle The Rock with a series of shots before scoring the victory and losing his WWE title. The handshake that revealed his alliance with McMahon and Stone Cold's heel turn is a decision that's still debated to this day. What cannot be questioned is its significance in Austin's WWE career.
6 6 Stunners in 25 Seconds
Stone Cold Rediscovers Himself in Emphatic Fashion
The Alliance storyline is one of wrestling's most disappointing angles of all time, but even in the sewage, gold can be found. Throughout June of 2001, Vince McMahon was trying to relight the old Stone Cold attitude to fight the ECW and WCW Alliance, led by Stephanie and Shane McMahon and Paul Heyman. On June 25th, Steve Austin left the WWE to go and find himself. On July 16th, he would return in incredible fashion.
A "schmoz" is a wrestling term for when an all-out brawl erupts. On the July 21st episode of Raw, hell broke loose, both inside and outside of the ring, before Austin reemerged for the first time in almost a month. He then delivers a record six stunners in twenty-five seconds. It is completely over the top and character-defining, and undoubtedly one of the most exhilarating and aesthetically pleasing moments of Steve Austin's whole career.
5 Hitting Mr McMahon With A Bedpan
Two Men and a Bedpan Create One of the Funniest Moments in WWE History
Funny moments can often be scripted, but sometimes divine timing and luck create classic comedy. Kane and The Undertaker had been taking out Steve Austin for Vince McMahon with the promise of being WWE Champion. When a triple-threat match at In Your House: Breakdown resulted in the title being vacated, neither man felt they'd received what they'd been promised. McMahon was sent to hospital when The Brothers Of Destruction targeted his ankle with steel steps on the October 5th, 1998 episode of Monday Night Raw.
As part of Austin's ongoing feud with McMahon, Stone Cold would dress as a doctor and invade the hospital to attack a defenseless Vince. After a broad, Texan "I'll take it from here, nurse", Austin would hit McMahon over the head with a bedpan causing a "clang" that is still funny to this day. He would then use a defibrillator on his helpless boss to complete this all-time classic segment.
4 Austin Brings His Beer Truck
The Pinnacle of Austin’s Driving Hijinks
Stone Cold has driven many different vehicles into WWE arenas over the years. A cement truck, a forklift, a dune buggy, a camouflage military jeep, a Zamboni, and a monster truck are just some of the four-wheeled automobiles Austin has used to crash the party. The beer truck is the most famous of all the vehicles Steve Austin has used to assist his hell-raising.
The incident happened on the go-home show for WrestleMania XV and the first-ever WrestleMania meeting between Stone Cold and The Rock. Vince and Shane McMahon were gloating in the ring alongside The Rock, pontificating about how the WWE Champion would retain his title, before the glass broke and Stone Cold emerged. Austin made his way to the ring in a beer truck before dousing everyone in the ring in his favorite alcoholic beverage. It's still used in WWE montages to this day.
3 The 3:16 Promo
Stone Cold's Career Truly Begins
As the legend goes, Triple H was due to win King Of The Ring '96 before being punished for The Kliq's "curtain call" incident at Madison Square Garden. Steve Austin would benefit from that decision as the replacement winner for KOTR, but there's even more to that being one of the biggest nights of Austin's career. Following his win over his opponent, Austin would use Jake 'The Snake' Roberts' new-found faith against him and cut one of the most famous promos in wrestling history.
In a post-match interview with Michael Hayes, then playing the character Doc Hendrix, Austin begins the promo by taunting Jake Roberts and telling him his psalms and prayers didn't get him anywhere, before delivering the famous "Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass". According to Austin, he came up with the idea, inspired by the famous John 3:16 verse regularly used by Christians to describe the overall point of the religion., on the fly, even if mocking the faith was still considered taboo then. On the next Raw, almost everyone in the crowd had a "Austin 3:16" sign, and so the Attitude Era, and Stone Cold's legendary run, were born.
WWE acknowledges that the Austin 3:16 t-shirt has sold over ten million units.
2 Fighting Booker T In A Supermarket
Clean Up on Aisle 5!
Wrestling is usually best when kept inside the confines of the ring but occasionally the real world makes for some incredible pro wrestling television. After The Alliance had been defeated by Team WWE at Survivor Series 2001, Booker T was left alone on the WWE roster and was being hunted by Stone Cold Steve Austin. Austin would stalk Booker T wherever he went to gain revenge for costing him the WWE Championship in his match with Chris Jericho at Vengeance 2001.
On the December 13th episode of SmackDown, Booker T would flee the arena and find refuge in a local supermarket in his latest attempt to give The Rattlesnake the slip. What would ensue is one of the best comedic bits of WWE TV of all time. Booker T would suffer many supermarket themed punishments, including being hit with milk and flour and being rung up at the cash . It helped the world fall further in love with Booker T and showcased Steve's willingness to have fun with his ass-kicking. Everybody wins.
1 Brawling With Mike Tyson
Stone Cold Fights One of the Biggest Names in Sports
In the 90s, Iron Mike Tyson was one of pop culture's biggest stars. Widely regarded as one of the most exciting boxers of all time, Tyson was a media magnet who brought global attention to his every move. This was amplified when, less than a year after his controversial ear-biting incident with Evander Holyfield, Vince McMahon announced that "the baddest man on the planet" would be a special enforcer at WrestleMania XIV in the main event between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels.
Due to the anti-establishment nature of his character across 1996 and 97, Steve Austin was the perfect person to confront Tyson. Iron Mike was an outsider coming into Stone Cold's world and he had to be told that that wasn't going to fly. Jim Ross's classic call of just shouting "Tyson and Austin!" over and again came as Stone Cold attacked Tyson. The fallout legitimized Stone Cold beyond the realms of pro wrestling, solidifying him as one of the biggest stars in WWE history.
