WRESTLING NEWS
Steve Austin's Best Matches Before He Became 'Stone Cold'
By SHANE O'NEILL
11. A Fascinating Anomaly
Before Steve Austin gained fame, his tag-team match on August 17, 1990, was noteworthy because Austin had Percival Pringle III, a.k.a Paul Bearer, on his team, while his opponents were Austin’s less-than-average trainer Chris Adams and Chris Von Erich of the Von Erich family. The match itself wasn't great, but the pairing was a fascinating anomaly.
10. ECW World Championship
Upon joining ECW, Austin didn’t immediately step into the ring, but his angry rants catapulted him into a triple threat match on 1995’s PPV December to Dismember against Mikey Whipwreck and the Sandman for the ECW gold. This was Austin’s second and final match in ECW that the Sandman won, and Austin left for the WWF.
9. Future Legends in a Ring
During his WCW days, on January 8, 1990, Austin teamed with “Dirty” Dutch Mantel — better known as the manager Zeb Colter — to face Punisher and Soultaker, who’d be later known as The Undertaker and the Godfather. That night the fans witnessed future legends, three of whom would redefine the industry during the WWF’s Attitude Era.
8. The NJPW Stint
On May 26, 1995, Austin faced one of the best wrestlers of the last 50 years: Keiji Muto, better known by his alter-ego, The Great Muta, during his second NJPW stint. The two had clashed twice before, where Muto and Austin had secured one victory each, and the final bout saw Muto arise victorious in this seldom-discussed match trilogy.
7. WCW Starrcade 1993
The greatest accolade that Austin gathered in the WCW was when he defeated Dustin Rhodes at WCW Starrcade 1993 for the WCW United States Championship in a two-out-of-three falls match. Austin went on to remain champion for 240 days following his victory, defeating the likes of Ricky Steamboat, Eric Watts, and Goldust again.