Stunning steve austin biography movie

American professional wrestler and actor (born 1964)

"Steve Austin" redirects here. For other people with similar names, see Steve Austin (disambiguation).

Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson and later Steven James Williams; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, producer and retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, as an ambassador. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the development and success of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE) during the Attitude Era, an industry boom period in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Austin began his professional wrestling career in 1989, after playing college football at the University of North Texas. He signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1991 and adopted the persona of "Stunning" Steve Austin, a villainous in-ring technician, and he won the WCW World Television Championship and the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship twice each, alongside one reign with a double crown of the WCW World Tag Team Championship and NWA World Tag Team Championship, with Brian Pillman (as the Hollywood Blondes). After a brief stint in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Austin signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1995.

In the WWF, Austin was repackaged as a short-tempered, brash and brazen anti-establishmentantihero named "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, becoming the most popular wrestler of the Attitude Era off the back of his feud with company chairman Mr. McMahon. He won the WWF Championshipsix times, the WWF Intercontinental Championshiptwice, the Million Dollar Championship once, and the WWF Tag Team Championshipfour times, making him the fifth WWF Triple Crown Champion. He is also a record three-time Royal Rumble winner, won the 1996 King of the Ring, and headlined multiple WWF pay-per-view events, including its flagship event WrestleMania four times (14, 15, 17 and 38). He was forced to retire from in-ring competition in 2003 after multiple knee injuries and a serious neck injury at the 1997 SummerSlam event, making sporadic appearances ever since. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009, and returned for a final match against Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38 in April 2022.

Austin hosts the podcast The Steve Austin Show (2013–present), and the video podcast Broken Skull Sessions (2019–present) available on the WWE Network and Peacock. He collaborates with El Segundo Brewing on Broken Skull IPA and Broken Skull American Lager. He also hosted the reality competition series Steve Austin's Broken Skull Challenge (2014–2017) and Straight Up Steve Austin (2019–2021).

Early life

Austin was born Steven James Anderson in Austin, Texas,^[3][4] on December 18, 1964.^[5] His parents, Beverly (née Harrison) and James Anderson, divorced when he was around a year old. His mother moved to Edna, Texas, where Austin would spend most of his childhood,^[6] and she married Ken Williams in 1968.^[7] Austin adopted his stepfather's surname and legally changed his name to Steven James Williams, after he was legally adopted, though he would legally change it again to Steve Austin later in life.^[6] He has a younger sister named Jennifer and three brothers named Scott, Kevin, and Jeff.^[8] Kevin is less than a year younger than Austin, leading Austin to theorize in his autobiography that their father may have left because he could not handle another child so soon.^[9] After finishing his education at Edna High School, he got a football scholarship to Wharton County Junior College followed by a full scholarship to the University of North Texas.^[8] He played originally as a linebacker before suffering a knee injury,^[10][11] prompting him to switch to play as a defensive end.^[12][13]

The first wrestling events Austin watched were those produced by Houston Wrestling and run by Paul Boesch,^[14] and Austin would later say, "I fell in love with the business when I was seven or eight years old. All I ever wanted to be was a professional wrestler. Wrestling was the biggest thing in my life."^[15] When he moved to attend university, he was living approximately 30 miles from the Dallas Sportatorium, a building he later described fondly as a "magnificent shithole of a building".^[16] It was here that World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) ran shows on a Friday night.^[17]

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1989–1991)

Deciding to become a wrestler, Austin joined "Gentleman" Chris Adams' school in the Dallas Sportatorium,^[18][19] where Adams also wrestled for WCCW.^[20] The first seminar cost Austin $45 (equivalent to $111 in 2023).^[10] Adams' training was purely technical, teaching Austin the moves, but nothing relating to kayfabe. Austin would later describe Adams as a "conman" who "didn't try to smarten [him] up or teach [him] the real deal when it came to wrestling".^[21] His first lesson in that came from Tony Falk, the referee in his 1989 televised WCCW debut against Frogman LeBlanc, who called the spots to lead him to a pinfall and a $40 (equivalent to $98 in 2023) payday.^[22] Early influences on his career were the Von Erich family, Dusty Rhodes, and Ric Flair.^[23]

Initially working under his real name, he was renamed Steve Austin by Memphis bookerDutch Mantell during the merger of WCCW and the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) into the United States Wrestling Association (USWA). The name change occurred to avoid confusion with "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, a well-known wrestler during that time. Austin later returned to Dallas, managed by Percy Pringle and accompanied by Jeannie Adams (Adams's ex-girlfriend and Austin's girlfriend at the time) and feuded with Adams and his wife Toni.^[20]

World Championship Wrestling (1991–1995)

Dangerous Alliance (1991–1992)

Main article: Dangerous Alliance

Austin debuted in World Championship Wrestling in May 1991. He was nicknamed "Stunning" Steve Austin,^[24] a name and gimmick he later said he could not commit to.^[25] Austin was originally paired with a valet named Vivacious Veronica^[26] but was later joined by Jeannie Adams, known as "Lady Blossom".^[19][26] Just weeks after his debut, Austin defeated Bobby Eaton for his first WCW World Television Championship on June 3, and later that year joined Paul E. Dangerously's Dangerous Alliance.^[19][27] Austin lost the WCW World Television Championship to Barry Windham in a two-out-of-three-falls match on April 27, but regained the championship from Windham the following month. He enjoyed a second lengthy reign as champion, before losing the championship to Ricky Steamboat at Clash of the Champions XX in September 1992, while the Dangerous Alliance disbanded shortly thereafter.^[28]

In August and September 1992, as part of a working agreement between WCW and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Austin wrestled four matches in Japan. He took part in the 1992 G1 Climax, defeating Arn Anderson in the first round before losing to Keiji Muto in the second round. He and Arn Anderson then defeated Raging Staff (Super Strong Machine and Tatsutoshi Goto) in a tag team bout held in the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. In his final bout, Austin challenged Masahiro Chono for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of the "Battle Hold Arena" event at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, losing by submission after Chono applied an STF.^[29][30]

Hollywood Blonds; Stud Stable (1992–1993)

See also: Hollywood Blonds and Stud Stable

In September 1992, Austin formed a tag team known as the Hollywood Blonds with Brian Pillman,^[19] at the behest of lead booker Dusty Rhodes.^[31] Austin would later say that he was not excited about being placed into a tag team,^[32] as he was earmarked for a run with the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship with Harley Race as his manager.^[17][33] Initially billed under their individual personas, Pillman decided the pair needed their own finishing move, ring gear and team name,^[31] with traveling partner Scott Levy proposing The Hollywood Blonds, used in the 1970s by Buddy Roberts and Jerry Brown.^[31] At Halloween Havoc in October 1992, Austin (substituting for Terry Gordy) teamed with "Dr. Death" Steve Williams to wrestle Dustin Rhodes and Windham for the unified WCW and NWA World Tag Team Championship,^[28] wrestling to a 30-minute time limit draw.^[28]

On March 27, 1993, the Hollywood Blonds won the unified NWA and WCW World Tag Team Championship by defeating Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas,^[31] and held the championship for five months.^[19] In the main event of Clash of the Champions XXIII in June 1993, the Blondes defended their championship against Ric Flair and Arn Anderson in a two-out-of-three-falls, where despite losing the first two falls, retained the championship as the second fall had been determined by a disqualification caused by Barry Windham.^[31][34] At Clash of the Champions XXIV In August 1993, Austin and Pillman were scheduled to defend their championship against Anderson and Paul Roma but a legitimately injured Pillman was replaced by Steven Regal, with whom Austin lost to Anderson and Roma.^[31][35]

With Pillman injured, Austin joined Colonel Robert Parker's Stud Stable.^[31] After Pillman returned, the team was broken up when Austin turned on him, a decision Austin describes as a "mystery".^[32] Austin defeated Pillman in a singles match at Clash of the Champions XXV in November 1993.^[36]

United States Champion; departure (1993–1995)

At Starrcade in December 1993, Austin defeated Dustin Rhodes 2–0 in a two-out-of-three-falls match to win the WCW United States Championship.^[19] At Clash of the Champions XXVIII in August 1994, Austin lost the Championship to Ricky Steamboat. He was scheduled to face Steamboat in a rematch at Fall Brawl '94: War Games in September 1994; however, Steamboat was unable to wrestle due to a legitimate back injury and Austin was awarded the championship by forfeit.^[37] His second reign with the championship ended just five minutes later when he lost to Steamboat's replacement, Jim Duggan, in a match that lasted 35 seconds.^[38] Austin unsuccessfully challenged Duggan for the championship at both Halloween Havoc in October 1994 and Clash of the Champions XXIX in November 1994.^[39][40] The influence of Hulk Hogan and the Hulkamania era was beginning to take hold in WCW, with vice president Eric Bischoff saying this was likely the reason Austin lost to Duggan, who had been a popular figure during that period of time.^[41] Around this time, Austin pitched a storyline idea to Bischoff in which it would be revealed that Austin was a family member of Hogan. The proposal was quickly turned down on account of Bischoff's belief that Hogan would not work with somebody such as Austin, who was not a proven name.^[42][43]

Following Clash of the Champions XXIX, Austin was inactive while rehabilitating a knee injury, returning in February 1995. In April 1995, Austin took part in a tournament for the vacant United States Championship, defeating Jim Duggan via countout in the first round but losing to Randy Savage in the quarter-final. He wrestled what would be his final match with WCW on May 21, 1995, defeating Eddie Jackie in a bout that aired on WCW Main Event. In late May and June 1995, Austin again appeared with New Japan Pro-Wrestling as part of its "Fighting Spirit Legend" series, primarily teaming with Arn Anderson and Ron Simmons. At the "Super Power Group Declaration VI" event in the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Austin, Anderson, and Mike Enos lost to J-J-Jacks (Akira Nogami and Takayuki Iizuka) and Junji Hirata in a six-man tag team match.^[29]

During the NJPW tour, Austin suffered a torn triceps. While rehabilitating, Austin was fired by WCW President Eric Bischoff on September 15, 1995. Bischoff did not see Austin as a marketable wrestler,^[19][44] and additionally thought Austin was hard to work with.^[45]

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1995)

Austin was contacted by Paul Heyman of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), who had previously managed him in WCW.^[19] Heyman hired him to do promos and in-ring interviews as he had not adequately recovered from his injury,^[46] paying Austin $500 (equivalent to $1,000 in 2023) a night.^[33] Changing his nickname to "Superstar",^[33][47] Austin debuted in ECW at Gangstas Paradise on September 18, 1995.^[48]

While in ECW, Austin used the platform to develop his future "Stone Cold" persona as well as a series of vignettes running down WCW in general and Bischoff in particular, most memorably in several promos that mocked his then-status as Nitro host by introducing Monday NyQuil, where he was joined by "Bongo" (a set of drums, meant to represent Steve "Mongo" McMichael) in promoting the show "where the big boys play with each other."^[19][46] Several wrestlers have credited ECW as the place where Austin developed his microphone skills.^[45] Austin has credited Heyman as the man who taught him how to cut a promo.^[49][47]

Whipwreck, who was the ECW World Heavyweight Champion at the time, defeated Austin in an upset to retain the championship at November to Remember.^[50] The Sandman defeated Austin and Whipwreck in a triple threat match at December to Dismember for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship.^[51]

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE

The Ringmaster and birth of "Stone Cold" (1995–1996)

Austin joined the WWF at the end of 1995 after Diesel and Jim Ross helped convince WWF's owner Vince McMahon to hire him.^[19][33][47] He debuted in WWF on December 18, 1995, which was broadcast on the January 8, 1996, episode of Raw. His debut saw him awarded the Million Dollar Championship^[52] by his manager, Ted DiBiase.^[19] Wrestling in his debut match on Raw he defeated Matt Hardy using the moniker "The Ringmaster".^[53][54] While making his first pay-per-view (PPV) appearance at the Royal Rumble, he was scripted to be among the final four wrestlers in the ring, which could have given him an early push; however, The Ringmaster failed to hang onto the ropes after Fatu clotheslined him over and slipped out of the ring early.^[55]

Austin soon thought the Ringmaster gimmick was weak and asked for a change.^[45] Having battled thinning hair for a few years, he decided to shave his head in early 1996.^[56] He later said in a 2017 interview, "After watching the Pulp Fiction movie with Bruce Willis, that's the haircut that inspired me. I was traveling on the road to Pittsburgh 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."^[56] By March 11, having thankfully missed out on the “opportunity” to be renamed Fang McFrost, among others, his Ringmaster moniker (now merely a prefix to his ring name) would be discarded in favor of his most famous ring name, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, in a match against Savio Vega. The new name was prompted by his English wife at the time, Jeanie, who told him to drink a cup of tea she had made for him before it became "stone cold".^[13] His new persona was partially inspired by serial killer "The Iceman" Richard Kuklinski.^[57]

Austin wrestled Vega on Raw to a double countout,^[58] before defeating him in his first WrestleMania appearance at WrestleMania XII.^[59] At In Your House: Beware of Dog, Austin lost a Caribbean strap match to Vega, with the added stipulation that DiBiase was forced to leave the WWF as a result, leading Austin to quietly vacate the Million Dollar title.^[59] DiBiase would later say that nobody foresaw the success Austin would have, and had advised him to ignore the advice given to him by producers and continue what he was doing as success required patience.^[60]

Austin 3:16 and rise to superstardom (1996–1997)

Austin's rise to stardom began at the 1996 King of the Ring, where he won the tournament by defeating Jake "The Snake" Roberts.^[19] At the time, Roberts was portraying a born-again Christian, which inspired Austin to ad-lib 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. At the conclusion of this same promo, he further ad-libbed the line, "And that’s the bottom line, cuz Stone Cold said so." This, too, went on to become an iconic catchphrase, as Austin would conclude almost all of his future promos with it. Years later, Austin would say of this moment, "It’s like I got two at-bats and hit two grand slams."

Austin's win and rise to stardom proved to be an unexpected 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 Curtain Call incident. "Austin 3:16" ultimately became one of the most popular catchphrases in wrestling history,^[19] and one of the best-selling T-shirts in WWE merchandise history.^[61]

After defeating Yokozuna at SummerSlam, throughout August and September Austin spoke about Bret Hart, challenging him constantly and taunting him relentlessly, before Hart finally returned on Raw to challenge Austin to a match at Survivor Series, which he accepted.^[62] During an episode of Superstars, 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, breaking his ankle in storyline.^[63] It would lead to the infamous "Pillman's got a gun" segment on Raw wherein Austin broke into Pillman's home while he was nursing his injury.^[64] Pillman had been anticipating him and was armed with a pistol. Just as Austin broke in, Pillman aimed his gun at him before the episode cut to commercial break. The segment was highly controversial for its perceived violence and rare use of profanity in WWF programming. At Survivor Series, in a match to determine the number-one contender for the WWF Championship, Hart defeated Austin by using a turnbuckle to push himself backward while locked in the Million Dollar Dream.^[65]

During the 1997 Royal Rumble match, Austin was originally eliminated by Hart but the officials did not see it; he snuck back into the ring and eliminated Hart by throwing him over the ropes, winning the match.^[66] This led to the first-ever PPV 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 Championship. Austin was eliminated early from the match after injuring his knee; Hart would win the match and the championship.^[67] Hart lost the championship the next night on Raw to Sycho Sid due to Austin's interference, continuing their feud. 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 refused to tap out when Hart locked in his Sharpshooter, and finally passed out from excessive blood loss, losing the match. After the match, 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. Austin portrayed an anti-hero instead of a traditional babyface, and he didn't embrace the fans at first either. Austin eventually got his revenge on Hart in the main event of In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker, defeating him in a match to determine the next contender to The Undertaker's WWF Championship.^[68] Austin won when Hart was disqualified due to assistance from The British Bulldog. At In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell, Austin had The Undertaker down with the Stone Cold Stunner but was distracted by Pillman, allowing The Undertaker to recover and perform a Tombstone Piledriver for the victory.^[69]

On Raw, 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.^[70] 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. Michaels was later forced to vacate his championship due to an injury.^[71] Hart and Bulldog won a tournament to face Austin and a partner of his choice, but he refused to pick a partner and decided to face the duo by himself.^[72] 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.^[73] Austin continued his feud with the Hart family, becoming embroiled in a heated rivalry particularly with Owen, 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.^[74]

At SummerSlam, Austin and Owen faced each other with the Intercontinental Championship on the line, with Owen adding a stipulation that Austin would have to kiss his buttocks if he lost.^[72] During the match, Owen botched a Tombstone Piledriver and dropped Austin on his head, resulting in a legitimate bruised spinal cord and temporary paralysis for Austin. As Owen stalled by baiting the audience, Austin managed to crawl over and pin Hart using a roll-up to win the championship. A visibly injured and dazed Austin was helped to his feet by several referees and led to the back.^[75] Due to the severity of his neck injury, Austin was forced to relinquish both championships. On September 22, on the first-ever Raw to be broadcast from Madison Square Garden, McMahon told Austin he wasn't physically cleared to compete, and after several weeks of build-up, Austin delivered his Stone Cold Stunner to McMahon, causing the fans in attendance to go ballistic.^[76][77] Austin was then arrested as part of the storyline, and 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 Owen and Faarooq for the vacant Intercontinental Championship. Austin hit Faarooq with the Intercontinental Championship belt while the referee's back was turned, causing Hart to win the match and the title.^[72] Austin's motive was to keep Owen as champion, as demonstrated when he interfered in Hart's matches on Raw.^[72] Austin regained the Intercontinental Championship from Hart at Survivor Series.^[78]

With Hart out of the way, Austin set his sights on The Rock, who stole Austin's championship belt after Austin suffered a beating by his Nation of Domination stablemates.^[72] In the weeks to come, The Rock began declaring himself to be "the best damn Intercontinental Champion ever."^[72] The Rock kept possession of the championship belt until D-Generation X: In Your House, when Austin defeated him to retain the championship and regain the belt.^{[citation needed]} As Austin had used his pickup truck to aid his victory, McMahon ordered him to defend the championship against The Rock the next night on Raw.^[72] In an act of defiance, Austin forfeited the championship to The Rock before tossing the belt into the Piscataqua River.^[2]

Feud with Vince McMahon (1998–1999)

After Bret Hart's controversial departure for WCW, Austin and Michaels were the top stars in the company. Austin won the 1998 Royal Rumble, lastly eliminating The Rock.^[79] The next night on Raw, 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 insulted Tyson by flipping him off, which led to Tyson shoving Austin much to McMahon's embarrassment, who began publicly to disapprove of the prospect of Austin as his champion. Tyson was later announced as "the special enforcer" for the main event at WrestleMania XIV, and aligned himself with Michaels's stable D-Generation X (DX).^[19][80] This led to Austin's WWF 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's 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.^[19] With Michaels's absence and Austin winning the WWF Championship, the "Austin Era" was ushered in.^[19]

On Raw the following night, McMahon presented him with a new championship belt and warned Austin that he did not approve of his rebellious nature, desiring a "corporate champion"; Austin responded with a Stone Cold Stunner, leading him being kayfabe arrested once again. The following week, it appeared as if Austin had agreed with McMahon, appearing in a suit and tie, before revealing it was a ruse and again attacking McMahon. On April 13, 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 and went on to retain the title. The following month, Austin and Dude had a rematch at Over the Edge: In Your House for the WWF Championship. Austin managed to retain the championship despite McMahon acting as the self-appointed referee and his "Corporate Stooges" (Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson) as timekeeper and ring announcer, respectively. McMahon continued to do everything he could to dethrone Austin as champion and he finally scored a big victory for his side at King of the Ring.^[19] 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.^[19]

Austin further angered McMahon by winning back the championship the next night on Raw.^[19] 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^[19] 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 would, in storyline, fire him as a result, 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 Austin was later re-signed by his son, Shane McMahon. In the semifinals of the Survivor Series tournament to crown a new WWF Champion, Austin lost to Mankind after Shane double-crossed Austin. The next night on Raw, 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, meaning The Rock remained champion. At Rock Bottom: In Your House, Austin defeated The Undertaker in a Buried Alive match after Kane performed a Tombstone Piledriver on The Undertaker which sent him into the grave.^[81] With this victory, Austin qualified for the 1999 Royal Rumble.^[82] Austin's next appearance after this would be the January 4, 1999, edition of Raw, where he would come out to help Mankind defeat The Rock to become the WWF Champion by striking The Rock in the face with a steel chair and draping Mankind's body over him.

Austin's next chance to exact revenge on Mr. McMahon came during the Royal Rumble match. On Raw, McMahon drew Austin's entry number with the intention of screwing him over. Austin drew entry number one, while McMahon drew number two thanks to Commissioner Shawn Michaels. During the Royal Rumble match, Austin followed McMahon out of the ring and into the backstage area, only to be ambushed by members of The Corporation, and an injured Austin was taken to the hospital. Austin, however, returned in an ambulance and re-entered the match, delivering a Stone Cold Stunner to Big Boss Man and eliminating him. With the match down to Austin and McMahon, The Rock came down to the ring to distract Austin, who was eliminated by McMahon, thus McMahon winning the Royal Rumble.^[19]

McMahon turned down the number-one contender spot, and Michaels promptly awarded Austin the championship shot the next night on Raw. At St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Austin faced McMahon in a steel cage match, with the championship opportunity at WrestleMania XV at stake.^[19] During the match, Paul Wight made his WWF debut, coming from under the ring and attacking Austin, but 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.^[19] The week before WrestleMania, Austin interrupted The Rock, Vince, and Shane McMahon's interview segment by driving a beer truck to the ring and using a hose to spray the trio with beer.^[83] Austin defeated The Rock at WrestleMania XV to win his third WWF Championship.^[19] Austin faced The Rock in a rematch the following month at Backlash, in which Shane was the referee. During the match, Vince approached the ring, only to hand Austin back his Smoking Skull championship belt and take Shane out of the proceedings. Austin won the match when another referee made the count. Austin would lose the championship to The Undertaker at Over the Edge. Due to events revolving around Vince, Stephanie and Linda McMahon made Austin the chief executive officer (CEO) of the company as part of the storyline. Vince and Shane challenged Austin to a handicap ladder match at King of the Ring with the title of CEO on the line, which the McMahons won. The next night on Raw, Austin challenged and defeated The Undertaker to win his fourth WWF Championship. The two would compete in a "First Blood" match at Fully Loaded, with the stipulation that if Austin lost he would never compete for the WWF Championship again, but if Austin won, Vince would depart the company; Austin won after interference from X-Pac.^[84]

Championship reigns and The Alliance (1999–2001)

Austin held on to the WWF Championship until SummerSlam on August 22 when he lost it to Mankind in a triple threat match also featuring Triple H.^[19] in the two months that followed, Triple H would gain possession of the title. Austin would get his rematch at No Mercy on October 17 against Triple H, but Austin lost after The Rock accidentally struck him with a sledgehammer shot meant for Triple H. The three were advertised for a triple-threat match at Survivor Series on November 14, where Austin was run down by a car.^[19] The segment was to write him off television, with the neck injury suffered two years prior posing a real threat of early retirement,^[85] and was advised to undergo surgery.^[86] Austin would later describe this as "the worst storyline I was ever involved in".^[87]

Austin made a one-off appearance at Backlash on April 30, 2000, attacking Triple H and Vince McMahon to help The Rock reclaim the WWF Championship. After Austin's official return at Unforgiven on September 24, Commissioner Mick Foley led an investigation to find out who ran Austin over, with the culprit revealed to be Rikishi.^[19] At No Mercy on October 22, Austin faced Rikishi in a No Holds Barred match, during which Austin attempted to run Rikishi down in a truck, but was prevented from doing so by officials, and the match was deemed a no contest; Austin was subsequently arrested. During a handicap match against Rikishi and Kurt Angle, Triple H came down with the apparent intention of teaming with Austin, only to hit Austin with a sledgehammer and reveal he had instructed Rikishi to run him over. At Survivor Series on November 19, Triple H aimed to run Austin down again during their match but his plot failed when Austin lifted Triple H's car with a forklift, then let it drop 20 feet. Austin won his third Royal Rumble match on January 21, 2001,^[88] last eliminating Kane. His rivalry against Triple H ended at No Way Out on February 25 in a Three Stages of Hell match, with Triple H defeating Austin two falls to one.^[89]

With The Rock defeating Angle for the WWF Championship at No Way Out, Austin was again set to face him at WrestleMania X-Seven on April 1. In the weeks leading up to WrestleMania, animosity grew between Austin and The Rock, stemming from Austin's wife, Debra, being assigned to be The Rock's manager by Mr. McMahon. The match at WrestleMania was made a no disqualification match. During the match, McMahon came to the ring, preventing The Rock from pinning Austin on two separate occasions and giving Austin a steel chair. Austin then hit The Rock several times with the chair before pinning him to win the WWF Championship for the fifth time.^[19] After the match, Austin shook hands with McMahon, turning heel for the first time since 1997.^[90] During a steel cage match with The Rock in a rematch for the WWF Championship the following night on Raw is War, Triple H came down to the ring with a sledgehammer. After teasing siding with The Rock, Triple H instead aligned himself with Austin and McMahon, attacking The Rock and put him out of action. Austin further cemented his heel turn the following Thursday on SmackDown!, when, during an interview with Jim Ross about his actions at WrestleMania, he thought Ross was denouncing their friendship and then assaulted Ross. Austin and Triple H became a team known as The Two-Man Power Trip.^[19] Austin altered his character considerably over the next few months by becoming a whiny, temperamental prima donna who complained incessantly when he felt he was not getting respect. He also developed a strange infatuation with McMahon, going to great lengths to impress him, even going so far as to hug him and bring him presents.

Austin and Triple H ran roughshod over all their opponents, until coming up against The Undertaker and Kane. After defeating them for the WWF Tag Team Championship at Backlash on April 29, they held the tag team titles, the WWF Championship (Austin) and the Intercontinental Championship (Triple H) all at once. On the May 21 episode of Raw is War, Austin and Triple H defended their tag team championship against Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit; during the match, Triple H tore his quadriceps, and the team lost the match and the tag team championship in a highly acclaimed bout,^[91][92] with Jim Ross saying the quartet created "magic",^[93] while wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer awarded the match four-and-a-three-quarter stars out of a possible five in his Wrestling Observer Newsletter.^[94] Austin officially broke up The Power Trip on that week's SmackDown!, criticizing Triple H for his injury and for hitting him with the sledgehammer. He continued to align himself with McMahon and began feuding with Jericho and Benoit by himself, leading to a triple-threat match at King of the Ring on June 24; despite interference from the debuting Booker T, Austin retained the championship.

Meanwhile, the purchase of WCW by Vince McMahon began to bear fruit as The Invasion began. Invading WCW wrestlers formed an alliance with a group of ECW wrestlers, with the group led by Shane and Stephanie McMahon. Vince called Austin out and demanded that he bring "the old Stone Cold" back so he could effectively captain a team of WWF wrestlers in a ten-man tag team match at Invasion on July 22. Austin initially refused, but on the following episode of Raw is War, he returned to his old ways and hit Stunners on every member of the Alliance, turning face once again. At Invasion, Austin captained the WWF team consisting of himself, Angle, Jericho, and The Undertaker and Kane against the team of WCW's Booker T and Diamond Dallas Page and ECW's Rhyno and The Dudley Boyz. Austin turned heel once again by hitting a Stunner on Angle and helping Team WCW/ECW win the match. Austin subsequently joined the Alliance as their leader.^[19]

Austin lost the WWF Championship to Angle at Unforgiven on September 23 by submitting to the ankle lock, ending Austin's reign at 175 days, the longest reign since 1996. He would regain the title on the October 8 episode of Raw, when WWF Commissioner William Regal betrayed Angle and joined the Alliance.^[19] Austin then began feuding with Alliance member Rob Van Dam, who was the only member of the Alliance to be cheered by the fans, despite the villainous tactics of the group. Austin faced Angle and Van Dam at No Mercy on October 21 and retained the title by pinning Van Dam. For Survivor Series on November 18, a "winner takes all" 10-man tag team match was announced; Austin captained a team consisting Angle, Shane McMahon, Van Dam, and Booker T, against Team WWF; captained by The Rock, the team also included Jericho, Kane, The Undertaker and Big Show. At Survivor Series, Angle sided with the WWF, helping The Rock to hit the Rock Bottom and pin Austin to win the match, marking the end of the Invasion storyline.^[95]

The following night on Raw, Vince McMahon decided he was going to strip Austin of the championship and award it to Angle, before Ric Flair returned and announced he was now co-owner of the WWF. Austin returned moments after this announcement and attacked Angle and McMahon for their actions. He was then handed his championship belt by Flair and celebrated with him in the ring, turning him face once again.^[96] At Vengeance on December 9, a tournament was held to unify the WWF Championship and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, held by The Rock; also involving Angle and Jericho. Austin would defeat Angle, before losing the unification match to Jericho following interference by McMahon and Booker T.^[97]

Final feuds and retirement (2002–2003)

At the Royal Rumble