The Million Dollar Corporation (1995–1996)[edit]
Main article:
The Million Dollar Corporation
Austin joined the WWF after
Kevin Nash and
Jim Ross helped convince WWF's owner
Vince McMahon to hire him in late 1995.
[3][34] He debuted on January 8, 1996 episode of
Raw and was awarded the
Million Dollar Championship[37] by his manager,
Ted DiBiase.
[3] Austin had his debut match on January 15 episode of
Raw where he defeated
Matt Hardy.
[38] Initially, Austin wrestled as The Ringmaster, but his full name was acknowledged by announcers, although it was not part of his official billing.[
citation needed] While making his first
pay-per-view appearance at the
Royal Rumble on January 21, he was scripted to be among the final four wrestlers in the ring, which could have given him an early
push; however, Austin failed to hang onto the ropes after
Fatu clotheslined him over and slipped out of the ring early.
[39] Austin wrestled
Savio Vega on March 11 episode of
Raw to a double count-out,
[40] before defeating Vega in his first
WrestleMania appearance at
WrestleMania XII on March 31.
[41] At
In Your House: Good Friends, Better Enemies on April 28, Austin lost to Vega in a rematch. At
In Your House: Beware of Dog on 26 May, Austin lost a Caribbean strap match to Vega. Under the pre-match stipulations, DiBiase was forced to leave the WWF, allowing Austin to forge his path.
[42] Austin later told announcer
Dok Hendrix that he had purposely lost the match to rid himself of DiBiase, who in reality was headed for rival promotion WCW.[
citation needed]
Austin soon thought the Ringmaster idea was weak and so asked for a change.
[31] The WWF gave him a list with names inspired by hitman
"The Iceman" Richard Kuklinski, all of which he hated; these included Otto Von Ruthless, Ice Dagger, Fang McFrost, and Chilli McFreeze.
[31] Having battled thinning hair for over a year, Austin
shaved his head. He later elaborated, "After watching the
Pulp Fiction movie with
Bruce Willis, that's the haircut that inspired me. [...] I was travelling on the road with
Dustin Rhodes and before I went to the show, I said fuck it. I went into the bathroom with a razor blade and shaved all my hair off. [...] Then I grew the
goatee and everything came full circle."
[43] On March 11, "The Ringmaster" moniker (now merely a prefix to his ring name) would be discarded in favor of his most famous nickname, "Stone Cold". The name itself was inspired by a cold cup of tea,
[44] while his persona was inspired by Kuklinski.
[45]
Rise to superstardom and Austin 3:16 (1996–1997)[edit]
Austin's rise to stardom began at the
1996 King of the Ring, where he won the
King of the Ring tournament by defeating
Jake "The Snake" Roberts in the finals.
[3][42] At the time, Roberts was portraying a
born-again Christian, so after the match, Austin cut a famous
promo during his coronation, mocking Roberts' religious faith and proclaiming the now-iconic catchphrase "Austin 3:16" as derision of the Bible verse
John 3:16. Austin's win and rise to stardom proved to be an untelegraphed stroke of luck.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley was originally scheduled to win the tournament, but plans changed as he was punished for taking part in the infamous
Curtain Call incident that had transpired earlier that year.
[47] "Austin 3:16" ultimately became one of the most popular catchphrases in wrestling history
[3] and subsequently the slogan became one of the best-selling T-shirts in WWE merchandise history.
[48]
Throughout August and September, Austin spoke about
Bret Hart, challenging him constantly and taunting him relentlessly, before Hart finally returned on October 21 episode of
Raw and challenged Austin to a match at
Survivor Series, which he accepted.
[49] During an episode of
Superstars taped on October 27, old friend
Brian Pillman conducted an interview with Austin regarding his upcoming match. After Pillman inadvertently complimented Hart, Austin grew angry and attacked him. He then proceeded to wedge Pillman's ankle in between a steel chair and stomp on it, in storyline breaking his ankle.
[50] This would lead to the infamous "
Pillman's got a gun" segment on November 4 episode of
Raw, where-in Austin broke into Pillman's home while he was nursing his injury, in an attempt to confront him. However, Pillman had been anticipating him and was armed with a pistol. Just as Austin broke in, Pillman aimed his gun at him ready to fire, before the episode cut to commercial break. The segment was highly controversial for its perceived violence and rare use of profanity in WWF programming, with Pillman using the expletives
bitch and
fuck. The segment is also credited for paving the way for WWF's shift to more mature and adult programming.
[51]
At Survivor Series, in a match to determine the number-one contender to the
WWF World Heavyweight Championship, Austin lost to Hart when Hart used the turnbuckle to push himself backward while locked in the Million Dollar Dream and pinned Austin.
[42] During the
1997 Royal Rumble match, Austin was originally eliminated by Hart, but the officials did not see it, and he snuck back into the ring and eliminated Hart by throwing him over the ropes, winning the match himself.
[52] This led to the first-ever
pay-per-view main event of Austin's WWF career at
In Your House 13: Final Four where he competed in a
Four corners elimination match against Hart,
The Undertaker and
Vader for the vacant
WWF World Heavyweight Championship after previous champion
Shawn Michaels relinquished the belt due a knee injury. Austin was eliminated early from the four-way match at the event after injuring his knee, and Hart would eventually go on to win the match and the championship.
[53] However, Hart lost the title the next night on
Raw Is War to
Sycho Sid due to Austin's interference, continuing their feud.
[54] At
WrestleMania 13, Hart defeated Austin in a highly acclaimed
submission match with
Ken Shamrock as a special referee. During the match, Austin had been cut and was bleeding profusely from his face, but he still refused to tap out when Hart locked in his Sharpshooter. Austin finally passed out from blood loss, still held in the Sharpshooter, and lost the match. After the bell, Hart continued to hold the Sharpshooter on Austin, who despite his wounds refused any assistance back to the locker room, thus turning Hart
heel and Austin
babyface in a rare
double-turn.
[42] However, Austin portrayed an anti-hero instead of a traditional babyface. Austin eventually got his revenge on Hart in the main event of
In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker, defeating him a match to determine the number one contender to The Undertaker's WWF World Heavyweight Championship.
[55] Austin won when Hart was disqualified due to assistance from
The British Bulldog, earning him a title match against The Undertaker at
In Your House 15: A Cold Day In Hell. Austin faced Hart once again in a street fight on April 21 episode of
Raw Is War, injuring his opponent's leg with a steel chair during the bout. The match was ruled a
no contest, but Austin proceeded to beat Hart while he was on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance. At A Cold Day In Hell, Austin had the Undertaker down with the Stone Cold Stunner, but distracted by timely interference on the part of Brian Pillman, Undertaker then managed to hit Austin with a
Tombstone Piledriver and achieved the victory.
[56]
On 26 May episode of
Raw Is War, Austin partnered with the returning Shawn Michaels, as they both had a mutual enemy in the Harts. They defeated
Owen Hart and The British Bulldog for the
WWF Tag Team Championship, his first title in the WWF.
[57] Despite being champions, the two constantly argued and ultimately faced each other in a match at
King of the Ring, which ended in a double disqualification after both men attacked the referee.
[58] On July 14, Michaels was forced to vacate his title due to an injury.
[59] That same night a tournament was held to determine who would face Austin and a partner of his choosing for the vacant championship. Hart and Bulldog won the tournament, with Austin refusing to pick a partner and choosing to wrestle the former tag team champions by himself.
[60] Late in the match, a debuting
Dude Love came out to offer assistance. Austin accepted and the duo won the match and the titles, making Austin a two-time tag team champion.
[61] Austin continued his feud with the Hart family, becoming embroiled in a heated rivalry with Owen Hart, who pinned a distracted Austin and secured victory for
The Hart Foundation in the ten-man Tag Team match main event of
In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede, where Austin was partnered with Ken Shamrock,
Goldust and
The Legion of Doom.
[62]
At
SummerSlam, Austin and Owen Hart faced each other with Hart's
Intercontinental Championship on the line and an added stipulation that Austin would have to kiss Hart's buttocks if he lost.
[60] During the match, Hart
botched a Tombstone Piledriver and dropped Austin on his head, resulting in a legitimate broken neck and temporary paralysis for Austin. As Hart stalled by baiting the audience, Austin managed to crawl over and pin Hart using a
roll-up to win the Intercontinental Championship. A visibly injured and dazed Austin was helped to his feet by several referees and led to the back.
[63] Due to the severity of his neck injury, Austin was forced to relinquish both the Intercontinental Championship and the Tag Team Championships. On September 22, on the first-ever
Raw to be broadcast from
Madison Square Garden, Hart was giving a speech to the fans in attendance. During his speech, Austin entered the ring with five NYPD officers following and assaulted Hart. As it looked like Austin was going to fight the officers, Vince McMahon ran into the ring to lecture Austin about why he could not be physically able to compete. After telling McMahon that he respects the fact that he and the WWF cared, Austin attacked McMahon with a Stone Cold Stunner, leaving McMahon in shock. Austin was then arrested as part of the storyline. Austin was sidelined until
Survivor Series. However, in the interim he made several appearances, one being at
Badd Blood where he was involved in the finish of a match between Hart and
Faarooq, which was the final match in a tournament for the Intercontinental Championship. Austin hit Faarooq with the Intercontinental Championship belt while the referee's back was turned, causing Hart to win the match.
[60] Austin's motive was to keep the Intercontinental Championship around Hart's waist, as demonstrated when he interfered in Hart's matches on the October 20 and 27 episodes of
Raw Is War.
[60] Austin regained the Intercontinental Championship from Hart at
Survivor Series.
[64]
With Hart out of the way, Austin set his sights on
The Rock, who stole Austin's title belt on November 17 episode of
Raw Is War after Austin suffered a beating by his
Nation of Domination stablemates.
[60] In the weeks to come, The Rock began declaring himself to be "the best damn Intercontinental Champion ever".
[60] The Rock kept possession of the title belt until
D-Generation X: In Your House on December 7, when Austin defeated him to retain the title and regain possession of the title belt.
[65] As Austin had used his pickup truck to aid in his victory, McMahon ordered him to defend the title against The Rock the next night on
Raw Is War.
[60] In an act of defiance, Austin forfeited the title to The Rock, before tossing the title belt into the
Piscataqua River.
[1]
Feud with Vince McMahon (1997–1999)[edit]
After Bret Hart's controversial departure for WCW, Austin and Shawn Michaels were the top stars in the company. Austin won the
1998 Royal Rumble, lastly eliminating The Rock.
[66] The next night on
Raw Is War, Austin interrupted Vince McMahon in his presentation of
Mike Tyson, who was making a special appearance, over the objection of McMahon referring to Tyson as "the baddest man on the planet". Austin flipped off Tyson, which led to Tyson shoving Austin much to McMahon's embarrassment, who began to publicly disapprove of the prospect of Austin as his champion. Tyson was later announced as "the special enforcer" for the main event at
WrestleMania XIV, although he appeared to be aligning himself with WWF World Heavyweight Champion Shawn Michaels' stable
D-Generation X.
[3][67] This led to Austin's WWF World Heavyweight Championship match against Michaels at WrestleMania XIV, which he won with help from Tyson, who turned on DX by making the deciding three-count against Michaels and later hit him with his knock-out punch. This was Michaels' last match until 2002 as he had suffered two legitimate herniated discs and another completely crushed at the hands of The Undertaker in a casket match at the
Royal Rumble.
[3] With Michaels' absence and winning the WWF World Heavyweight title, the Austin Era was ushered in.
[3]
On the
Raw Is War after Austin won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, Vince McMahon presented him with a new title belt and warned Austin that he did not approve of his rebellious nature and that things could be done "the easy way or the hard way". Austin gave his answer in the form of another Stone Cold Stunner. This led to a segment a week later where Austin had pledged a few days prior in a meeting to "play ball" with McMahon, appearing in a suit and tie, with a beaming McMahon taking a picture of himself and his new corporate champion. The entire thing was a ruse by Austin who in the course of the segment proceeded to tear off the suit, tell McMahon it was the last time he would see Austin dressed like this,
punch his boss in the "
corporate grapefruits" and take another picture of the two of them while McMahon was doubled over in pain. In April 1998, it appeared Austin and McMahon were going to battle out their differences in an actual match, but the match was declared a no-contest when Dude Love made an appearance. This led to a match between Dude Love and Austin at
Unforgiven: In Your House, where Austin hit McMahon with a steel chair, then the following month they had a rematch at
Over the Edge: In Your House for the WWF Championship. Austin managed to retain the title despite McMahon acting as the referee and his "Corporate Stooges" (
Gerald Brisco and
Pat Patterson) as timekeeper and ring announcer, respectively. McMahon continued to do everything he could to ruin Austin and he finally scored a big victory for his side at
King of the Ring.
[3] Austin lost the WWF Championship to
Kane in a First Blood match after The Undertaker accidentally hit him with a steel chair while the ref was incapacitated, despite Austin having knocked Kane unconscious and thwarted an earlier intervention by Mankind.
[3]
Austin further angered McMahon by winning back the championship the next night on
Raw Is War.
[3] Austin also emerged victorious against The Undertaker at
SummerSlam. In response, McMahon set up a Triple Threat match at
Breakdown: In Your House, where The Undertaker and Kane pinned Austin at the same time. McMahon decided to vacate the WWF Championship
[3] and award it based on a match between The Undertaker and Kane, in which Austin was the guest referee on
Judgment Day: In Your House. Austin refused to count for either man and attacked both towards the end of the match. McMahon later fired him, although Austin got revenge by kidnapping McMahon and dragging him to the middle of the ring at "gunpoint", which ended up being a toy gun with a scroll that read "Bang! 3:16". During that segment, McMahon also learned that Stone Cold was later re-signed by his son,
Shane McMahon. In the semifinals of the
Survivor Series tournament to award the vacant WWF Championship, Austin lost to Mankind after Shane double-crossed Austin. The next night on
Raw Is War,
Judge Mills Lane ruled that The Rock had to defend his newly won WWF Championship against Austin that night, as stipulated in the new contract Austin had signed two weeks earlier with Shane. The Undertaker interfered and hit Austin with a shovel, earning Austin a disqualification victory. However, because the title would not change hands via disqualification, The Rock still kept the championship. At
Rock Bottom: In Your House, Austin defeated The Undertaker in a Buried Alive match after Kane performed a Tombstone Piledriver on The Undertaker into the grave. With this victory, Austin qualified for the
1999 Royal Rumble.[
citation needed]
Austin's next definitive chance to exact revenge on Mr. McMahon came during the 1999 Royal Rumble match. On
Raw Is War, McMahon drew Austin's entry number with the obvious intention of screwing him over. Austin drew entry number one, while McMahon drew number two thanks to WWF Commissioner Shawn Michaels. During the Royal Rumble match, McMahon slipped out of the ring and into the crowd as Austin chased him down. It turned out to be a trap as McMahon led Austin into the lobby restroom where he was ambushed by members of
The Corporation. Austin was injured and taken away in an ambulance. With Austin gone and not in the Rumble match, McMahon joined the announcers' table in calling the match. Later on, however, Austin returned in an ambulance and re-entered the Royal Rumble, delivering a Stone Cold Stunner to
Big Boss Man and eliminating him. With the assistance of The Corporation and a last-minute interference from The Rock, Austin was eliminated by McMahon himself, who won the 1999 Royal Rumble.
[3]
With McMahon turning down his number-one contender spot against The Rock, WWF Commissioner Michaels awarded Austin the title shot the next night on
Raw Is War. At
St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Stone Cold got a one-on-one match against McMahon in a
steel cage match, with the WWF Championship opportunity at
WrestleMania XV at stake.
[3] During the match,
Paul Wight made his debut, breaking through from under the ring and attacking Austin. Wight's attack propelled Austin into the side of the cage forcing the cage to give way and dropping Austin to the floor first, making him the victor.
[3] Austin defeated The Rock at WrestleMania XV to win his third WWF Championship.
[3] Austin faced The Rock in a rematch at
Backlash, in which Shane McMahon was the referee. During the match, Vince McMahon approached the ring, only to hand Austin back his Smoking Skull title belt and take Shane out of the proceedings. Austin won the match when another referee made the count. Austin would lose the title to The Undertaker at
Over the Edge. Due to events revolving around Vince McMahon,
Stephanie and
Linda McMahon made Austin the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company as part of the storyline. Vince and Shane McMahon challenged Austin to a handicap
ladder match at
King of the Ring with the CEO title on the line, which the duo of father and son won. The next night on
Raw Is War, Austin made it clear that while he was the CEO of the company he could have a title shot at any time and place to be determined by himself. Austin made the WWF Championship match that night on
Raw Is War and defeated The Undertaker to win his fourth WWF Championship. However, after he won it The Undertaker came and hit him with the title belt, leading to a First Blood match between the two at
Fully Loaded, where Mr. McMahon stipulated that if Austin lost he would never be able to wrestle for the WWF Championship again, and if Austin won he would never see McMahon again. Austin won after interference from X-Pac, hitting The Undertaker with a TV camera and gave McMahon a goodbye Stone Cold Stunner.[
citation needed]
Rivalry with Triple H (1999)[edit]
Austin held on to the WWF Championship until
SummerSlam when he lost it to Mankind in a triple threat match also featuring
Triple H.
[3] Austin would get his rematch at
No Mercy against Triple H, but he lost after The Rock accidentally struck him with a sledgehammer shot meant for Triple H. When
Survivor Series rolled around, Triple H was still champion. Austin was booked into a Triple Threat match for the WWF Championship against Triple H and The Rock. However, at the event, Austin was run down by a car in the parking lot.
[3] Austin then underwent neck surgery by Dr.
Lloyd Youngblood, due to Austin's injury from the piledriver at
SummerSlam two years prior.
[68] He was away for a nine-month rehabilitation, with the car angle being used to
write him off television.
[3]
