7 THINGS STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN TAUGHT US
A month ago I watched Monday Night Raw for the first time in 13 years. I didn't know anyone who was wrestling. Not a soul. The promo's were really awkward. I guess the writers aren't as good as they used to be. The wrestling crowd obviously changed. Some guy named Roman won the last match and I just sat there staring at my TV after the show was over. I just sat there unfulfilled and wondering how can people still watch this? Nothing against the fans of today. Like what you like. Don't let my opinion sway you. I just personally cant get with wrestling today but I'd still go to a Wrestlemania if I have the chance.
I started watching wrestling in the early 90's. I came in during the Hulkamania era and the Bret Hart era. I remember Dusty Rhodes was still at it. Those were the first three wrestlers I remember liking. If I could name my personal all time favorites they would be.
Sycho Sid
Razor Ramon
Ric Flair
Arn Anderson
The Rock
Bret Hart
Dusty Rhodes
Brian Pillman
Hollywood Hogan
Cactus Jack (Mick Foley)
Konnan
Last but not least. The greatest wrestler to ever do it. Stone Cold Steve Austin.
When you heard that glass shatter you knew that was yo ass. The Texas Rattlesnake. The Baddest S.O.B was coming. I stopped watching wrestling completely when Stone Cold retired. I just didn't see the point anymore. There is not another wrestler that transcended the sport the way he did and he did it by himself. He wasn't in a crew. He had no Kliq, NWO, DX, or Corporation. He was solo. Only person close to transcending the sport is Hulk Hogan. Austin made the most money for the WWE. He took the merch game to another level. He was the face of the greatest era in pro wrestling history "The Attitude Era." The era that put WCW out of business. The attitude era had the best wrestlers, announcers, heels, merch, story lines. The whole era was fucking perfect. He pushed the boundaries of the sport. The N.W.O was huge over in WCW and were the ultimate heels but despite all the destruction they caused they didn't even cuss on TV. Stone Cold was the biggest force wrestling has ever seen and a figure you could learn a lot from.
UNDERDOG OR NOT, I'M WORKING
I remember Stone Cold when he had blonde hair and was the tag partner of another one of my all time favorite wrestlers Flying Brian Pillman (RIP). There was a lot of ground work put in before Austin captured his first World Championship. He bounced around on the circuit. Eric Bishoff fired him from WCW because he thought Austin wasn't marketable enough. A decision I know he now regrets obviously. He really wrestled with a chip on his shoulder and never complained and I think that underdog mentality is what fueled the transformation from Stunning Steve Austin to Stone Cold Steve Austin. It was the foundation of his legacy. He wasn't supposed to ever beat the top guys in the business. When Austin got his shot to become a superstar he took full advantage of it. When people count you out before you even begin, just work. Just keep growing and when you finally get that shot to show the world what they've slept on that's when you turn it the fuck up. Underdog or not you better work.
TALK YOUR SHIT
Stone Cold was no stranger to talking shit. The man can cut a hell of a promo. We gave him a pass because he could back it up. When he got his shot to become a superstar when he won the 1996 King Of The Ring he said fuck being humble. He just beat Marc Mero and Jake The Snake. He talked his shit. He didn't want to be humble. He mocked a washed up Jake The Snake and said "Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass." Austin 3:16 was born on that night and the beginning of The Austin/Attitude Era. I don't mind shit talking if you have the juice but I don't want you to hide when you take a L. Austin never did and neither should you. Talk shit when you win. Man/Woman up when you lose. Keep fighting. If your work is credible and solid. Talk your shit. I won't be mad at you. Who am I to tell you how to feel about yourself. Fuck being humble. You put the work in. Not me. Feel how you want to feel.
FUCK A JOB. FUCK RULES.
We all know Austin was apart of debatably the greatest rivalry in wrestling history with his boss Vince McMahon. The feud was so great because it was fueled by Austin's lack of respect for his job and authority. Fuck a job. He obeyed no rules and constantly put hands on his boss. A feeling I'm sure every working man and woman in America wants to experience. Austin wasn't a company guy. Rules hold us back. Color outside the fucking lines and do what you want. Think about it this way. Have you followed the rules society say you should follow your whole life? Where has that gotten you? No fucking where, that's where. Look at me I can't even fucking type and I have terrible grammar but I'm writing articles everyday. Fuck writing rules. All the millionaires and billionaires you see didn't play by no rules. They changed the rules to work in their favor. You either a winner or a motherfucka with excuses dreaming on the sidelines playing by the rules.
YOU'RE GOING TO GO THROUGH HELL
Austin rise to the top was a grind and he suffered a broken neck from a pile driver that was executed wrong. Everyone knew about his neck injury and ultimately it was that injury that caused him to finally retire from competing in the sport in 2003. He suffered the broken neck when he close to the prime of his career. He didn't quit. He was going through hell. He came back stronger and took over wrestling. Any goal you striving for you're going to go through some shit to attain it or you're going to go through some shit to keep it. It's just the way the universe works. Only way out of it is through it. Just lace up and get to the other side. You'll like what's waiting for you.
#NOSQUADGOALS
Austin was in a couple crews but you never saw the best Austin when he was on teams. You don't need to be deep. He rolled solo and was doing his thing. He wasn't a follower. He achieved what he achieved being a solo act. I have homies and they know who they are I don't have to even name them off but sometimes I have to roll one deep just to get my head right. I'll travel out of town solo in a heartbeat. No one stops me from making moves. I don't wait on anything or anyone. I used to be the type that needed everybody around me constantly but the older I got the more unnecessary I felt it was. It's okay to be the lone wolf. #NOSQUADGOALS
DO IT YOUR WAY
Hulk Hogan was the all american hero. Shawn Michaels was the athletic pretty boy. Bret Hart was the ultimate good guy. The Rock was electrifying. Austin was none of that shit. He was the simple, beer drinking, shit talking, ass kicking, anti-hero. No fancy shit. Straight to the point wrestling style. He wasn't anything we've ever seen and that's why he was so popular. He did it his way. We seen the crowd full of middle fingers. We seen beers being tossed from the crowd. It was all new to us and the world. He didn't care if you were a good guy or heel if you got in the way of his goal he was beating your ass. Austin did it his way, he went against everything that was safe in pro wrestling. You have to do it your way, not the way that's safe, and not what society wants you to do. You are you for a reason. It's the absolute truth of life. No one will say, see, think, things the way you do so just do it your way.
BEER. MORE BEER. MORE BEER.
Stone Cold taught us how to drink. After a long day of hard work or whooping ass, grab a drink and celebrate. Nothing wrong with that. God wants it that way and that's the bottom line cause Stone Cold Said So!
Here are a few of my favorite moments from the rattlesnake.
- BENNY
