Views from the Hawke’s Nest: The Legacy of ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin – Disc 2

The set transitions to Austin’s proper Stone Cold run. Austin talks about how he was convinced the Wrestlemania 1997 match with Bret would suck because he was injured and he didn’t even have a submission for that Submission match.

 

WWF Cold Day In Hell
May 11, 1997

The Undertaker(c) vs. Steve Austin [WWF Heavyweight Championship]

Before the match started, The Hart Foundation came out to sit ringside. Austin started the match by attacking Taker. Austin stopped fairly quickly and started to attack Owen Hart. That allowed Taker to get the advantage. Austin came back and used a side headlock to control Taker. These two just don’t have good chemistry. Austin then went after Taker’s left leg. Austin applied an STF, and Jerry Lawler called it, “One of those Ken Shamrock things.” Taker fought back and went after Austin’s left leg. Taker applied the shittiest single-leg crab I’ve ever seen. Austin went back after the left leg. Taker got a sleeper. Austin a jawbreaker to escape, and half the crowd thought it was the stunner. They traded low blows. Chokeslam! Austin came back with a stunner. Brian Pillman rang the bell, as Austin made the cover. That caused some confusion and gave Taker enough time to recover. They traded tombstone attempts until Taker was able to hit it: 1…2…3

The Hart Foundation attacked Taker after the match. Austin pushed Bret Hart out of his wheelchair and then attacked the foundation with a crutch. The Hart Foundation scrambled away. Austin then gave Taker a stunner.

Can “Complete ASS” be a rating? Because that is absolutely the best way to describe this match. Well, not complete I suppose. I did appreciate both guys trying out the strategy of going for a leg. However, neither guy did it in a particularly compelling manner, there was little to no selling when it wasn’t their turn to have their leg worked over, and there was zero payoff to any of that work. On top of that, the finish was terrible. It was so very boring, and it felt like it went on forever. I was not a fan of this at all.

Match Rating: 1/2*

 

WWF Raw
May 26, 1997

The Hart Foundation(c) (Owen Hart & The British Bulldog) (w/ Bret Hart, Brian Pillman, & Jim Neidhart) vs. Steve Austin & Shawn Michaels [WWF Tag Team Championship]

Austin and Shawn had a lot of success early on, but Austin eventually got cut off and then worked over. Shawn appeared to be making a hot tag, but he then got cut off as well. He was worked over for a while. Michaels finally escaped, and Austin made a hot tag. The match briefly broke down, which allowed Shawn to hit Bulldog with a superkick: 1…2…3

All the Harts but Bret attacked Shawn after the match. Austin went after Bret. He attacked Bret’s injured leg.

This was a really fun tag match. A longer/more satisfying payoff after the double heat could have potentially put it into great status. Based on this, WWF probably could have gotten more mileage out of this makeshift team.

Match Rating: ***1/4

 

WWF King of the Ring
June 8, 1997

Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels

These two were still the tag champs at the time of this match.

We saw footage of Austin attacking Pillman earlier in the show. Austin shoved his face in a toilet.

Shawn was trying to help a Special Olympian at the ringside area. Austin attacked him anyway. Shawn helped the kid to the back, and Austin backed off this time. Was this a cynical attempt to make Shawn seem likable? Otherwise, what on Earth was that?

Austin was mostly in control as the match got going properly. It wasn’t firm control though, and Shawn was staying more than competitive. Austin seemed to finally get firm control on the floor. The ref caught Austin using the ropes for leverage, and Shawn then made a comeback. Austin’s fans did not not like that. Austin made a comeback. Shawn accidentally caused a ref bump. Austin blocked the superkick and hit the stunner for a phantom pinfall. Austin decide to give the referee a stunner. Superkick to Austin. The second ref, like an idiot, checked on the first ref instead of making a count. Shawn gave him a superkick. A third ref showed up. He ruled the match a double DQ. “Both men are losers,” said Vince McMahon, not at the top of his game as a commentator.

Austin and Shawn tried to attack each other with their tag belts after the match. They ended up walking to the back and staring uneasily at each other.

This was light and fun to experience (and way better than their no-good Wrestlemania main event). You can see that these two had a ton of chemistry, and that they could have gone on to have some great PPV main events one day. This match kind of felt like the first stage in what could have eventually become a series of PPV matches (over years if circumstances allowed it). Neither man was working with a great deal of urgency or intensity, and the result was obviously not satisfying. I only wish they had some celebrated follow-ups to this one.

Match Rating: ***1/4

 

Austin puts over Mick Foley as a performer and a person.

 

WWF Raw
July 14, 1997

Steve Austin & Dude Love vs. The Hart Foundation (Owen Hart & The British Bulldog)

The winners of this match become the undisputed WWF Tag Team Champions.

Steve Austin took on Owen and Bulldog by himself because he refused to accept Mankind as a partner. The Harts played the numbers game on him. Austin kept fighting back, but it was clear he could not beat them by himself. Austin got sent into the steel steps. The commentators said that Austin’s partner arrived, as we went to commercial. We were left with the image of a pair of white boots dancing backstage.

When we came back, Austin was falling victim to the numbers game yet again. Austin managed to send both men packing to the floor at one point. Dude Love then came on the videotron. “I’m coming to save the day. Have mercy~!” I’m a BIG FAN of Dude Love. So, just as Austin seemed to have things going his way, his partner showed up. Dude Love tagged in and had minimal success. Austin entered the ring illegally and gave Bulldog a stunner. Dude Love made the cover: 1…2…3!

After the match, the Dude Love groupies celebrated with Dude. Austin begrudgingly shook his hand.

As a match, this was oddly structured (even within the goofy context that I was all for). I guess the idea would be to set up the team so that Dude Love wasn’t as good as Austin? I don’t know. REGARDLESS, this was a fun trip back to the #AttitudeEra, which is not usually how I feel when I take such trips.

Match Rating: **1/2

Watch this match here.

 

Austin talked about having great chemistry with Owen and that the IC belt occasionally meant more to him than the world title belt.

 

WWF Summerslam
August 3, 1997

Owen Hart(c) vs. Steve Austin [WWF Intercontinental Championship]

Owen went right after Austin’s left knee to start the match. (Austin was distinctly more over here than in the recent matches on this set.) Austin quickly fought back. Austin went after Owen’s left arm. Owen came back and went after Austin’s left hand. Austin hit a Stun Gun. Owen got control again and worked Austin over for a while. Owen hit the now infamous tombstone on Austin that broke the latter’s neck. Austin, obviously in rough shape, gets Owen in the worst roll-up of all time: 1…2…3

This would be the neck injury that ultimately cut Austin’s career short in 2003.

Austin was so clearly hurt, and the finish was genuinely hard to suspend your belief for. It was good before that, but the finish basically kills the match.

Match Rating: **1/2

 

Austin discusses the injury. He talks about not being able to move. He thought he will never be able to move again. He actually didn’t even have feeling in his hands when rolled up Owen. Austin missed three or four months due to the injury.

 

Austin transitions to his comeback and his match with Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 1998 and then the beginnings of the feud with Vince that would make Stone Cold more money than any other wrestler ever.

 

WWF Unforgiven
April 26, 1998

Steve Austin(c) vs. Dude Love [WWF Championship]

Austin ran through Dude for a while. Dude took one tremendously stupid concrete bump. Holy shit. Back in the ring, Dude cut Austin off and worked him over for a bit. Vince McMahon, Pat Patterson, and Gerald Brisco came to the ringside area to get a closer look of the proceedings, surely. The idea was that the timekeeper was clearly watching Vince to wait for the signal to screw Austin out of the belt. After more work from Dude, he eventually applied the abdominal stretch. Vince tried to get the timekeeper to ring the bell, but Austin reversed the hold by that point. Dude cut him off again. Austin suplexed him into the steel steps and then made a wild comeback. Ref bump. Austin escaped the mandible claw. Dude knocked him in the balls and applied the claw again. They battled over a chair on the floor. Austin hit Vince with the chair and then gave Dude the stunner in the ring. He counted the three count himself. His music played.

Well, their Over the Edge rematch is much, much better. This was a clear first-chapter-in-a-feud-match that WWE does a lot of. It wouldn’t be such a problem if these matches aired on television instead of main eventing PPVs (which would be easier if WWF/E didn’t run too many PPVs). They worked hard, but the Dude Love’s heat segment somewhat ironically sucked the heat out of the match. The brief chaos at the end wasn’t enough to get this above “average” status with me. Their rematch was great though.

Match Rating: **3/4

 

King of the Ring
June 28, 1998

Steve Austin(c) vs. Kane (w/ Paul Bearer) [First Blood match for the WWF Heavyweight Championship]

Austin’s left arm was bandaged up due to a staph infection. It was obviously (and thankfully) a brawl right from the start. The Hell in a Cell structure was lowered around them. Kane got control, as he was able to repeatedly send Austin at the cage. Austin fought back, and they brawled up the ramp. They brawled back to the ringside area. The referee was taken out, and Kane hit his diving lariat in the ring. Austin avoided a second one and then made a comeback. Geezus H. Christ, Mankind ran down. I completely forgot that he actually stayed in the building after nearly dying in his match with Taker. Austin gave him and Kane each a stunner. Taker then accidentally gave Austin a chairshot. That busted Austin’s forehead open! The referee wasn’t awake yet. Taker then POURED GASOLINE ON THE REF! WHY!?!?!? Austin gave Kane a lariat from the middle rope and then killed him with a chairshot. The referee recovered and called for the bell once he saw a bloody Austin.

Austin was in disbelief as he realized he lost the match.

This was surprisingly solid. They worked an Austin brawl, and it was executed much better than I expected given that Kane was the opponent. The Austin brawl formula is not the most creative format for a main event, but it helped carry lesser wrestlers such as Kane to solid matches. This might be on the top of (very short) list of good Kane matches.

Match Rating: ***1/4

 

We saw Vince crown Kane the WWF Champion. Austin came out and challenged Kane to a rematch. Kane accepted.

 

WWF Raw
June 29, 1998

Kane(c) (w/ Paul Bearer) vs. Steve Austin [WWF Heavyweight Championship]

Much like the PPV match the night before, this was a brawl from the start. Austin actually started targeting the left leg. Kane managed to cut him off shortly after that though and then worked him over. The Undertaker came to the ringside area.Austin fought back but ate a chokeslam. Kane avoided one stunner, but Austin hit it on his second attempt: 1…2…3

Austin gave Taker a stunner.

This was basically just a slightly-lesser version of the match they had the night before on the PPV. The brawling and the finish were fun, but Kane dominated the match for too long between those sequences.

Match Rating: **3/4

 

Watch Stone Cold matches for free!

Steve Austin & The Rock vs. nWo

Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart

Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle

Steve Austin & Dr. Death vs. Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes

Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker

Steve Austin, The Rock, Shane McMahon, & Kane vs. DX

Steve Austin & Dude Love vs. The Hart Foundation

Steve Austin & The Rock vs. Kurt Angle & Chris Jericho

Steve Austin & Kurt Angle vs. Booker T & Rhyno

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

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