Jim Cornette on The Rise Of Stone Cold Steve Austin

From Episode 175 of Jim Cornette's Drive Thru
Artwork by Travis Heckel!
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[@rudibotha3947]

Stone Cold had an Organic rise to fame , he was a natural And like JC puts it, one of the biggest stars in pro wrestling

[@anthonyshats4427]

Justin Credible? Lol

[@stephonwilliams5232]

@@anthonyshats4427 funny you say that cuz i just watched a justin credible video before this one lolololololololol

[@BIGxDADDYxPOLLO]

Me?

[@blurplebear8573]

@@anthonyshats4427 John Candy

[@calebjohnson701]

One of? Nah he’s the #1 draw even over Hulk Hogan

[@cappy2282]

Bret knew Austin was a star before anyone

[@Monchi2006]

I mean, just hearing about Austin beating Jake Roberts in the KOTR finals sounds way more of a big deal than him beating say, Marc Mero

[@johnjohnson7036]

The lesson that was learned was KLIQ WINS!

[@christhornycroft3686]

Stone Cold created his own character. How many wrestlers do that today?

[@OpticalFunkllusions]

It's kind of scary to think just how close this damn world came to missing out on Stone Cold Steve Austin

[@eazypeazy33]

Mega culture changer

[@FantadiRienzo]

Steve Austin's "Broken Glass"-entrance theme helped him a lot. This is just such a great song, and it fits perfectly to the way he looks and walks to the ring.

[@RedFox0909]

Yup, songs are huge. Look at the Warrior. A big part of the excitement with him started with that guitar.

[@Hyde_Hill]

If I remember correctly the composer was pretty much told to take bulls on parade from RATM and make something like it.

[@allenlegacy242]

Song are definitely a big deal. Especially back in the day. HBK, Razor, Bret, Mankind, Undertaker, Diesel. Too name a few. Bret always comes to my mind first. The guitar screaming during the intro, legendary and iconic.

[@RedFox0909]

@@allenlegacy242 Listen to Jake Robert's face theme from the 80s, and then his heel theme "Trust Me". Both are amazing, and worked so well to setup his character. When his 80s theme hits in the 1990s Royal Rumble well Dibiase is in the ring the crowd goes bananas.

[@stephonwilliams5232]

@@allenlegacy242 yeah especially true for bret hart that intro is 1 and a million

[@bobbyrowe9147]

Stone cold was lightning in a bottle

[@dallasparty316]

Perfect gimmick, perfect timing, perfect person. The whole Austin rise, Attitude Era etc during this time was just a perfect storm of cosmic proportions

[@marvj8255]

He was thunder in a can for sure

[@stinkypinkeee5085]

In a beer bottle...

[@MGBillionaire]

He lasted about as long as a bolt of lightning ⚡️

[@kennydunhill1800]

All great things are.

[@jonnybrotten1290]

I worked in Memphis territory with Stunning Steve Austin and we were in the Texas faction with Eric Embry, Dr Tom Pritchard, Jackie, Tojo Yamamoto, and B J Travis . It was the Texas vrs. Tennessee fued. With all the great talent on both sides it was still obvious that Austin was a on a whole other level of talent on every aspect of the business. That said he was a great fucking guy and he never forget where he started. On the several occasions that we crossed paths after he blew up he was still the same guy that I knew in USWA. I have seen guys get a little push in other companies and they had become assholes but not Steve, at least not to any of the boys that had been in USWA together except for Double J.

[@seanycaufield6809]

This makes me so happy to know he’s a great dude outside the ring. Thanks for sharing brother!

[@wowthatsawesome2762]

Double Js dad stuffed him on pay

[@steampog]

Jonny Rotten.. Been a while for sure. How's things been since?

[@sugartbube]

It was a near miracle that Steve and the Rock could over come those shitty beginings

[@jonsummersprizepicks]

Kobe shot two air balls you never know what propels greatness

[@rylewx]

Almost feel like they do that on purpose to give them adversity. If they get over with generic colored gear they can get over with a great gimmick. Think about how Cena started and how similar the hokey/generic-ness was to Rocky.

[@slabbusterrtr7690]

Destiny

[@cappy2282]

Lol Ya definitely the Rock. The bland babyface Rock wouldn't even get over in the 80's

[@iamasimpleman.5535]

And so many others.

[@1andonlykingp]

If anybody had caught Steve Austin's short stint in ECW at the time (which most people didn't), you'd have seen it coming. He gave a preview of his Stone Cold character. Showed there he had the charisma and it factor to be a star. And then a couple years later it happened. He had a true organic rise to the top

[@SteveSport_]

I loved Stone Cold as Superstar Steve Austin in ECW. That was a foreshadowing to greatness!!!!!!!

[@MIKELIN8]

I've said on other videos that Austin's ECW promos were legendary. Knowing he was short-term, Heyman booked him to lose to Mikey Whipwreck. Jeez.

[@SteveSport_]

Heyman wanted Austin to win, but Stone Cold told Paul it would be better storytelling for Mikey to pull out the victory the way he did.

[@Hillthugsta]

"Welcome to Monday Niquil, where the big boys play with each other."

[@danielwilson9724]

ECW Austin are my favorite promos from him his whole career!! I loved tht shit!

[@kcole3937]

I remember when Raw would be on, time would fly by so fast and we couldn’t wait for next week to hear that glass break ...... Who gives a fuck now

[@ladistar]

Ahahahahahaha damn savage so true lmaoooo

[@charlesperks8495]

Nostalgia does.

[@garywest2250]

So true lol

[@bgsg8485]

So true! We in India used to wait for raw for recorded episodes and watch it twice once at 6 to 8pm india time and wake up till it was 12am when they played it again. Get scoldings from mom and dad but still be awake till 2 am just to see the finishing that 3:16 brought..... Honestly no one is ever going to be the Austin.. "The greatest WWE superstar of all time" as Vince himself said it....

[@kcole3937]

@@charlesperks8495 Oh no I mean who cares about the current product Not must see as it used to be

[@michaelmarino7391]

Steve Austin was the Hulk Hogan of the Attitude Era. If not for the neck issues due to the botched pildriver from Owen Hart, Austin could've had a multi-year run as champion.

[@garywest2250]

Hulk Hogan couldn't hold The Rattle Snake's jock.

[@theslickrips5904]

@@garywest2250 doesn’t change that he was the “hulk” of the attitude era lol

[@bgsg8485]

@@theslickrips5904 bull shit man. You might be a hogan fan. But even now people show that Austin is way over hogan. Hogan took WWE to spot light and then went to do the same in WCW.. he did.. but his spot light was desimated by 3:16.. everyone in the business knows no body is ever going to reach the level of Austin... Even Hogans reaction to Austin's entrance at RAW 25 year shows you what Austin is.. like it or hate it.. the biggest superstar in wrestling business.

[@theslickrips5904]

@@bgsg8485 guess you don’t understand how analogies work.....I’ll reiterate Austin was the “hogan” of his era meaning top guy in wwf lol

[@bgsg8485]

@@theslickrips5904 no! It's just that it was a that instance when analogies are used poorly.. hogan was never so over as Austin.. to claim Austin was hogan of his era.. it's like saying Cena is the Austin of PG era.. Cena was big was the face of WWE so was hogan and so was the rock but they were never quite the SCSA.. first language does not make your vocabulary great by default.. you still need to know how to use words appropriately.. 😂

[@jstinson7072]

Bret Hart coming back at Survivor Series 1996 and asking to work with Steve is an underrated event in Steve shooting to the top. He won the rumble 2 months later then had the legendary match with him that wasn't originally planned at Mania 13 and the rest was history

[@derekazyan9942]

Their chemistry was unreal

[@jasonphilip1198]

You know you listen to a lot of Cornette, when you know exactly who he's referring to when he says "shit stain." XD

[@ladistar]

Hahahahahaha Vince Russo lmaooooo

[@slabbusterrtr7690]

Vince Russo 😂😂😂

[@MrJjburgess11]

Before Austin got big. I remember him wrestling Savio Vega almost every week on raw .

[@Americoroca]

His best matches. The strap match was awesome.

[@ryanphilbin5573]

Oopop

[@ryanphilbin5573]

@@Americoroca oop

[@ryanphilbin5573]

@@Americoroca o

[@ryanphilbin5573]

@@Americoroca 9o0

[@daleva187goligo]

stone cold was the whole package, he could talk his ass off and he could work his ass off, and he pulled off the badass ftw gimmick like I've never seen before, or since, truly a great all time talent

[@TheFailedmessiah]

I think the gimmick of stone cold steve Austin probably confused Jim at the time. Is he a baby face. Is he a heel? Stone cold was the first of many anti heroes in prowrestling. A foul mouthed anti authority guy that the audience love. Jim must have been confused. Like is he bad is he good? Do I root for him when hes beating up a non wrestler in his 50s? I remember Vince tried coming out as a baby face when he did the JR interview about the bret hart screw job. Trying to blame bret and Vince unbeknownst to him, created one of the best heels in wrestling.

[@FantadiRienzo]

Austin was supposed to be a heel, but then the audience liked him as the "ass whoopin" face, so the best option was go with it. It's not like today, where wrestlers simply don't know how and why they are supposed to be heels and faces

[@isaihvega9928]

Yeah but he still was a baby face in the sense that he was always at odds and he was a lone wolf. He may have not acted excatly like a good guy but he was supposed to represent the everyday man sticking it to the evil corporate company. And they fucked with him first so he was justified in fucking with them

[@nathanielbaxter8044]

Jim covers this during the Bret/ Austin Wrestlemania watchalong. I'm not sure where you're getting the idea he was confused from?

[@CriticalQuacker]

I don't know, Stone Cold kinda reminds me Bruiser Brodie.

[@splash8429]

@@isaihvega9928 I wish the good guys nowadays were like Austin more often. Instead if telling us u love me, how about u show it. Action speaks louder than words

[@Luxuryyacht92]

Just watched KOR '96 recently. The fact that he delivered, without missing a beat, that 3:16 promo was a huge deal. Those fans in Milwaukee popped huge when he spoke that line.

[@roymartin500]

I remember him being such a cross cultural phenomenon that it made it acceptable and even stylish for even white boys/men to shave your head and grow a goatee. Millions of men loosing their hair would rejoice!

[@dilnaylomogorhaiyee1450]

First thing: I love Jim’s balls, not too many today dares to cross HHH. Second: Punk had the same similar organic momentum until he had to inexplicably job to HHH. Third: If HHH was King of the Ring instead of Austin that year, we would all be probably subscribing to the WCW Network to watch old WWF Shows

[@jordandupe398]

PUNK coulda been on his way to becominG a TRUE $ Draw & POSSIBLY even becominG a Ratings Mover... But, WWE cuts his balls off.

[@piperar2014]

That last sentence is pure gold.

[@dilnaylomogorhaiyee1450]

@@jordandupe398 Exactly because WWE wants good HHH like dogs... Seth Rollins comes to mind

[@billblaski9523]

"Not too many dare to cross HHH" lol are u joking? When Road Dogg and Billy Gunn first got released, they absolutely tore into Triple H in a shoot! Lol but for some reason, Triple H acted like the bigger man and still hired those 2 jabronis back and 1 still works there

[@dilnaylomogorhaiyee1450]

@@billblaski9523 that’s two... CM Punk... Harry Smith... Corny... and that’s about it... everyone else hopes they can be in his good graces and get some job someday

[@bobbyrowe9147]

I watch that king of the ring and remember being genuinely excited about this new guy and how he seems like a bad ass

[@o.w.omarquito2047]

Dean Ambrose should take notes

[@sgtraytango]

It's weird to me because I was a fan of him in WCW and ECW but I never liked Stone Cold as much.

[@maitreyas.4902]

He was over even in real life with people I was around. Cultural Icon.

[@danielwilson9724]

@@o.w.omarquito2047 I HATEEE that wanna-be tough guy Jon Moxeley shit!! Im glad to see that others see the same thing as me

[@danielwilson9724]

@@sgtraytango he was a way more technical wrestler in WCW&ECW tht might be why..

[@xGodofAcidx]

"Mrs. Foley's baby boy! Mike Foley is the WWF Champion!"

[@brandonizaguirre2963]

Anyone else hyped AF to see Stone Cold make his Dark Side of the Ring debut on the 2-part Brian Pillman season 3 premiere episode?

[@brandonizaguirre2963]

@Ultra Instinct 94 Yep. Brian Pillman Jr. confirmed on social media that not only was he involved in the episode, but it's gonna be a 2 part episode. So freakin' hyped for the other confirmed topics (The Smith Family, Collision in Korea, Nick Gage, Dynamite Kid, XPW, FMW). Bruiser Bedlam has been reported as a potential topic as well and Jim teased a potential Ultimate Warrior episode on his show as well. This season is gonna be so freakin' captivating.

[@LuisReyes-pb4dt]

Brandon ,that's great news .I didn't know it was going to a two-parter.Pillmans work was fabulous both in ring and promos .He was exceptionally talented wrestler.Gone too soon

[@ekmad]

*Hell yeah!*

[@-JAVY-]

Hollywood blondes were great. 1 of the best theme entrances ever

[@jamirimaj6880]

Hope they put it on Netflix

[@djkokolo1787]

The Artwork by Travis Heckel! is Hilarious

[@ilcamileon6617]

Im surprised its not shit on a table with HHH carving a turkey or something.

[@ethniciteesllc7511]

LOLLL! “Corney” the Lion!

[@dereklebron4840]

Imagine if he was named Chilly Mcfreeze instead of Steve Austin

[@chrischar9428]

After every Big Mac I always get a chilly mcfreeze

[@derekazyan9942]

Way to kill a career

[@danielwilson9724]

@@derekazyan9942 wouldn't be the first career Vince killed , 😂 Especially of a wrestler that is already established amongst the pro wrestling loyalists as a great worker yet Vince STILL insists on repackaging and sometimes renaming and limiting their series of holds that they do🙄.. As a lifelong WRESTLING fan,I'll never understand that shit that Vince does 🤔

[@stephenrogers4537]

"(THAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE CUS STONE COLD SAID SO)" 💯🍺🤬🖕😳

[@davidcota4978]

3:16

[@max__p1765]

And to celebrate that, I will open a can of whoop ass and a Stevewiser 🍻🍻🍻

[@JPS47]

If there was no Stone Cold and they went with Triple H, then the company would have stayed at the state it was at the time. Low ratings, no stadium shows, little ppv buys, and low attendance. If it doesn't die out it would be in the state TNA/Impact is in right now

[@markdejonge937]

its getting their slowly

[@StephOMacRules]

Not much would have changed to what happened. Austin still got crappy booking after winning the KOTR in spite of what the WWE try to retcon after the fact, he was in the free for all of Summerslam 96 winning in a lame way against Yokozuna, feuding with Savio and Marc Mero at the following In Your House. Bret still would have wanted to work with him since he's the one who recomended him to Vince and Austin was already trash talking his opponents before KOTR like Aldo Montoya so his attitude was already there. More than the Austin 3:16 catchphrase, it's his feud with Bret that elevated him and that still would have happened. The attitude era was already in process way before that with the sexualization of Sunny, the controversial Goldust, the first table broken, etc.

[@TeefrmGA]

I watched Stone Cold when he was Stunning.

[@-JAVY-]

Hollywood blondes were great

[@joshuablankenship4701]

Early 90s wcw in ring work criminally underrated. Not just Austin most of it

[@xmikerx666]

@@joshuablankenship4701 His hot shot finisher looked awesome. I felt for the WCW cruiserweights. Awesome matches but buried under the bullshit on top.

[@thesupervisor3270]

That’s my favorite Austin (Stunning)

[@WSK9002]

Everyone who saw Steve Austin in Global or WCW said they knew he was going to be a big star just because he was a really good worker, but no one had idea, he would become WWE's anti Hulk Hogan, lol.

[@Gunnar.J]

Stone Cold Steve Austin is The King! The GOAT!! The absolute biggest wrestling star and legend in wrestling history!

[@letsgobrandon7297]

Nobody will ever break his records and nobody can even argue he isn’t the best when he was voted superstar of decade back in 03 or 04 and cpl years ago was voted greatest of all time.

[@harveycryst222]

Had stone cold not won KOR Austin 3:16 would've never happened, the t shirts wouldn't have happened & Trips probably would've gotten to the title 1st. Albeit, stone cold may had been the person to defeat trips at a mania. Interesting what if scenario.

[@stevengrvp]

stone cold stone cold stone cold

[@StoneCold316Texas]

You sorry SOB

[@nigelmackenzie8989]

Lets not forget about the Bret Hart vs El Dandy main event that we never got

[@thejoethe]

I think Bret had La Parka in his crew at one point.

[@kahn289]

Tell me about it. You know the funny thing is Bret might have pulled a great match out of the guy. Lmao

[@nathanielbaxter8044]

@@kahn289 El Dandy was top notch in the ring. Arn Anderson spoke about it on his podcast. He was respected in the back. That match could have been great.

[@kahn289]

@@nathanielbaxter8044 it's a reference to a Bret Hart moment...search "Bret Hart doesn't doubt El Dandy" on KZbin. its fantastic.

[@nathanielbaxter8044]

@@kahn289 I know. I'm just saying that match could've been a legit classic. Also sad he never got in there with Hypnosis.

[@CTDisqoTeck78]

Great video and discussion, sorta. Steve Williams (Steve Austin) was discovered by the late Gentleman Chris Adams. The very first time I saw him was in 1990 with the Global Wrestling Federation. That was a roster chocked full of talent that eventually made it to the WWE. John Bradshaw Layfield (Justin Hawk), The Patriot (Del Wilkes), Dutch Mantel, Booker T and Stevie Ray (The Ebony Experience). When Austin arrived in WCW, he was immediately one of the best talents there. As well he won the WCW Television Title. As mentioned here was when Steve Austin formed The Hollywood Blondes with the late Flyin' Brian Pillman. Politics within WCW ruined all of that. After falling out with WCW and a brief stint in ECW reuniting with Paul Heyman of sorts. Then came the Ringmaster run in the WWF. That to me was a bust not because of Austin or The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase. To start, he was booked in the clownishly cartoon way that makes reasonable people give Vince McMahon the stink eye. Once they let Steve Austin be himself, he connected on his own merits with the audience. Tweaked along the way, Steve Austin would blaze a trail and road for others to aspire.

[@vlada]

Thanks ...👍

[@MrChristopherHaas]

You cant tell me that McMahon didnt know damn well who Austin was at least a year before Ringmaster. He knew of Austin in ecw, no doubt.

[@WSK9002]

Well, even before Austin got the name Stone Cold, he said WWE wanted to call him Fang McFrost, like seriously, people got paid to come up with these Gimmick Names, lol.

[@movementencouragedfitness5945]

“The one that’s shitting on Vince’s dining room table 25 years ago is now that one that’s carving the Christmas Turkey” 🤪😂😂

[@noahlsmith2488]

This reminds me of what Undertaker said when he met Vince. Vince asked are you good at anything and Undertaker trying to lighten the mood said I am good at singing in the Shower. He said once he said it he knew it was a mistake. He was like Vince is going to make me singing shower boy because the characters were crazy back then.

[@danielwilson9724]

Lmfao singing in a bubble bath with Paul Bearer!! Paul: Get real good behind your ears my Undertaker.. YEESSSSSS!!! 😂

[@elijahloveell8809]

@@danielwilson9724 Oh my fucking God lol

[@danielwilson9724]

@@elijahloveell8809 😂 i seen the whole production as it came to mind!! 😂 made me LMMFAO all over again coming back cause I forgot all about it til just now!!!!

[@jamirimaj6880]

we really went from "Stone Cold" Steve Austin to "Freshly Squeezed" Orange Cassidy 😑

[@samcortez420]

Don't forget about Sharkboy. Give me a shell yeah

[@wayneking9997]

Orange juice guy what a joke

[@toybarons]

Steve Austin is one of my fav wrestlers. He was just a joy to watch. I enjoy listening to his pod casts. Austin is the sort of guy that brings a story to life when he talks.

[@letsgobrandon7297]

He could cut an hour promo off script that’s more interesting than the show WWE puts on now.

[@jordandupe398]

1996-2003 was the height of MY Fandom. I watched Birth of 3:16 to WM19... AUSTIN was a once in a lifetime TALENT. WWE became a Billion $ Traded Co. on the NASDAQ riding him the ENTIRE Way......

[@retroshane8844]

The hog pen match was before like Jim said

[@Luxuryyacht92]

December '95

[@jasonmiller7420]

The moment Austin did the Austin 3:16 that Jake was pushing was GENIUS!. That was all Austin

[@mikefeltner4216]

Created In ECW!!

[@nigelgunson2038]

Steve is a great wrestler. His in ring work with pillman was fantastic. A great wrestler who changed his style to fit the image.

[@cmsjr2001]

He also changed his style to accommodate having been nearly paralyzed by owen hart

[@psychobluesfxt]

Ringmaster's problem wasn't that it was insulting, it's that it was boring. "He's a great wrestler!" Big deal, shouldn't everyone be in the WWF the supposed major league?

[@henrygvidonas9573]

Especially silly choice of gimmick when there were much better technical wrestlers in the same company at the same time. Additionally, Austin already couldn't do half of his WCW stuff anymore when WWF hired him because his legs/knees were done. He didn't wear those "cyborg" leg braces because they looked cool.

[@noahlsmith2488]

The hog pin match was December 17, 1995 on my birthday. It was the same night Undertaker started wearing a mask. It was before the Curtain call. Brian Last is wrong about that.

[@wrestlingtapes2036]

Bret made Austin & Mr. McMahon. Then they used Bret’s real life story with Vince as a storyline. Your welcome.

[@jay-vi4pw]

Austin was on the rise before Bret Bret turned him Babyface

[@bootydaddy555]

@@jay-vi4pw it was working with Bret that helped make Austin become more over as a big time player in wrestling.

[@SBandy]

@@bootydaddy555 It helped but Brett wanted to work with Austin because he knew Austin was already on the rise. It would have happened regardless.

[@bootydaddy555]

@@SBandy theres no guarantee it would've. If you been watching WWE in the last 15 years you know a push can be destroyed pretty easily. Its about how a wrestler is booked is what helps get them over to become stars. Austin wasn't doing much after king of the ring. Working with Bret got him over. And also Austin's rise has alot of what ifs. What if triple h wins the 96 king of the ring instead of Austin as originally planned. What if Shawn Michaels doesn't lose his smile and drops the belt to Bret at Wrestlemania 13 as originally planned. What happens to Austin?

[@danielwilson9724]

@@bootydaddy555 that's just actual fate doing it's thing.. Lol

[@jessep6330]

His program with Chris Adams in WCCW caught my attention from the very beginning. It was amazing to see his journey.

[@danielwilson9724]

Gentleman Chris Adams trained Austin too.. Adams was underrated as a worker

[@rudibotha3947]

Like Booker T and Stone Cold said Texas made the biggest stars in wrestling, who made the biggest stars ? Minnesota? or Canada? I choose Texas

[@patale1640]

Hard to argue the Funks, the Rhodes, the Von Erichs, the Guerreros, HBK, , and then you add the all time biggest draw Stone Cold. Don’t mess with Texas:)

[@Hilversumborn]

@@patale1640 also The Undertaker

[@rudibotha3947]

Texas always had the best wrestlers

[@royalty843]

North Carolina? Georgia?

[@henrygvidonas9573]

Biggest of all time? Italy, France, Livonia (now Estonia), Belgium/Germany, and Michigan, Florida, California for the US. I'm talking about birthplaces/countries of origin. If you know - you know!

[@patale1640]

Stunning Steve Austin had awesome promos in WCW. He had a new swagger that was different from every cocky heel that we had seen before on tbs.

[@-JAVY-]

Loved the theme entrance of the blondes

[@ahumanjustbeing2466]

aka "intelligent swag"

[@danielclee4148]

Vince never made a character. All these scripted promos just hinder talent.

[@tibbs3165]

People always think the hog pen match was punishment but it was actually before all that. Which is even worse because there's no excuse.

[@daleva187goligo]

I wonder if vince was actually bothered by the curtain call or not, seems to me like he wouldn't care, he never was a wrestling business guy, he's always been an entertainment guy, but he was probably pressured by some of the old school guys like jr and pat patterson, and maybe even pritchard to a lesser extent, to do something about it, I wonder who actually told hhh to apologize to everyone, if it was vince I find it hard to believe he got offended and pissed off by the curtain call by himself cuz he ended up inviting everyone back like 6 years later, he probably gave the order of hhh to apologize only cuz it was "the right thing to do" as a promoter as suggested by his "stooges" no offense, well plenty offense to bruce, he sucks haha but jr is aces in my book, and pat, r.i.p

[@johnnyawesome4167]

I remember when Austin was just starting his Stone Cold persona he came to the announce table and told Kurt Henning he could kick his ass that just set Mr Perfect off

[@tragiksituation]

HHH had the craziest push from 2003 well into 2004 he didn't lose a match

[@nickcox1408]

That was when I basically stopped watching completely.

[@jessegriffey2897]

His style had to change because of the broken neck that he worked with for over two years that wasn’t supposed to be a part of the Stone Cold persona he didn’t want to have to be out for that long after he just got his big push. No matter what he did in his personal life he is still the biggest wrestler of all time he carried that company for years

[@MIKELIN8]

Somebody should have shown Vince the promos Austin cut on WCW while he was in ECW. Those are pure gold.

[@arpegio88]

Just to clear things up in reference to 10:45, The HOG pin match was in December of '95 at In Your House! The MSG curtain call obviously happened five months later in May of '96.

[@davyjones2032]

I love Corny but this was one of those topics where he could've just used it to praise Austin as well as maybe mentioning the WCW screw up that lead him to WWF while also how WWF almost squandered him. Instead he spends the majority of it talking bad about Vince Mcmahon, Vince Russo, HHH, and Jake Roberts lol. Sometimes it's like he can't talk without letting in negativity even when he's praising someone he respects.

[@handsolo1209]

He cannot bear the fact that when he and Prichard were in Vince's ear that WWF was close to dying and that no matter how much is down to Russo and how much is down to the talent, Russo as the head creative figure did numbers in 2 years that Cornette never achieved in 30 years combined in the business.

[@letsgobrandon7297]

Nobody will ever beat Stone Cold Steve Austin’s records…merchandise sales, ticket sales, PPV buys. Was voted superstar of the decade back in 03 or 04 and cpl years ago was voted greatest of all time.

[@stevewardlaw]

Jim - time for some Sweet Chin Music. This is an absolute horrible take about DX and the redux of the curtain call. You KNOW that anything that makes it onto Raw is a work, not a shoot, and that Vince absolutely would have known about this and cleared it before it aired. Ric Flair worked with Bischoff in the ring for gods sake. Don't be fake, it doesn't suit you. Also, you really, REALLY, need to get over your childish hate of two of the ten greatest wrestlers who ever lived, especially Shawn. I don't care how "toxic" you think he was in 1997, he's quite literally the greatest in-ring performer (or 1-A with Naitch) of all time, and was most certainly the best face, performer, and in-ring talent for the entirety of 2004-2010. And on a side note I love your OVW work and wish Vince had kept you around a lot longer. The problem is you make arguments so well, that when you make terrible ones, even they sound reasonable if people aren't carefully listening. WHOOOOOOO!

[@maxdecphoenix]

is it really any wonder why Vince, who hated 'wrasslin', gave his blessing to his daughter marrying a guy who took one of the biggest shits on the business? and that vince's seemingly favorite worker ever, was also one of the guys who took a big giant shit on it too, and happens to be Son In Law;s RL bff? The surprising thing isn't that HHH didn't mean his apology, The surprising thing is that vince made him feign sympathy..

[@davidgerow]

So if it wasn’t for the booking committee(Bruce) Steve would likely not have come to the WWE because Vince wouldn’t of hired Austin because he never heard of him.

[@darthflyer]

I used to see Austin at the long-gone Philadelphia Civic Center as a midcarder in WCW from 1992 to 1994. And to think by 1998 he was in the WWF as the biggest star in the business.

[@ichneumon2776]

Triple H took a s**t on Vince's dinning table and now Vince is s**tting on NXT. The life does come full circle.

[@Nergling]

Jim in a Lion suit will stay with me forever.

[@michelledavidson8190]

I'm sure that Vince McMahon would like to have another character similar to Stone Cold Steve Austin today. Love his matches against the Rock & rivalry with Mr McMahon.

[@sinistermaniac966]

Little did we all know the shitting wasn't happening in the dining room it was the bedroom 😆

[@subarashiiashi3894]

Jim Roar-nette

[@rustydelata9398]

Can't unsee Jim the furry

[@leogetz3570]

"The Ringmaster"..... I gotta admit, it actually took me a couple months of 'passive' watching to realize it was Stunning Steve from WCW. Thank goodness they let him develop into Stone Cold

[@MSpotatoes]

Steve Austin's era was a great time. Maybe not for everyone, but it was an exciting time for fans.

[@thomasferraro479]

Lol I was at the curtain call house show, and it was the coolest thing I've ever seen live

[@sjjackson2125]

Didn't Vince himself expose the business a year and a half later with his infamous speech before raw🤔🤔🤔

[@DeLuca101]

I can listen to cornette all day

[@darrennorniron]

God I loved Steve Austin when I was a kid. I was never as interested in Wrestling after he left.

[@tempestfennac9687]

The Hog Pen Match happened in December '95 at In Your House 5 so it happened a while before the Curtain Call happened (Hunter did actually win that match before being thrown into the pen afterwards, which was pretty idiotic considering how he had a nasty cut on his back at the time).

[@akiespady5176]

Lol I think Jim got worked I remember that promo HHH and Shawn did showing the curtain call and it was supposed to make people like Jim and Vince mad

[@scottalderson8673]

185 more views till 200k

[@ant0586]

For me it's Bret and their feud late 96 was what turned Austin into a main eventer. Austin 3:16 and the KOTR despite what WWE say was not what turned him into a megastar because at the next big PPV Summerslam he was in the free-for-all with Yoko. WWF certainly were not fully sold on Austin despite Austin cutting one of the most iconic promos of all time since as well know that was all Austin who came up with that

[@troystaunton254]

So true, they claim he cut that promo then the next night there were signs everywhere saying “austin 3:16” I’ve watched that show. There wasn’t a Austin 3:16 in the building. Austin and wwf worked hard to get him there. So it’s such a shame they underplay the effort.

[@monkeymike7]

I couldn't agree more about jake

[@SheriffOutlaw]

In a way thinking about everything that made SCSA, makes me wonder.....how does all of his previous work/characters he has portrayed ties into the greatest WWE Talent of all time? I mean yes the Ringmaster wasn't that great but it did give us a prototype into what was to come so that counts for something, plus ECW gave him a platform to vent so that can be counted as well

[@mecha2001]

the only thing I think I've ever disagreed with Cornette on was HHH's apology for the curtain call and how he walked it back in a DX promo saying he didn't actually mean it. DX were heels, that's something a heel would do. he was just playing the character well. I don't think HHH didn't mean it when he apologized for the curtain call, I think it's just a reason to stick it to the Russo/HBK/HHH collective. beyond that, sometimes it's better to just be lucky than to be good. Austin just happened to be both at a very pivotal moment in wrestling. that will never be duplicated ever again.

[@Wide_leaf_indica710]

1st time I've ever heard a crack addiction as other pursuits. Lmao

[@schteeve4759]

Interesting to hear that the curtain call affected Austin's push.

[@maosama3695]

And Shawn losing his smile.

[@SuRoFo]

I think as long as the program with Bret occurred and it unfolded the way it did, Austin would've still been on track for his rise even without the KOTR win or his famous quote. People forget that he wasn't exactly getting the rocket push after KOTR: he was only in the preshow for Summerslam and wasn't even booked for Mind Games.

[@tempestfennac9687]

I can understand why Jim didn't want Jake Roberts in the KotR finals. It also made Vader look like an idiot when he got DQed when fighting Roberts.

[@ajk]

Looking at the brackets, I bet you he wanted Austin and Savio Vega in the finals, as it was they met in the Quarterfinals. They had a hot feud going back a few months wrestling at the last 3 PPVs before this, so the pairing woulda made storyline sense, and they worked together great in the ring beyond that. I could totally buy/see a final with them two, it would likely been an all-time classic. I can't imagine anyone else in the tournament meshing with him the same way, except for maybe Mero. I bet Cornette was furious about Vader being DQ'd too...as much as they were trying to push him at the time as a top guy/title contender. Kinda cut him at the knees before he had a chance to show what he could do IMO.

[@tempestfennac9687]

@@ajk That would have been a logical way to book it. At least everything worked out well for Austin in the end despite those booking oddities.

[@ajk]

@@tempestfennac9687 Indeed, it sorta makes you wonder what woulda happened following this had it went down that way. Would Austin have gotten as big still? Kinda interesting question to ponder.

[@tempestfennac9687]

@@ajk It really is. It's kind of ironic that Shawn Michaels' unprofessional behaviour lead to a lot of great moments indirectly (the WM10 ladder match and Mr. McMahon becoming Austin's arch nemesis post-Montreal being the other examples I can think of). Going back to KotR, no Austin 3:16 promo would have meant he would have needed to come up with something similarly great after beating Savio, which doesn't seem that likely to have happened.

[@ajk]

@@tempestfennac9687 You could add in Austin/Bret at Mania 13 too into that mix, since Bret and Shawn were originally supposed to have a Mania 12 rematch for the title, before Shawn "lost his smile". You could almost say that whole situation had a hand in Bret's turning heel too, let alone Austin fully face, which set the tone for the rest of 1997. Bret coulda still turned on Shawn I suppose, but....it wouldn't have had the same impact as the Bret/Austin double turn did. The way the story played made a lot more sense this way too, since Bret and Austin had been feuding for months by Mania dating back to his return in October of 96 and the seeds had been slowly sowed since then as to his whining and crying over being screwed. It really fell into WWE's lap honestly. As to Austin's promo......the only way around it IMO woulda been to have him wrestle Jake at Raw the next night with Roberts calling him out for his not being King of the Ring material compared to him, have him of course go over and then cut the promo in the ring immediately after. It coulda still worked I think about as good if they booked it that way.

[@seancooley]

Bring back La Parka

[@georgejackson4426]

The Chairman of WCW.

[@mrdethbuzzard4885]

He's in MLW with his sons.

[@ladistar]

So if it wasn’t for the curtain call, we might not have had stone cold Steve Austin as we know him

[@hulksmash8159]

One of the best wrasslers who liked to beat women up.

[@StrikeTeam0316]

Oh hell yeah! I remember that segment with Lita and HHH.

[@gabet1075]

Working with Pillman and Raven had to have helped Steve with promos. When you think of Steve in WCW, he didn't start to come out of his shell until working with Brian, and when he was working with Brian, he said that he listened to Brian just trying not to screw up following someone who relished those moments. Brian always loved promo work (the dictionary), and Steve traveling with Raven and Brian in the comedy troop surely helped Steve to see two out there, intelligent and psychological guys create characters out of themselves. If that doesn't give you the confidence to start doing the same thing for yourself, nothing will. All of them created great characters who moved the needle in their promotions (Raven was awesome in ECW and WCW). Brian died, but he was doing the attitude stuff well before attitude.

[@javieratwood4445]

0:15 LMFAOOOOOO 🤣🤣

[@iamasimpleman.5535]

Undertaker was telling how bad WWF characters were when he debut. When he met Vince at his house Vince asked if there was anything He was good at. Mark aka the Undertaker said singing in the shower to lighten the mood. He said he immediately regretted saying it afraid they were going to make him singing in the shower boy. That just cracked me up.

[@kcole3937]

The Hog Pen match was in December of 95. That wasn’t apart of the punishment.... Not sure how he got punished cause he was IC champion 5 months after the curtain call

[@SBandy]

You earn your own luck. Austin well and truly earned his.

[@johnhurley8453]

The true best there is, best there was, best there ever will be, Stone Cold Steve Austin. Entertainment wise. HBK I'd say in ring but there's nobody like Steve.

[@dudemanjack98]

Hog Pen match was in December 95 Curtain Call was in May of 96. I doubt Paul got punished for something he was going to do 5 months in the future.

[@jesseinness9874]

Wrestlemania 13 with Brett hands down propelled Austin into one of the greatest of all time!

[@danielwilson9724]

Such a classic match too! Definitely in my top 5 favorite matches from either wrestler

[@philanderphillips2309]

Travis Heckle is so BOSS. The 3:16 on the blazer pocket is a helluv touch.

[@hulksmash8159]

Not really. Let's see him create something without ripping off South Park.