Image via Complex Original
1.
It may not seem possible, but today “Stone Cold” Steve Austin turns an astounding 50 years old. “The Texas Rattlesnake” is, perhaps, one of the most important figures in the history of professional wrestling; while he wasn’t necessarily the most gifted technical competitor, his beer-swilling, middle finger-raising persona ushered in WWE’s “Attitude Era” and led to an explosion in wrestling's popularity.
Stone Cold himself became a cultural icon, a figure synonymous with anyone who had strong anti-authority tendencies. He gave his boss a Stone Cold Stunner with alarming frequency, poured beer all over people, and just generally did whatever the hell he wanted.
Because of his popularity, a lot of facts about Stone Cold the actual person became pretty widely known. However, there are plenty of things that were either overlooked or underreported. Fortunately we’re here to bring them to you, so sit back, crack open an ice cold Steveweiser, and enjoy 35 Things You Didn’t Know About “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
2.He came up with “Austin 3:16” spontaneously to mock Jake Roberts' religious gimmick.
On June 23, 1996, Austin was just getting used to his new “Stone Cold” gimmick, when he defeated Jake Roberts at King of the Ring, thanks to a Stunner (which was part of that new gimmick). He then mocked Roberts (who was portraying a born-again Christian) in a promo that nobody realized would change the course of the WWE saying:
“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!”
The line was entirely improvised, with Austin later saying to living fossil Larry King “Had no one told me that he had cut that promo, Austin 3:16 would have never been born.”
3.He's a wine connoisseur.
You may know him for pounding more brews than Barney Gumble but Stone Cold's also more refined and sophisticated, frequently choosing wine as he's gotten older. According to Austin: “Back in the day I was really into the big cabs from Napa Valley, and my wife's a big fan of some of the Italian wines, but now I'm more of a pinot noir guy–something a little bit on the lighter side. So yeah, I'm a bit of a wine connoisseur.” Look at that pic above and then click here. He's come a long way.
4.He made his feature film debut in 'The Longest Yard' remake.
Stone Cold got his big acting break (if you could call it that, which you shouldn't) playing Guard Dunham in the 2005 remake of The Longest Yard. The movie generated a 31% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of the greatest Adam Sandler comedies of all-time.
5.He played defensive end for the University of North Texas.
When Stone Cold went off to college (as lowly Steven Anderson) he enrolled in Wharton County Junior College on a football scholarship. From there he transferred to North Texas State (now simply North Texas) where he played defensive end, which would've made him the most famous DE in school history...except for the fact that Mean Joe Greene also went there.
6.He received $40 for his professional debut.
Austin made his professional debut in 1989 as a part of World Class Championship Wrestling against Frogman LeBlanc. (For the record, the above video isn't his first match but a rematch of a young Steve Austin Williams facing LeBlanc). For his services Austin received two Andrew Jacksons. Oh, and also he had no idea that wrestling was staged. At the time that was still (kind of) a secret and his wrestling coach Chris Adams kept that would-be-nice-to-know information from him, whilst simply teaching him the technical side of the sport (i.e. the moves).
9.He refused to be in a feud with Jeff Jarrett.
As the “Attitude Era” exploded in the late '90s, the WWE utilized Austin's popularity in nearly every manner possible. Because Steve was such a huge draw, he had the brass by the nuts when it came to storylines, feuds, etc. That's life when you're hot shit.
In 1999 Austin apparently swung his dick and refused to feud with Jeff Jarrett, a mid-card heel who happened to be managed by Austin's real-life girlfriend Debra Marshall. It's not 100% clear why Austin refused a feud with Jarrett, of all people, which has led to speculation from fans ranging from Jarrett insulting Austin's merchandise, to a real-life beef Austin had with Jarrett's dad before his WWE days.
Years later when he was asked about it, Jarrett said: “My first night out on TV, I made a promo by design and I said, ‘I’m going to say in this day in age, Austin 3:16 is blasphemous.’ Did the promo, Austin went ballistic, got nuts, got right in my face.”
Looks like Debra wasn't the only diva in the relationship.
10.The WWE allegedly covered up allegations that he was a “wife beater.”
Long before people were freaking out on Twitter over punishments they found too lenient (see: Ray Rice) Stone Cold was being (allegedly) protected by the WWE for fear of their biggest and most bankable star being exposed as a wife abuser. The disputed incident occurred on June 15, 2002, when former WWE manager and women's champ Debra (who was Austin's real life wife) was found by police bruised in their San Antonio home. Austin was given 80 hours of community service and a $1,000 fine. He was also prohibited from drinking alcohol for a year, which the WWE brought up on-air (but never mentioned why).
Afterward Debra saw her WWE career abruptly end and didn't publicly bring up the incident until Chris Benoit totally snapped and murdered his family. She said that the WWE placed a gag order on her to prevent her from speaking up about the domestic assault and claimed that Austin was a steroid user who was having a bout of “roid rage” at the time. The WWE never addressed the situation and Stone Cold retired not long afterward, keeping a low profile for the rest of 2002.
11.He played an instrument in the high school band.
It's unclear what instrument he played, but if it was the flute that may or may not explain why he overcompensated for his masculinity later in life.
12.He started his WWE career as “The Ringmaster.”
Everybody's got to start somewhere. Triple H was once The Connecticut Blueblood. The Rock was Rocky Maivia. And Stone Cold entered the WWE as The Ringmaster (managed by Ted DiBiase). Fortunately for the future of wrestling he came to the conclusion that the persona was weak and axed it for something less completely fuckin' stupid. Afterwards The Ringmaster vanished into the annals of WWE history, becoming a future trivia fact/bit on a list of things you might not know, complete with pictures of Austin sporting follicles in the last throes of their reign on his dome.
13.His nickname “Stone Cold” came from a cup of tea.
After dropping The Ringmaster idea, Austin was seeking a persona that would give him a fresh start (more on that in a second). When he finally came up with the idea of an authority-bucking, beer-drinking rebel he still lacked the ring name that'd propel his new image into the forefront of the organization. After pitching it to WWE's Creative Services, he was faxed pages and pages of names that he (rightly) thought were absolutely fucking horrendous.
Some of those names included: "Ivan the Terrible," "Ice Dagger" and a name that would've completely bankrupted the entire company upon its first utterance, "Fang McFrost." By some stroke of luck his wife at the time, Jeannie, was an avid tea drinker and made him some tea saying not to worry about the new name and to “drink his tea before it [got] stone cold.” She then paused and said excitedly “That's your new name, Stone Cold Steve Austin.”
No word on whether or not she ever got a dime for her contribution.
14.He dropped out of college because “math kicked [his] ass.”
Just a few credit hours shy of an undergraduate degree, Austin dropped out due to math and accounting classes (the numbers "3" and "16" being the only ones that would matter for the rest of his life). He then took up the cushy, carefree life of a freight dock worker before deciding to pursue wrestling school. Five months later he was deemed suitable for the ring.
15.WCW fired him because they “didn't think he was a marketable wrestler.”
From 1991-1995 (back in the days when he kind of looked like Michael Bay) Steve Austin was actually a member of WCW. The beginning of the end of Austin's reign in the now-defunct league began when he tore his triceps on a tour through Japan in 1995. Afterward WCW's Vice President Eric Bischoff fired Austin saying that he was difficult to work with and wasn't “a marketable wrestler.”
That type of reasoning is pretty much why there's no longer a WCW.
16.He was in college to become a gym teacher.
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As we mentioned earlier, Steve Austin was just a few credits shy of graduating. His major was in Physical Education. But not wanting to give up so early in life, he ditched school to pursue wrestling. Long term it's impossible to argue that it didn't pay off, but you (as in you, the guy reading this) still probably shouldn't drop out of school to forge a similar path.
17.He's half-brothers with actor Jamie McBride
Upon seeing the picture it's hard not to note the immediate resemblance (think Stone Cold if he just totally gave up on lifting). In addition to being a bit-actor, McBride is also a real life cop (hey, not everyone in Hollywood makes a million bucks). But on the silver screen he's shown off his range by playing a cop (Collateral), an FBI agent (Transformers), and a cop (Desperate Housewives).
18.Stone Cold got the idea for his gimmick after watching a documentary about a serial killer.
Does anyone reading this remember serial killer and former mafia hitman the “Iceman” Richard Kuklinski? You may also know him as the most boring person to ever (claim to) kill 100+ people. Seriously, watching him drone monotonically during his HBO documentary would make you envy those he killed. Well, turns out Austin was watching that same documentary when he came up with the idea for a heel persona that “didn't give a damn about anybody.” As Austin himself said “I could, as perverse as it sounds, relate to this animal.” Had it not been for fellow wrestler Iceman King Parsons, Stone Cold probably would've simply stolen Kuklinski's nickname verbatim. We're not sure if that would've had the same ring to it, but at least he steered clear of "Fang McFrost."
19.He has been married four different times.
Maybe it's the cursing or constant beer drinking, but it seems like Stone Cold has a hard time keeping a woman around.
20.He enjoys collecting antiques.
What, you don't think he fits in with the typical senior citizen and housewife crowd?
21.His “push” was supposed to go to Triple H, but HHH defied Vince McMahon and got in trouble.
It's safe to say they both ended up doing just fine.
22.Rather than lose to a young Brock Lesnar in 2002, he just got on a plane and went home.
He didn't want to give up his turf, but eventually ended up relenting and doing what Vince McMahon wanted.
23.His first job after college was on a loading dock.
While this is not confirmed, it was probably loading beer trucks.
24.His first acting role was as Detective Jake Cage on an episode of “Nash Bridges.”
If you have an hour to kill, just watch every single one of these clips. They are incredible.
25.His best friends from wrestling are The Rock, Mick Foley, and Bill Goldberg.
That is what you would call a power group.
26.He legally changed his name from “Steve Williams” to “Steve Austin” in 2007.
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Probably because nobody in the history of the world ever called him “Steve Williams.” Why fight it?
27.He hosted a show on Country Music Television this past summer called “Steve Austin's Broken Skull Challenge”
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No word on a second season yet, but we can dream.
28.In the beginning of his career, he made $20 a match and was living out of his car.
Just goes to show you, kids, nobody starts at the top.
29.In 1998 alone, he made roughly $1.2 million in salary.
Stone Cold was the face of WWF/E. His ongoing feud with Vince McMahon was a storyline that only endeared the Rattlesnake to a wider audience of wrestling fans.
30.He currently hosts his own podcast, The Steve Austin Show.
Just because Steve Austin left the ring, doesn’t mean he gave up the fight. You can listen to the former champ span a variety of topics, right from the comfort of his Texas Ranch. Most recently Austin had Vince McMahon on the show to discuss the future of the sport and what happened between the WWE and CM Punk.
31.Even he thinks Tony Romo is a choke artist.
How fitting that Stone Cold’s birthday is in December, the same month that coincides with Tony Romo and the Cowboys’ annual collapse. Austin actually said he thinks Romo is a good quarterback, he just thinks he “shits the bed” at the most inopportune times. Spot on, Steve.
32.He hated WWE writers.
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Because what professional athlete loves the media force that constantly covers them?
33.He went off in defense of gay marriage.
What, you thought Steve Austin was some right-wing, staunch conservative who could never believe in gay marriage? Don’t be so quick to judge, friends. Austin has often spoke negatively of religion, and he believes if two people love each other, they should be allowed to marry.
34.His entrance song was inspired by “Bulls On Parade” by Rage Against the Machine.
Just another reason to love Rage Against the Machine. Steve Austin approached WWE composer Jim Johnston with the Rage track, and eight hours later, magic was born.
35.He did a classic beer smash on ESPN College Gameday.
Earlier this CFB season, Stone Cold joined Corso and the crew to knock a few back and revel in the Gameday festivities.
36.He produced a country album.
You can purchase Stone Cold Country, brand new in the wrapper, for a real steal at $1.95.