411’s WWE’s Greatest Moments Report: ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin

-It’s March 16th, which is Stone Cold Day, so it’s only appropriate we celebrate the man himself with this week’s episode of Greatest Moments. Let’s get to it!

-As a reminder Michael Cole is our host.

10. A Stunning Night

-Sept. 22, 1997: Should be higher but they like to put firsts at number 10 for whatever reason and in this case it’s Austin’s first Stunner to Vince McMahon. CM Punk remembers watching at home and how Austin had hit stunners on everyone going up the corporate ladder and only Vince was left. It was an ugly stunner as nearly all of them were on Vince, but it blew the roof off MSG.

9. Medical Emergency

-April 21, 1997: Wooo! Austin and Bret Hart were in the middle of their heated rivalry and Bret is being wheeled to an ambulance, but Austin is waiting and beats on Bret in the ambulance. This is just classic and brings a smile to my face. Bret says it was so well done and nobody saw it coming. Bret notes Bulldog said “I’m going to kill him,” and you couldn’t say that on TV.

8. One More Ride

-April 2, 2022: WrestleMania Night One closes with Steve Austin making his return to the ring in a match with Kevin Owens. Hearing the talking heads gush over Austin being back in the ring is fantastic. Taker notes Austin didn’t have all the pressure on him like he carried back in the day. Owens was having the time of his life out there and went above and beyond in that match. GEORGE KITTLE! Excuse me…BANG BANG NINER GANG! Sorry. George Kittle talks about the pop when Austin got the three count. Austin says it meant the world to him and he had a blast.

-Commercials!

7. Time for a Swim

-Dec. 15, 1997: Yes! Austin was on his way up the card and was feuding with The Rock over the IC Title. Austin had stolen the title and this is the famous promo where he pitched the IC Belt off a bridge. Sadly, they skip the beeper part of the angle.

6. Tyson vs. Austin

-Jan. 19, 1998: You know this moment. Mike Tyson works a deal with WWF and Vince McMahon introduces him only for Steve Austin to come out. He flips off Tyson and they get into a pull apart with Jim Ross losing his mind on commentary. Vince is pissed and lays the seeds for the eventual feud with Austin. It also got all kinds of mainstream coverage thanks to Tyson’s involvement.

-Commercials!

5. Austin and The Enforcer

-March 29, 1998: WrestleMania XIV where the Austin Era officially begins. Austin notes that Shawn is the best in the world when the bell rings. They don’t cover the politics behind the match and how Steve wasn’t happy with the match. It did what it needed though and put Austin over as the new top guy in the industry.

4. Paging Dr. Austin

-Oct. 5, 1998: Mr. McMahon is hospitalized and they tease Austin but it’s Mankind and he debuts Mr. Socko as he tries to cheer up Vince. He throws Mankind out and then Austin is here as a doctor and DECKS Vince with a bedpan to the head. Another classic moment, which has Vince crawling around on the floor in a hospital gown with his ass nearly hanging out and knowing what we know now, that is even more disturbing.

3. 3:16 is Born

-June 23, 1996: King of The Ring 96: My review of this show is here. I am shocked this isn’t number one on this list. I have railed against the revisionist history that this moment made Austin a Main Event star over night. It’s a great moment, but Austin was on SummerSlam pre-show duty two months later. With that said, it’s one of the classic promos in wrestling history and it’s why we have Stone Cold Day on March 16. Steve is living off Austin 3:16 merch to this day because of that promo.

2. Got Beer?

-March 22, 1999: This would have been my other pick for top moment as they love talking about this moment. Austin drives a beer truck to the ring and cuts a heck of a promo to put the final hard sell on Mania XV and then he floods the ring with beer and we get the visual of Vince McMahon swimming in the ring. Look at that crowd man! Again, I feel for you people that didn’t get to witness all this live.

1. Blood From A Stone

-March 23, 1997: WrestleMania 13: This is easily the top choice and I take back being shocked the King of the Ring moment wasn’t here. Austin vs. Bret in a submission match that turned out to not only be one of the greatest matches of all time, but quite possibly the greatest double turn of all time. The visual of Austin pouring blood from his head in the sharpshooter is iconic and people have been trying to recreate it for nearly nearly 30 years. Amazing stuff!

-This was fun and you could easily do a Top 50 Steve Austin moments. As with all these shows, it’s an easy watch and full of nostalgia. Here are my thoughts on how I would rank these 10 moments.

1. Blood From A Stone
2. 3:16 is Born
3. A Stunning Night
4. Tyson vs. Austin
5. Got Beer?
6. Austin and The Enforcer
7. One More Ride
8. Time For a Swim
9. Paging Dr. Austin
10. Medical Emergency

-Thanks for reading!