Steve Austin | |
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_(cropped).jpg) Austin in 2010 | |
| Born | Steven James Williams December 18, 1964 Austin, Texas, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1989–2003, 2022 (wrestling) 1999–present (media) |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 3 |
| Ring name(s) | The Ringmaster[1] "Stone Cold" Steve Austin[1] "Stunning" Steve Austin[1] "Superstar" Steve Austin[1] Steve Williams[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 252 lb (114 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Victoria, Texas, U.S.[2] Hollywood, California (as "Stunning" Steve Austin) |
| Trained by | Chris Adams[1] |
| Debut | September 30, 1989[1] |
| Retired | March 30, 2003 (first retirement) April 2, 2022 (second retirement) |
| Website | brokenskullranch |
| Signature | |
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| Part of a series on |
| Professional wrestling |
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Steve Austin (born 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 currently 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-establishment antihero 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 Championship six times, the WWF Intercontinental Championship twice, the Million Dollar Championship once, and the WWF Tag Team Championship four 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 one-off 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).