Stone Cold Steve Austin Wasn't On Board With Some Of The Names WWF Initially Suggested
Known as "Stunning" Steve Austin during his time with WCW in the early 1990s, the man who would become known as "The Texas Rattlesnake" raised the idea of a new nickname when he signed with the WWF in 1995, one that would indicate being cold-blooded. When taking on some Hot Ones, Austin recalled how the WWF misunderstood his idea and offered a slate of less-than-satisfactory temperature-based names.
In an appearance on the YouTube series "First We Feast," the iconic wrestler said his inspiration came by watching an HBO special on the life of serial killer Richard Kuklinski, who was known by the nickname "The Iceman."
"I'm not endorsing anything he did, but he was just a ruthless individual," Austin recalled. "I said, 'Okay, there are some traits there that would make a good villain in the squared circle. So, I pitched the idea to the office, and the 'Iceman' had already been done at a local level down in Dallas by 'Iceman' King Parsons. So, we didn't want to go down that road."
Inspiration In A Tea Cup
Austin noted that the WWF took the "Iceman" moniker too literally and thought of chilly nicknames that didn't carry the same sense of dread. Among the suggestions presented to him were Fang McFrost, Chilly McFreeze, and Otto von Ruthless.
"Based on my concept that I gave them, they pitched me temperature-based names," he said. "It wasn't about being temperature-based. It's cold-blooded, like mean, remorseless, ruthless. And, so, I was like, 'You gotta be kidding me.'"
Austin said he was under the impression that the creative minds at the WWF were able to take anyone "and turn them into a superstar. So, the names were absolutely ridiculous. And I cannot believe that was the best that they came up with."
As for the Stone Cold moniker, Austin didn't provide the credit for its creation in his "First We Feast" interview, but in the documentary "Stone Cold Steve Austin: The Bottom Line on the Most Popular Superstar of All Time" he revealed the accidental inspiration for his WWE name: Austin's British-born wife at the time, Jeannie, made him a cup of hot tea when he was being flummoxed by the silly WWF names and warned him to "go ahead and drink your tea before it goes stone cold."