Stone Cold Steve Austin

Background:

A pro wrestler since the late 1980s, Steve Austin

, nicknamed Stone Cold, Austin 3:16, The Texas Rattlesnake, “Stunning” Steve Austin, The Ringmaster, The Extreme Superstar, The Stevester, and The Bionic Redneck, became recognized in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) when he conquered the WCW Tag-Team ranks with the late Brian Pillman, with whom he was known as “The Hollywood Blonds.” He entered Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in late 1995 before emerging in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; later became World Wrestling Entertainment, WWE) where he defeated Jake “The Snake” Roberts in the final round of the 1996 WWF King of The Ring Tournament, during which time he coined the motto “AUSTIN 3:16.” He also gained significant mainstream popularity in the WWF for his long-running feud with the infamous owner of the WWF, Vince McMahon.

A six-time WWF/E Champion, the 1996 King of the Ring, winner of the 1997, 1998 and 2001 Royal Rumbles, and the only man in WWE history to win the Royal Rumble three times, Austin will be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame on April 4, 2009.

The 6′ 2″ wrestling legend, who retired as a regular in-ring performer in 2003, began pursuing a career in acting. He has played a recurring role on the CBS police procedural drama series “Nash Bridges” and starred in the films “The Longest Yard” (2005) and “The Condemned” (2007).
Steven James

Childhood and Family:

The second oldest of four brothers and one sister, Steven James Anderson, who would later be famous as Steve Austin, was born on December 18, 1964, in Austin, Texas. After his parents’ divorce, the family moved to Victoria, Texas, and his mother married a man named Ken Williams. Steven and his siblings later took their stepfather’s last name.

Because there was already a wrestler named Steve Williams, Austin took his name from Lee Majors’ character from “The Six Million Dollar Man” (1974) and became Steve Austin. But, in a 2004 interview he revealed that he had in fact taken the name Austin from his literary hero Jane Austen.

Austin was a member of the school band while in middle school. In high school, he played football and baseball and ran track. He was a member of the National Honor Society and received an American football scholarship to Wharton Junior College and a full football scholarship to The University of North Texas. In 1987, just a few credits shy of a degree in physical education, Austin dropped out of college.

On November 24, 1990, Austin married Kathryn Burrhus, but the marriage was annulled on August 7, 1992. He then married Jeannie Clark on December 18, 1992, but the marriage ended in divorced on May 10, 1999. Austin has two children with Jeannie, Stephanie and Cassidy, and adopted the child Jeannie had from her first marriage. Jeannie was once married to British wrestler Gentleman Chris Adams, who trained Austin in the sport. Jeannie served as Austin’s valet for several years. She was known as Lady Blossom and wrestled Adams’ second wife Toni, in mixed tag-team matches with Austin as her partner while Adams teamed with his wife.

From September 13, 2000, to February 5, 2005, Austin was married to actress Debra McMichael (born March 2, 1960), whom he met when she was serving as the valet for Jeff Jarrett in WWF.

In his spare time, Austin, an avid outdoorsman, enjoys hunting on his Texas ranch, fishing, camping, four-wheeling, and spending time with his three dogs. He also plays a variety of sports and collects antiques. His best friends are The Rock, Mick Foley, and Bill Goldberg.
Austin 3:16

Career:

Joining “Gentleman” Chris Adams’ professional wrestling school after dropping out of college, Steve Austin defeated Frogman LeBlanc during his first match in World Class Championship Wrestling on May 11, 1989. He then wrestled in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) under the name “Stunning” Steve Austin and made his World Championship Wrestling (WCW) debut in 1991.

Austin formed a tag team with “Flyin” Brian Pillman and they were known as the “Hollywood Blonds.” In 1993, they won the World Tag Team Championship and Austin also won the WCW United States Championship.

Austin was fired by WCW in 1995 after tearing his tricep in 1994 while wrestling in Japan. He then joined Extreme Championship Wrestling before signing with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in late 1995.

He rose to superstardom between 1996-1999 for popular catch phrases and his long-running feud with the infamous owner of the WWF, Vince McMahon. He also won the Royal Rumble twice (he would win again in 2001), the WWF Intercontinental Championship twice, and the WWF Tag Team Championship four times. He is also widely considered one of WWF’s most popular wrestlers and made an estimated $1.2 million, plus a large sum in merchandising royalties, in 1998 alone. He appeared in WWF’s Super Bowl Commercial (1999), a TV commercial for 1-800-COLLECT (1999), and a print ad for “Got Milk?” (1999).

At Backlash 2000, Austin helped The Rock reclaim the WWF Championship and competed in his second Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon 2000. After hitting The Rock with a chair to win his fifth time WWF Championship, Austin became a tag team member with Triple H called “The Two-Man Power Trip.” They held the titles at the WWF Tag Team Titles at Backlash 2001 and lost the Tag Team Title against Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit. Austin was also paired with Kurt Angle.

On March 18, 2002, Austin walked out on the WWF because of “creative problems” and did not show up for the scheduled Raw taping in Montreal. He did the same thing on June 10, 2002, both of which were done without notice and without WWF approval. He eventually retired as a regular in-ring performer in 2003 due to neck, ankle and knee injuries sustained throughout his career.

Following the end of his in-ring wrestling career, Austin began pursuing a career in acting. He played the recurring role of roughhousing detective Jake Cage (1999-2000) on the CBS drama series “Nash Bridges” and later appeared as Guard Dunham in Peter Segal’s sports film “The Longest Yard” (2005; starring Adam Sandler), a remake of the 1974 film of the same name. His performance in the film earned him a Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice Movie Rumble, which he shared with Bob Sapp.

In 2007, Austin starred in Scott Wiper’s action flim

“The Condemned,” alongside Vinnie Jones, Madeleine West, and Rick Hoffman. In the film that was produced by WWE Films and released by Lionsgate, he portrayed Jack Conrad, a dangerous convict awaiting the death penalty in a corrupt Central American prison who is offered the opportunity to compete in a deadly game.

Now a wrestling legend, Austin will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during the WrestleMania XXV weekend in April 2008.
Awards:

* World Championship Wrestling United States Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
* World Championship Wrestling World Tag Team Championship (1 time; with Brian Pillman)
* World Championship Wrestling World Television Championship (2 times)
* World Wrestling Federation Million Dollar Championship (1 time)
* World Wrestling Federation Championship (6 times)
* World Wrestling Federation Intercontinental Championship (2 times)
* World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Championship (4 times)
* World Wrestling Federation Royal Rumble: 2001
* Pro Wrestling Illustrated Wrestler of the Year: 2001
* Pro Wrestling Illustrated Most Hated Wrestler of the Year: 2001
* Pro Wrestling Illustrated Wrestler of the Year: 1999
* Pro Wrestling Illustrated Feud of the Year (vs. Vince McMahon): 1999
* Pro Wrestling Illustrated Feud of the Year (vs. Vince McMahon): 1998
* Pro Wrestling Illustrated Most Popular Wrestler of the Year: 1998
* Pro Wrestling Illustrated Wrestler of the Year: 1998
* World Wrestling Federation Royal Rumble: 1998
* Pro Wrestling Illustrated Match of the Year: 1997
* World Wrestling Federation Royal Rumble: 1997
* World Wrestling Federation King of the Ring: 1996
* Pro Wrestling Illustrated Rookie of the Year: 1990