Steve Austin
Birth Name: Steven James Anderson
AKA: Steven James Williams
Nickname: Stone Cold
Birthdate: December 18, 1964
Birthplace: Victoria, Texas, USA
Occupation: Actor and Professional Wrestler
Profile: Became a member of the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009. Found guilty of Domestic Violence in 2002.
Website: https://www.wwe.com/superstars/stone-cold-steve-austin
Number of Quotes: 112
A great gimmick is a great gimmick, but on a dud, it just doesn't work. It comes down to talent.
A lot of people say, What set the Attitude Era up?
or, What started the Attitude Era?
To me - and I was allegedly the leader of it - sports
entertainment, pro wrestling, whatever you want to call it has always had an attitude. So, why that particular generation got labeled, I don't know.
And that's the bottom line, 'cause Stone Cold said so!
Signature closing line, often delivered after confrontations or promos.
Any time you go live with Vince McMahon it's going to be a very interesting experience.
As much as I love the business and I love my fans, I don't want to be at every WrestleMania.
Austin 3:16 says I just whooped your ass!
From his 1996 King of the Ring victory speech, inspired by John 3:16 and aimed at Jake The Snake
Roberts.
Based on the name value I had, I went to L.A. and got involved in independent movies.
Cancer has affected my family; my mother and father have battled cancer. I know how tough it is.
Diamond Dallas Page is one of my best friends.
Don't look forward to me putting on the trunks and knee braces to get back in the ring and stomp a mudhole in somebody and walking it dry.
Driving a forklift is kind of like riding a bicycle. You've either got forklift skills or you don't, and I can remove somebody's molars with a forklift.
Humorously describing his proficiency with a forklift.
DTA: Don’t Trust Anybody.
A mantra reflecting his anti-authority, lone-wolf persona.
Earl Hebner should definitely be in the WWE Hall of Fame.
Everyone can have a rough day at the office, as they say. I've had those myself many times when the bell rings.
Everyone out here in Los Angeles is trying to do whatever to break into films. It is a tough
industry to get into, kind of like pro wrestling in a lot of respects when you think about it.
Everything I've done goes back to pro wrestling. Had I not been able to achieve what I did, I guarantee you... my high school
jobs were always working in the highway department - driving dump trucks, patching up roads, digging ditches, driving a forklift.
Give me a hell yeah!
A crowd-prompting chant during his entrances or promos.
I actually have a pretty good sense of humor.
I am not a coward.
I appreciate everyone that had supported my career.
I didn't do choreographed fighting for a living. I was a professional wrestler for 15 years; there's a big difference.
I don't have the talent of Daniel Day-Lewis. I'm Steve Austin,
so when I get to hang out and be who I am, and I live on set, it's like a paid vacation, man.
I don't know if a pro wrestling career prepares you for Hollywood. When you get out there, and you're in an arena for 20,000 people
or 90,000 people, it's a lot different than being on a quiet set with 100 people, so I think you get used to dealing with cameras.
I don't live as Stone Cold.
I live as Steve Austin. I was
Stone Cold
Steve Austin back in 2003, then I rode off into the sunset.
I don't look to save the world with any of the movies that I make. I'm not trying to make any
political statement with the movies I make. I'm trying to have a good time. I'm trying to entertain people.
I enjoy reality television.
I found out in pro wrestling that it works better if you just try and be yourself versus working on
something you're not, so I'm me, and maybe it's magnified a bit, but it's easier just being me.
I go back to the old school days of that Attitude Era stuff. Everybody knows when I speak of the Attitude Era, my
favorite stuff is of the mid-'80s, all that NWA stuff, the World Class stuff, the stuff that Bill Watts was doing.
I got out of the business when I got out. The hunger was out of my system.
I got pile drived in '96 or '97 and was a quadriplegic for about a minute and a half. I couldn't move anything. It was in the Meadowlands at a pay per view with
a million or two people watching, and I couldn't move. That cost me a surgery, but I healed pretty quickly, so that was probably my worst day at the office.
I had a lot more creative freedom back in the day.
I have so many great memories of the wrestling business. I've worked real hard to get to the top,
and how many flukes and breaks to have happened that had allowed me to have the success that I did.
I like pure pro-wrestling, when it's serious in its orientation and presentation - like it's a legit sport with Jim Ross calling the action.
I love my fans, and I love my relationship with the fans, but when you're a performer, and you're used to being the mac daddy, the
main cat, and all of a sudden you're not that guy anymore, it's kind of a whole different spectrum and a whole different level.
I love my mother to death. I'm pretty much a reflection of her.
I love the business of pro wrestling, and it is something I know better than anything else I know about.
I made a good living being a tough guy on TV, but I'd rather laugh and joke all day long than try to be a tough guy.
I no longer need my power tie because I always have my power finger.
In reference to his rebellious persona and frequent use of the middle finger gesture.
I own a ranch in Texas, so there's always something to do as far as work goes, whether it's tractor stuff or tearing down fence.
I really value my days down there in ECW in Philly.
I respect Hulk Hogan because his career lasted some 30 odd years. I think I lasted about
15, but during my peak years, I took the business to a height it never seen before.
I think if I'd never had found pro wrestling, I'd be a blue collar guy, working a 9-to-5 job.
I think The Condemned
has a great story. It's a lot more than a mindless action flick.
I think they've got to give Kevin Owens a run with the belt. He's a veteran, and he's really clicking on the mic, and the kid is super talented.
I used to love Andre The Giant. I could sit around all day and listen to Andre stories. He was such a wonderful,
unique guy who everyone loved being around. The thing about Andre, he just had this magical mystique about him.
I want to be careful when I'm breaking down matches because I don't want to offend anybody or knock
anybody's work. It took me a long time to get where I was at, so I know how it feels when someone knocks on you.
I was a Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes guy. Ric Flair continues to be my favorite wrestler of all
time. I loved Harley Race and Nick Bockwinkel and all of those guys, but I'm a big Flair guy.
I wear decent shades, but if I lose them, I'll go right to the store and get cheap ones because my eyes are that sensitive.
I would consider doing something along the lines of Tough Enough
because that was my first
endeavor into reality television, and that is a world I know and love, and that's why I was on that show.
I'll open up a can of whoop-ass on you!
A threat often used by Austin to intimidate his opponents.
I'll tell you what, the chemistry that I had with Bret Hitman
Hart in the
ring, and the respect and the trust we had for each other, was unbelievable.
I'm for same-sex marriage.
I'm glad about The Curtain Call
now, but I remember being very confused watching it all go down because I
was right there behind the curtain watching it all, and I couldn't believe these guys were breaking kayfabe.
I'm honest and tell it like it is. I've been around the horn a few times and learned valuable lessons from
screwing up a bit. So, if I can pass off advice or make someone smile on the way to work, I'm for it.
I'm not addicted to wrestling anymore. For a long time, I was.
I'm not wrestling anymore. I'm out of that part of my career.
I'm pro-WWE, but also I maintain my independence and speak my true thoughts, never
bashing the product. But yes, I can be critical. I've earned the right to be critical.
I'm really proud of Broken Skull Challenge.
I'm telling you, there have been some great finishers in the world of pro wrestling or sports
entertainment. Whatever you want to call it. Man, I enjoyed the Iron Claw back in the day. I believed it was real.
I've been in the entertainment industry - wresting, but the entertainment industry since 1989; if
you have thin skin, you're going to have a tough time in this town, but I've got thick skin.
I've got a chance to host a show called Redneck Island
on CMT. I love doing that show.
If it's the morning, and I had a late night, the worst thing in the world is a bright light.
If you put an s
in front of Hitman,
you've had my exact opinion of Bret Hart.
A play on words expressing his disdain for fellow wrestler Bret Hitman
Hart.
In The Condemned,
if you saw the movie, that's all me; I'll go toe to toe with anyone in an action movie.
In the ring, if someone hits you too hard, you can only take so many of those, and you have to send back a receipt, meaning
Hey, settle down.
If a guy has a bad night at the office and catches you in the chin, you pop him so he knows what's going on.
In the wrestling world, you had WWE, WCW, and smaller promotions that were like the
independents. I look at it as craft beer being the independent beer makers. It's the indie scene.
It goes - for me - WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, Summerslam. The big three.
It's like I tell everybody, if you get a chance to win the Royal Rumble or the King of the Ring back when they had it, that means you're gonna get
a push. You getting an opportunity at something big, and it can really set up your future for you. So if you're that guy, boy, it's pressure.
John Cena has done well for himself.
Man, I had a good time working on Grown Ups 2.
First of all, when I read the
script, it is hands-down the funniest script I've ever read. It's laugh-out-loud funny.
Man, it was a great ride back in the day. Obviously, I started out in WCW, and I
was a good mechanic back in the day. Got fired from that gig, made a turn for ECW.
My exit strategy from pro wrestling wasn't carved in stone. I retired because of a few neck issues, some neurological issues.
My favoirte wrestler is Nature Boy
Ric Flair.
My name is Stone Cold Steve Austin.
I am the World Wrestling Federation Champ. And I can't be stopped!
A declaration of his dominance in the wrestling world.
My run cannot be touched. If you want to talk about longevity, you can speak the name Hogan. If you want to talk about
white-hot, selling tickets, and taking the business to a height it's never been - and, with a hell of a supporting cast, I might
add - you're talking about Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Oh hell yeah!
A celebratory or defiant exclamation, often after hitting a Stunner.
On Redneck Island,
a show I love, there was a lot of drama and storylines
going on because someone's always voted off the island through process of elimination.
Once I came up with the Stone Cold
thing, it was like a snowball rolling down a
hill; it just kept getting larger and larger, and I wasn't afraid to push the envelope.
q>Paul Heyman works with Brock. The magic works between Brock and Paul because of their dynamic and their chemistry.
People go into that arena, and they know the fix is in. They know what pro wrestling or sports
entertainment is. That being said, they want it executed to the highest level so that they can suspend their
disbelief and buy in, and so, in a world of make believe, you make people believe in you. It's as real as it can be.
Probably the greatest match in my career, and really put me on the match as a main event guy and paved the
way for what I was to become, was Wrestlemania 13, with the one and only, Bret The Hitman
Hart.
Save your money, pay your taxes, it doesn't last forever...
Austin advising others on financial prudence.
Say the average arena is 20,000 people. You're in the very center of that arena, and you're playing to the worst seat in
the house up there. So everything is very big, very large. It's like a very violent form of Broadway in a 20x20 ring.
Shoot, man, I loved being a damn heel. Something about that, just going out there and being the most despicable person you could ever
be, was a real turn-on for me. And I grew up a real shy kid in south Texas, and it was something for me to lean on and have fun with.
Short people, tall people, people with glasses, the bottom line is son, I'll whoop all their asses.
Emphasizing his readiness to take on anyone, regardless of their appearance.
That final match I had at WrestleMania with The Rock was my last match.
The Rock is one of the biggest movie stars in the world. So give the guy his due.
The thing about the Broken Skull Challenge
is that there's really nothing else like it on television.
The thing that's so tough about Broken Skull Challenge
is you're going head-to-head with
another human being who may or may not be stronger than you and may or may not want it more than you.
There's no reason to go back in the ring and prove anything.
There's so many things I want to accomplish in the world of acting. But, the two most important are that I want to
keep paying the bills and I want to get better. That's about it. I enjoy what I do. I'll stay busy. I've been lucky.
They made a three-hour Raw,
but two hours is about my time limit. I ain't got that kind of attention span.
Vince McMahon is a workaholic; he sleeps 4 hours a night. The last thing that you want to tell the old man is that you are burned out - you need a break.
We didn't roll credits after Monday Night Raw.
You know, it didn't
say, Stone Cold Steve Austin played
by Steve Austin,
so all of a sudden
people think that's who and what you are 24/7, you know, 365 days a year.
What?
A taunting interruption popularized in the early 2000s, where he’d mock opponents by demanding they repeat themselves.
When I came to WWE back in the day, I'd been working seven-and-a-half years, and I was very
frustrated. I started getting some momentum, and my work was very vicious, and it was very believable.
When I got into professional wrestling, I started, and I starved for two years, and I finally got some
breaks. And then I got the biggest break, and I made the most of it and took wresting to its highest level ever.
When I see things through my eyes, I don't want to ever just be really negative towards someone's performance. There are many ways to skin
a cat. Sometimes I watch the guys, and they're doing different things than I would have done, but I don't ever want to be too critical.
When I went out and did what I did in the world of professional wrestling as Stone
Cold Steve Austin, pretty
much anything and everything thing I said was ad lib, on the spot, just let it fly and go for it.
When Savage died, that was hard on me. I didn't even hardly know Randy, but I just turned 51 this past December, and he was 58 when he died. I'm like,
Hey man, just because I'm in that line of work, do I have an expiration date? Am I supposed to go?
I always wonder, but I don't harbor it.
When that glass broke and Stone Cold
was making an entrance, and that roof blew off that building,
that sends you higher than life or anything that I know of. It's an adrenaline rush you can't explain.
When you look back on anything in life, hindsight being 20/20, some things you'd like to have done a little differently.
When you see me on TV as Stone Cold Steve Austin, that's
definitely a part of my personality.
When you wrestle for 15 years, you don't want to go back to driving that forklift.
With the Monday Night Wars, it was almost a pay-per-view every single Monday between the two
factions because they were trying to throw everything but the kitchen sink to win the ratings war.
Wrestling is a very serious subject for me.
WWE dropped the ball with Tough Enough.
You know how much money I could have made playing professional football as a tight end? But I can't jump, and I can't run fast. That was my problem.
You want mercy? Take your ass to church!
Austin's way of telling opponents not to expect leniency from him.
You can't push the envelope at 10,000 RPM and expect to come out smelling like a rose and feeling like a million bucks on the other side.
You cannot put Paul Heyman with Roman Reigns. People would know you're putting Paul Heyman with him because there is a problem.
You're in there, you're having a match, and you're feeding off that crowd. That's the gasoline that fuels the match, and that's how you make
your decisions. If you're not listening to that crowd when you're working, you're missing the biggest part of what working is all about.
Last on Earth
