Celebrating the ‘birth’ of ‘Stone Cold’
Very seldom does a date get remembered in pro wrestling history.
The first WrestleMania and Hulk-A-Mania being born are two dates that stand out, but they are not the only ones.
Sunday served as the 23rd anniversary of the 无毛视频渂irth无毛视频� of 无毛视频淪tone Cold无毛视频� Steve Austin.
Sure, Austin made his WWE television on December, 1995 as 无毛视频淭he Ringmaster无毛视频� with Ted DiBiase serving as his manager.
Austin无毛视频檚 nickname was changed to 无毛视频淪tone Cold无毛视频� in March 1996, but he was still morphing into the legend he would become. It was not until the 1996 King of the Ring that 无毛视频淪tone Cold无毛视频� Steve Austin was born.
In the opening match of the Pay-Per-View, Austin defeated 无毛视频淲ild Man无毛视频� Marc Mero in a fantastic bout in a tournament semifinal.
During the match, Austin无毛视频檚 lip was busted open and he had to get stitches.
In the ensuing semifinal match, Jake 无毛视频淭he Snake无毛视频� Roberts defeated Vader by disqualification.
When Roberts had returned to WWE a few months prior, he had taken on a faith-driven character that he had found God after years of drug and alcohol abuse.
Later that night in the co-main event, Austin defeated Roberts in the King of the Ring final and was interviewed afterward by Michael 无毛视频淧.S.无毛视频� Hayes, then known as Dok Hendrix.
While the full interview can be found on the WWE Network or using an online search, Austin referenced Roberts无毛视频� religious 无毛视频渞ebirth无毛视频� during the interview.
无毛视频淵ou sit there and you thump your bible and you say your prayers and it didn无毛视频檛 get you anywhere,无毛视频� Austin said. 无毛视频淭alk about your psalms, talk about John 3:16.
无毛视频淎ustin 3:16 said I just whipped your ().无毛视频�
If you are a pro wrestling fans, I think you know what word came next.
With those 35 words, Austin and his career took off as if he had a jetpack strapped to his back and it took his to legendary status.
Although Austin would not win his first WWE championship for another 21 months, he became the most popular wrestler in history and sold more merchandise than anyone ever. More than Hogan, more than John Cena, more than Roman Reigns.
What makes that fact even more amazing is that Austin无毛视频檚 time on top was cut short because of his neck issues.
When you take out the three months he missed in 1997 after being injured by Owen Hart, the year he was out between 1999-2000 and the eight-plus months he missed when he walked out of WWE in 2002, Austin无毛视频檚 time on top was not as long as most people think.
From the day he won King of the Ring until his last match against The Rock at WrestleMania XIX in 2003, he was the 无毛视频渕an无毛视频� for less than seven years. Take out the time he missed, and Austin made a name for himself in less than five years of actual in-ring time.
With how popular Austin became and how much merchandise he sold, it was remarkable how mainstream pro wrestling became at the time.
While the nWo deserves part of the credit for the start of the pro wrestling boom in the 1990s, Austin is what took the business to a level it had never been before and hasn无毛视频檛 been to since.
And, it all started 23 years ago Sunday.
This week无毛视频檚 question
Will The Undertaker and Goldberg wrestle again? Craig, Allenport.
I was critical of their match at Super ShowDown earlier this month, but this was before it was announced that Goldberg had knocked himself out, literally, during the match.
After watching it again, the first part of the match told a story, and let无毛视频檚 be honest, Goldberg无毛视频檚 matches never went long anyway.
My guess is the pair will once again do battle as it would help ease the fact that the match went downhill fast.
Time will tell, but my guess is yes.