Original subtitles

(glass shattering)

- [Michael Cole] Stone Cold Steve Austin!

- How you doing, honor to meet you.

- He was such an intense individual, I was intimidated.

- Did I think he had talent, the answer's yes.

- Touch your screen, feel that brush with greatness

that you'll never, ever realize.

- He talked more trash than anybody

I ever heard talk trash in my life.

- This is my ring.

- He really caught my eye as The Ringmaster.

- Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass.

(audience cheering)

- I had no idea what was gonna happen,

this guy's a psychopath.

- [Jim Ross] Tyson and Austin, Tyson and Austin.

- These are two big bulls,

and they're gonna go until one can't stand up.

- We knew that we had something intangible.

- D.T.A, Rock, don't trust anybody.

- [Booker T] They said action.

- [Steve Austin] Price check on a jackass.

- It turned out to be gold.

- It's, like, one of the coolest things

that ever happened to me.

- He's a natural, you can't manufacture that.

- Steve played that role perfectly,

'cause he's pretty much that guy.

(glass shattering)

- [Commentator] I'm watching this match,

I'm watching this Stunning Steve Austin, that's his name?

I'm very impressed with this kid.

- Stone Cold Steve Austin.

The first time I met him was in Dallas, Texas.

I had only been wrestling,

maybe a year and a half, two years.

He was literally a student in

Gentleman Chris Adams' wrestling school.

- This is Gentleman Chris Adams here again

to give you another update on my own

personalized coaching class.

- [Commentator] The pupil against the teacher,

and right now, the pupil is in charge.

- [Jeff Jarrett] From the very first time I really met him

and saw him, one thing that always came to my mind,

he meant business from day one.

- I'm gonna grind your face up and down that fence

until you're hamburger, baby.

- [Commentator] I've been very impressed

by Steve Austin's ability,

how far he's come in such a short time.

He's showing that he has the potential

to go a long, long way in professional wrestling.

- He took it very serious,

and he wanted others to take things very serious.

As a rookie, that's the mentality he had.

- Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen,

to World Championship Wrestling, I'm here at ringside

with the leader of The Dangerous Alliance,

and I understand, Paul, you have an announcement to make

regarding your organization.

- The company had just signed Ravishing Rick Rude.

The concept was Rick Rude being the centerpiece,

and you'd surround Rude with an all-star cast,

but who was gonna be the star of tomorrow?

So I pitched to Dusty,

the addition of one more piece of talent.

The world's greatest athlete,

and newest member of The Dangerous Alliance,

the World's TV Champion, Stunning Steve Austin.

Steve Austin learned from Rick Rude just by riding with

and listening to and working with Rick Rude.

- Don't expect a wrestling match.

You guys better come expecting an all-out war.

- Steve, he learned from some really, really great teachers,

and then he moved on, you know, with Pillman,

he was a star, you know, that team, they were stars.

- [Commentator] The World Tag Team Champions,

The Hollywood Blonds.

- I don't think WCW really knew

how big of a star that they really, really had.

- I remember watching WCW, I used to say,

"Man, that dude's got a big mouth."

- Touch your screen, feel that brush with greatness

that you'll never have in real life in your entire life

because you're not a Hollywood Blond.

- He talked more trash than anybody

I ever heard talk trash in my life.

- It's a great show to be a Blond, so stay tuned.

- [Commentator] The World Tag Team Champions.

This was billed as the Battle of the Decades,

meaning the 1990s against the 1980s.

- When I first met Steve in WCW,

did I think he had talent, the answer's yes.

He wasn't a shy, timid kid, he was a man.

I got to work with him a couple of times.

- [Commentator] Austin picks up Flair

and a suplex on the mat.

- [Ric Flair] One thing that stands out to me

is Clash of Champions in Iowa,

and Steve was wrestling Ricky Steamboat.

- [Commentator] Aw, Stunning Steve with a jawbreaker.

What a great counter maneuver that was.

- [Ric Flair] I had to go on after and I kept thinking,

"Man, this a lot to follow,"

because they were tearing the joint down.

- [Commentator] Wow, what a match we've got going on here.

- [Ric Flair] That's kind of the last thing

I remember with Steve before he took off.

- Finally, Brother Love, I have found him.

I give you The Ringmaster.

- [Vince McMahon] The new Million Dollar Champion.

- The first time he really

caught my eye was as The Ringmaster.

- I didn't come out here just to run my mouth, Brother Love.

I'm here to prove every single thing I say.

- And I really liked, like, technical wrestlers.

- [Vince McMahon] Look at this Ringmaster go.

- [Daniel Bryan] So this concept of a Ringmaster

who comes in and does hammerlocks and stuff like that,

that really appealed to me.

- This is my ring, yeah, this is my ring.

- [Vince McMahon] And, unquestionably,

you can give credit to The Ringmaster,

in terms of his wrestling acumen.

- I saw the list, Savio Vega is getting Steve Austin,

and here comes Pat Patterson.

Says, "Savio, this is Steve Austin, he's gonna wrestle you."

I said, "Okay."

- [Vince McMahon] The Ringmaster, he's stone-cold for sure,

but what happens when he locks up with Savio Vega?

- And I looked at Steve, I said,

"Wait, I don't know you, you don't know me,"

and we went to the ring.

- [Vince McMahon] To the buckle and here he comes.

Unbelievable!

Kick and, oh, wow, what a matchup.

- [Savio Vega] We wrestled almost every night

and we get better and better and better.

- [Vince McMahon] Vega now trying to get out of this,

and, no, stop, it goes to the backyard.

- And we're having fun.

- [Announcer] From the South Bronx, New York,

weighing 255 pounds - Here comes Savio Vega.

- [Announcer] Savio Vega.

- That Caribbean Strap Match,

we have to do it two times

because the first time was a big storm outside.

Soon as the camera points at me

and you see my face, the lights went off.

So we are killing time 'til the lights come back.

The lights never come back.

Bruce Prichard comes to us and says, "Start your match."

We did, for the first time, a real dark match,

but we have to repeat that match on Tuesday.

- [Mr. Perfect] I hope Mother Nature

will allow us to continue these three matches

we missed because of the lightning,

and hopefully it won't strike twice.

- [Jim Ross] These two men,

48 hours ago, in the dark in Florence,

blasted each other with that leather strap unmercifully.

Their bodies have not had time to heal,

and they're right back at it right here.

- [Savio Vega] We beat the hell

out of each other with respect.

We hit each other solid and we have good matches.

- Steve came here, his attitude was one of,

I'm gonna work hard, you know.

I mean, really hard, harder than anybody else,

and he had that extraordinary work ethic

and Steve came to me and said,

"Vince, I'm just not The Ringmaster."

"Okay, who are you?"

So Steve came to me, he says, "I'm Stone Cold.

- [Director] Standby, and action.

- And that's the stone cold truth.

- [Vince McMahon] Neither one of us

really knew what Stone Cold was.

Let's try this, let's try that.

- I'm gonna open up a can of whoop ass

and serve it ya in front of the whole world,

and that's the stone cold truth.

- [Vince McMahon] So it was the beginning

of a new character.

- And that's the bottom line 'cause Stone Cold said so.

- [Director] That was excellent

That was tremendous, whoa.

(bell ringing)

- [Announcer] Ladies and gentlemen,

this is the final match to determine the King of the Ring.

- Of all my favorite moments of the Stone Cold era,

the one that really comes to mind

that ignited Stone Cold Steve Austin

was when he won the King of the Ring back in 1996.

What happened was, Austin got his mouth busted open.

I think the match was against Marc Mero in the quarterfinal.

He had to go to the hospital and get sewed up.

He came back in a taxi cab, I was there waiting on him.

He said, "Hey, what'd Jake say?"

"Basically, it was kind of a religious promo

and he mentioned John 3:16."

"Okay, got it."

And that's all that was discussed.

- [Commentator] It's over!

- You sit there and you thump your bible

and you say your prayers and it didn't get you anywhere.

Talk about your Psalms, talk about John 3:16.

Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass.

- To use any kind of biblical quote in that form or fashion,

that was an authentic, honest reaction.

Like, oh, God, did he just say that, I guess he did.

- Steve Austin's time has come,

and when I get the shot

you're looking at the next WWF Champion,

and that's the bottom line because Stone Cold said so.

- It was very edgy for the time.

It just caught fire,

and, you know, immediately, immediately,

the next night there were Austin 3:16 signs.

Next thing you know there's an Austin 3:16 t-shirt,

and they're selling out everywhere.

- Austin 3:16, I had my shirt the next day.

I met him, as we were kids, we were going to

some shows with my dad a bunch of times.

- [Jim Ross] But Stone Cold Steve Austin

is showing no mercy to Rikishi.

- Like, Uncle Stone Cold.

Homie's out there, like, swigging beer, flicking people off.

You know, you hear the glass, it's your ass.

(glass shattering)

- My first memories of Stone Cold

were really when everybody in high school

is running around the corridors

legitimately Stone Cold stunning each other.

I still have an original Austin 3:16 shirt.

I think I might have actually had

my Austin 3:16 shirt on when I met him for the first time.

He was like, "Hey, nice shirt, nice shirt, kid."

I'm just like, "I feel like such an idiot,"

you know, out of all the days.

(audience cheering)

- All right, Boston, are you ready?

(audience cheering)

- The first time I saw him, it wasn't really face-to-face,

but it was when Wrestlemania XIV was in Boston,

and Stone Cold and Vince McMahon were at Boston Harbor.

- Oh, hell yeah. (audience cheering)

- He had this Patriots jersey,

and then it said, like, 3:16 was the number on it,

so I remember seeing him,

and that was, like, the first time I saw him in person.

I was like, wow, now there he is.

(audience cheering)

- That's what you get.

If you wanna go in the water, give me a hell yeah.

- And, sure enough, Wrestlemania XIV, I was there

to watch him and Shawn Michaels with Mike Tyson.

It was cool.

- The baddest man on the planet.

Ladies and gentlemen, Iron Mike Tyson.

- I can remember first getting involved with the WWE.

That was an amazing moment in my life.

More so to me because, just, like, I'm a fan.

I'm a groupie of these guys, I love these guys.

- I don't know how good your hearing is,

but if you don't understand what I'm saying,

I always got a little bit of sign language, so here's to ya.

- [Jerry Lawler] Whoa, here we go!

- [Jim Ross] Here we go.

Tyson and Austin, Tyson and Austin.

All hell is breaking loose.

- Yeah, I don't know what happened.

I had no idea what was gonna happen,

this guy's a psychopath,

and the next thing you know, he gives me the bird,

start to know what's going on.

- You ruined it, dammit, you ruined it.

- [Jim Ross] Austin, he got it, the stunner.

Mike Tyson in, Austin is the champion.

Stone Cold, Stone Cold, Stone Cold.

- [Jerry Lawler] Wait a minute, what?

- I was just so happy to be involved

with the Wrestlemania concern,

and D-Generation X and Cold Stone.

Cold Stone.

- Stone Cold.

And that's the bottom line.

- [Jim Ross] Austin got McMahon.

- It's like, now we're really on to something.

The credibility was there.

There are a lot of performers

who have to work on their promo skills,

but he's a natural.

- Nobody, especially Vince McMahon,

tells Stone Cold Steve Austin what to do,

and that's the bottom line.

(audience cheering)

- [Jim Ross] Stone Cold just stunned

the owner of the WWF again.

- You know, and because he's the genuine article,

and when you're that genuine, you know, people sense that.

- [Jim Ross] Oh my, it's a toy.

- How 'bout your foot, how's the foot feel?

How do you like that?

Huh, how's your foot feel? (Vince screaming)

- [Vince McMahon] We kept thinking, okay,

what can we do with this character?

In addition to beating the hell out of the boss,

which was also great,

but we came up with so many different ideas.

- [Jim Ross] Austin is loading McMahon's car with cement.

- He's extraordinary, he has a different style,

and he embraces that style.

The audience obviously relates to him.

That just comes through the television,

you can't manufacture that.

- Stone Cold Steve Austin is gonna

take his ass to Philadelphia,

check right in to the Smackdown Hotel,

roll right in to Room 316,

and burn that son of a bitch to the ground.

- [Michael Cole] Whoa.

Wait a minute, Stone Cold.

- [Jerry Lawler] That's beer!

- [Michael Cole] Stone Cold with a beer bath.

A beer bath on The Corporation.

- The chemistry between myself and Stone Cold Steve Austin

was and is very, very special and very unique.

We knew that we had something that was intangible,

that was an X factor when we first started doing our thing.

- If anybody wants to see Rocky Maivia

get his ass whipped, give me a hell yeah.

(audience cheering)

- [Jim Ross] Rocky's beeper just went off

and it must say 3:16.

Stone Cold is opening a can of whoop ass.

Oh, Austin.

- [Jerry Lawler] Stone Cold stunner.

- D.T.A., Rock, don't trust anybody.

- [The Rock] We headlined three Wrestlemanias.

- [Jim Ross] Who is the greatest WWE champion of all time?

It could very well be one of these two men in the ring,

only time will tell.

- [The Rock] We take a lot of pride

in it being the greatest rivalry

the sports entertainment world has ever seen.

- I need to beat you, Rock.

I need it more than anything that you could ever imagine.

- [The Rock] And not only did we take a lot of pride in it,

and headlining the Wrestlemanias,

but what that did for the business of the WWE.

What those matches, headlining those Wrestlemanias,

all the angles, everything that we did,

it was very special and invaluable.

Loved every moment working with Steve.

Loved every single moment.

- [Jerry Lawler] This is truly gonna be

the collision on the Highway to Hell.

- At that time period, getting to work with Austin,

it was really cool.

It was a Summerslam match,

and the buildup to it was Highway to Hell,

and we did some very cool vignettes and promo spots for it,

and it was a huge build.

I mean, they had city buses done up with Highway to Hell,

with, looked like Godzilla trailers

where two monsters are tearing through Tokyo,

and they've got buildings in their hands.

So they were using some of the same kind of artwork,

but, obviously, it was Austin and myself.

It was really cool.

- [Jim Ross] Business has picked up.

(bell ringing)

Back then, my legs were fresh and strong,

and I really didn't think anything about it,

so I put him on the table, then I climbed up.

That was the first time that I had did it.

That's the first time I had saw how far,

how far that I had to go and be able to land it,

and not kill him.

- [Jerry Lawler] No way.

- [Jim Ross] Don't do it, no.

(audience cheering)

- [Undertaker] He was fine, I fractured my coccyx,

but it was an iconic move in an iconic match.

These are two big bulls right here,

and they're gonna go until one can't stand up.

He ended up getting me that night,

but it'll be a night I'll always remember.

- [Jim Ross] That takes a hell of a lot of class.

- [Undertaker] It was really special.

(soda hissing)

- [Michael Cole] Hello.

Austin, Austin attacking Booker T.

- Me and Steve, I remember one moment in the grocery store,

it wasn't anything that we thought

we would ever be doing in our wrestling careers.

- [Jerry Lawler] Oh, no, not eggs.

- [Steve Austin] Want me to cook some eggs, Booker?

- [Jerry Lawler] Not the eggs.

- [Booker T] You gotta be able to entertain yourself.

You gotta be able to laugh at yourself.

- Thanks, Book, you got milk?

- For Steve and I, two guys that are known

for being able to go out and hold our own,

to find ourselves in a grocery store fight,

it was something really, really awesome.

They said action and we did it.

- I'm on a diet, how 'bout some butter?

- And it turned out to be gold this many years later.

Young kids and people that's never seen my wrestling career,

they know me from that scene with Stone Cold Steve Austin.

- [Steve Austin] Price check on a jackass.

(Booker T groaning)

- It's pretty awesome.

(Kurt whistling)

(audience cheering)

- How you doing, Stone Cold Steve Austin?

It's an honor to meet you.

I would say the most nervous I became

was when I started my program with Stone Cold Steve Austin.

When I got in the ring with him,

I felt like I was intimidated.

I was intimidated by his presence.

I was intimidated by the way he looked,

he was very aggressive,

so I knew I had to step up.

- [Jerry Lawler] Look at Stone Cold,

he's just what Mr. McMahon said, a raving lunatic.

He's a maniac.

- I had never got tired in any match I'd ever worked.

Austin got me, he blew me up one match,

and I literally thought, "Wow, here's a guy

that is as intense as me,

and he literally can do this to other people like I can,"

so I gained a lot more respect for him

because he was such an intense individual.

He was so intimidating to work with,

but he was such a great leader.

I love the fact that he was a great athlete,

but his intensity and his psychology was second to none.

* Jimmy crack corn and I don't care *

* Jimmy crack corn and I don't care *

* Jimmy crack corn and I don't care *

* I got Olympic gold *

* I got Olympic gold *

* I got Olympic gold * - Kurt.

* Jimmy crack corn and I don't care *

- Kurt!

- I actually had more fun

doing the stuff than the actual wrestling,

and that's what makes sports entertainment

so valuable and so special is

the fans remember the funny moments.

Hey, guys, how does this look?

(audience cheering)

I feel like a real cowboy.

Yipee-ki-yay.

- I think that everybody who is a WWE Superstar

who has been a fan, at some point in time,

you wanna be in there with Stone Cold

because you wanna drink a beer with Stone Cold.

(glass shattering)

- [Michael Cole] No, it's not!

Yes, it is!

Stone Cold Steve Austin.

- It was kind of surreal being out

in front of that many people,

and hearing their theme music

and seeing them come down the ramp

because that's something, like, as a fan of these guys,

you see on TV or you experience while you're in the crowd,

but you don't know what it feels like

to be, like, in the little bull area

while they're making their way down

because everyone's losing their mind,

and so seeing that was, like,

fulfilling all of my childhood dreams.

It's just like, this is amazing,

and then I almost forgot, like,

it's gonna be even better

because we're gonna get in the ring with them.

Everyone in that arena knew what was gonna happen.

- I always remember it, and I smile every time I see it,

is when I see Austin pretending to be into the dancing.

- "All right, oh, kinda like this, kinda like this."

- [Michael Cole] Hey, even Steve's getting into it.

Oh, no, stunner.

That's the Stone Cold I know.

- If you were to go back and tell 11-year-old me,

"One of these days, you're gonna be in the ring

drinking a beer with him,"

I'd look at you and I'd be like,

"Okay, I don't think I believe you,"

but the fact that it actually happened was really surreal.

- Everyone is super invested into this one moment in time

to the point where I was just thinking about

the fact that I might be the last person on this earth

to receive a Stone Cold stunner at Wrestlemania,

and while it hurts like hell,

it's, like, one of the coolest things

that ever happened to me.

- Woods was beyond excited to take a stunner from Austin.

It was very cool, and I was able to, at the end,

sneak beer while I was laying out there.

So stealing one of Austin's beers and chugging it,

that was kind of the moment I looked around

and like, hey, this is pretty cool.

- A personal memory that was really cool for me,

it's when I had my neck surgery in 2014.

I've come out here and I've paid that price with my body,

and, unfortunately,

unfortunately, I also have to pay the price

this week with neck surgery.

And he just called me and he just

was interested in how my neck was

because obviously he had neck issues,

and he said, you know, "When you come back,

you should try to work a different style."

He said, "When I hurt my neck,

I studied a bunch of Jerry Lawler

and learned how to tell stories

with just punches and kicks

so it would take less toll on my body."

He said, "You still work your ass off,"

and so that was really kind of him

to call and say that to me.

(glass shattering)

(audience cheering)

- [Michael Cole] What a way to kick off

the 25th anniversary of Monday Night Raw.

- Stone Cold, Mr. McMahon, that grudge was iconic

and it lasted multiple years,

so starting the show off, Raw's 25th,

it just felt right to go do that.

- It's been a long time since you

and I have been in the ring together.

Times have changed, I'm now a senior citizen,

but Shane's in his prime.

(audience cheering)

Shane's in his prime, God, he looks so good, look at him.

My God, he flies off of one side of the ring to the other.

- It just clicked, it was magic.

Being there in the ring with him and looking around.

- [Michael Cole] Stunner to Shane.

The Rattlesnake has struck.

- I don't blame ya, he had it coming.

Well, this is for old time's sake.

- [Announcer] We're gonna get a celebratory toast

with the chairman and the Rattlesnake.

- I will say this, I don't know if the footage exists,

but someone other than Stone Cold

was accidentally pouring beer on my leg.

- [Michael Cole] Mending fences, time heals all wounds.

Austin stuns the boss, give me a hell yeah.

- [Booker T] Some things never change.

- [Michael Cole] And now the Austin bash continues.

- Imagine if you can live vicariously

through Stone Cold Steve Austin, which so many people did,

and Steve played that role perfectly

'cause he's pretty much that guy.

That was awesome, thank you.

I just thanked him.

Thanked him for being a part of it for all the years

and thanked him for that night 'cause he was magical.

- [Michael Cole] That's the bottom line.

- [Booker T] 'Cause Stone Cold said so.

- [Michael Cole] The most iconic figure

in the history of Raw, Stone Cold Steve Austin.

- Steve's always been there, man.

Fun to drink beer with, fun to laugh with, just a guy's guy,

but more importantly, a man's man.

Love him as a performer.

- You got some great antiques here, Ric.

How much you pay for that old statue over there?

- Steve, That's Double A.

- Love him as the great talent, love him as a man, too.

God bless him, good man.

- The wrestling business can be

as crazy as you could ever imagine.

You get some larger than life characters

back there in the back.

When you're in the business that we're in,

man, so much of your life is spent on the road,

and you love every second of it.

I mean, it's what we do, man, you live for the crowd,

you live for the pops, you live to go to the next town.

When I look back at the way everything happened

for me to end up as Stone Cold Steve Austin

with the success that I had.

- [Jim Ross] The top man in the industry,

Stone Cold Steve Austin.

- [Steve Austin] Just seemed like the stars always aligned

in a special way for me to reach the heights that I reached,

and that's the bottom line 'cause I said so.