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Steve Austin born Steven James Anderson December 18, 1964 better known by his ring name Stone Cold Steve Austin, is an American actor, producer, and retired professional wrestler who is often hailed as the biggest star in World Wrestling Federation WWE history. Austin also performed for promotions such as World Championship Wrestling WCW and Extreme Championship Wrestling ECW.
He gained significant mainstream popularity in the WWF in the late 1990s as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, a disrespectful, beer drinking antihero who routinely defied the establishment and his boss, company chairman Vince McMahon this persona of Austin's has been described as the "poster boy" of the Attitude Era, a boom period in WWF business in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Addressing his box office drawing power, McMahon and former WWE executive Jim Ross have declared Austin to be the most profitable wrestler in the history of the organization. Nobody touches Austin No one generated more cash in the length of their WWE career. Veteran professional wrestlers and multiple-time WWE Champions Ric Flair, John Cena, and CM Punk have each named Austin as the biggest star in WWE history, and, along with McMahon, have stressed that he surpassed the popularity of Hulk Hogan.
Austin held 21 championships throughout his professional wrestling career, and is a 6 time WWF Champion as well as the fifth Triple Crown Champion. He was also the winner of the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, as well as the 1997, 1998, and 2001 Royal Rumbles. He was forced to retire from in ring competition in 2003, due to a series of knee and neck injuries. Throughout the rest of 2003 and 2004, he was featured as the Co General Manager and Sheriff of Raw. Since 2005, he has continued to make occasional appearances, and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009 by Vince McMahon. In 2011, Steve Austin returned to WWE to host the reboot of the reality series Tough Enough.
Austin was born in Victoria, Texas. After his father left the family, his mother, Beverly, got remarried to Ken Williams, and Austin adopted his stepfather's surname. He spent most of his childhood in Edna, Texas. After finishing his schooling from Edna High School, Austin got a football scholarship at Wharton County Junior College, followed by a full scholarship at the University of North Texas.Deciding to become a wrestler, Austin joined Chris Adams' school in the Dallas Sportatorium, where Adams also wrestled for World Class Championship Wrestling. Adams' training was purely technical, teaching Austin the moves, but nothing relating to kayfabe (still somewhat a guarded secret at the time) or business. His first lesson in that came from Tony Falk, the referee in his 1989 televised World Class debut against Frogman LeBlanc, who called the spots to lead him to a pinfall and a $40 payday.
Initially working under his real name, he was named "Steve Austin" by Memphis booker Dutch Mantell during the merger of World Class and the Continental Wrestling Association into the United States Wrestling Association. He later returned to Dallas and feuded with Adams, managed by Percy Pringle and accompanied by Jeannie Adams (Adams' real-life former wife and Austin's girlfriend at the time). It was during this time Austin adopted the "Stunning" nickname that followed him to WCW.
Main articles: Dangerous Alliance, Hollywood Blondes and Stud Stable
Austin left the USWA in 1990 and signed with WCW the next year. He was originally paired with a valet named Vivacious Veronica, but was later joined by Jeannie Adams, known as "Lady Blossom. Just weeks after his debut, Austin defeated Bobby Eaton for his first WCW World Television Championship on June 3, 1991. Later that year, Austin joined Paul E. Dangerously's Dangerous Alliance. Austin lost the WCW Television Championship to Barry Windham in a two out of three falls match on April 27, 1992. He regained the title from Windham on May 23. Austin enjoyed a second lengthy reign before losing to Ricky Steamboat on September 2, 1992. The Dangerous Alliance disbanded shortly thereafter. At Halloween Havoc, he replaced Terry Gordy, teaming with "Dr. Death" Steve Williams to wrestle Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham for the unified WCW and NWA World Tag Team title. The teams wrestled to a thirty minute time limit draw.
In January 1993, Austin formed a tag team known as The Hollywood Blondes with Brian Pillman. They won the WCW World Tag Team Championship on March 3, defeating Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas. The Hollywood Blondes held the title for five months. At Clash of the ChampionsXXIII the Blondes faced Ric Flair and Arn Anderson in a two out othree falls tag Team title match. Flair and Anderson defeated the Blondes, but were not awarded the title as one fall had been determined by a disqualification. At Clash of the Champions XXIV, Austin and Pillman were scheduled to defend their title against Anderson and Paul Roma. An injured Pillman, however, was replaced by Steven Regal. Austin and Regal lost to Anderson and Roma. With Pillman still injured, Austin joined Colonel Robert Parker's Stud Stable. After Pillman returned, Austin betrayed and defeated him in a singles match at Clash of the Champions XXV.
At Starrcade, in a two out of three falls match, Austin defeated Dustin Rhodes in two straight falls to win the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship. Austin lost the title to Ricky Steamboat on August 24, 1994. Austin was scheduled to face Steamboat in a rematch for the title at Fall Brawl, but Steamboat was unable to wrestle due to a back injury, and Austin was awarded the title by forfeit. His second reign as US Champion ended just minutes later when he lost to Steamboat's replacement, Jim Duggan in a match that lasted thirty-five seconds. Austin unsuccessfully challenged Duggan for the United States Championship at both Halloween Havoc 1994 and Clash of the Champions XXIX. After returning from a knee injury in early 1995, Austin took part in a tournament for the vacant WCW United States Heavyweight title, where he defeated Duggan via count out in the first round, but lost to Randy "Macho Man" Savage in the quarterfinals.
In 1995, Austin was fired by WCW Vice President Eric Bischoff, after suffering a triceps injury, while wrestling on a Japanese tour; Bischoff and WCW did not see Austin as a 'marketable' wrestler. Also, Bischoff thought Austin was hard to work with. Austin described his opinion on being fired over the phone as Bischoff having taken the coward's way out. Bischoff in a round table discussion claimed he fired Austin after he refused to do a taping in Atlanta.
Eventually, Austin was contacted by Paul Heyman of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), who had managed him in WCW. Heyman hired Austin to do in-ring interviews, as he still had not recovered from his injury enough to wrestle. While in ECW, Austin used the platform to develop his future "Stone Cold" persona as well as a series of vignettes running down WCW in general and Bischoff in particular, most memorably in several promos that mocked his then-status as WCW Monday Nitro host by introducing Monday NyQuil, where he was joined by "Bongo" (a set of drums, meant to represent Steve "Mongo" McMichael) in promoting the show "where the big boys play with each other". Also, several wrestlers credited ECW as the place where Austin developed his microphone skills.
While with ECW, Austin was known as "Superstar" Steve Austin. He had a match with The Sandman and feuded with Mikey Whipwreck. Whipwreck, who was the ECW World Heavyweight Champion at the time, defeated Austin at November to Remember. The Sandman defeated Steve Austin and Whipwreck in a Triple Threat match at December to Dismember in 1995 for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. Heyman would later state that he had wanted Austin to win the ECW Title, but Austin had refused because he felt he was more effective "as the hunter, rather than the hunted".
In late 1995, Austin joined the WWF after Diesel and Jim Ross helped convince WWF's owner Vince McMahon to hire him. Initially, Austin wrestled as The Ringmaster and was managed by Ted DiBiase who awarded him with the Million Dollar Championship. However, Austin thought the Ringmaster idea was weak, and so asked for a change based on cold-blooded hitman Richard Kuklinski. The WWF gave Austin a list with names including Otto Von Ruthless, Ice Dagger and Fang McFrost. Austin soon shaved his head bald and came to be known as "The Ringmaster" Steve Austin; this prefix would be discarded in favour of his most famous moniker, "Stone Cold", in early March 1996. He defeated Savio Vega in his first WrestleMania appearance, at WrestleMania XII. At In Your House: Beware of Dog, Austin lost a "Caribbean Strap match" to Vega. In accordance to the pre-match stipulations, DiBiase was forced to leave the WWF, giving Austin the opportunity to forge his own path. Austin later told announcer Dok Hendrix that he had purposely lost the match in order to rid himself of DiBiase, who in reality was headed for rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW)
Austin's rise to superstardom began at the 1996 King of the Ring. He began using his trademark finishing maneuver, the Stone Cold Stunner; with this new technique, he won the King of the Ring tournament. After defeating Marc Mero in the semi-finals, Austin defeated Jake "The Snake" Roberts in the finals. At the time, Roberts was portraying a born-again Christian, so after the match, Austin cut a now famous promo during his coronation, telling Roberts, "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!". "Austin 3:16" ultimately became one of the most popular catchphrases in wrestling history, and subsequently the slogan became one of the best-selling T-shirts in WWE merchandise history. It is also credited as the iconic moment that began the WWF's "Attitude Era", along with the Montreal Screwjob.Austin spoke about Bret Hart, challenging him constantly and taunting him relentlessly. Hart finally accepted Austin's challenge and returned to the WWF in October 1996. At Survivor Series, in a match to determine the number-one contender0 to the WWF Championship, Hart pinned Austin when Hart used the turnbuckle to push himself backwards while locked in the Million Dollar Dream and pinned Austin, this match would go on to create the foundations for the eventual year-long feud between the two.[34] The match came hot on the heels of an incident broadcast live on Raw, which saw Austin "break into" Brian Pillman's house, with Pillman holding a gun. During the 1997 Royal Rumble match, Austin was originally eliminated by Bret Hart, but the officials did not see it, and he sneaked back into the ring and eliminated Hart by throwing him over the ropes, winning the match himself. This led to the first-ever pay-per-view main event of Austin's WWF career at In Your House 13: Final Four, after Shawn Michaels suffered a knee injury and left the WWF Championship suddenly vacant. Austin was eliminated early from the four-way match at In Your House 13 for the title after injuring his own knee, but was involved in the finish which saw Hart win his fourth WWF Championship, which he lost the next night on Raw to Sycho Sid due to Austin's interference, continuing his feud with Hart. At WrestleMania 13, Hart defeated Austin in a Submission match with Ken Shamrock as a special referee. During the match, Austin had been cut and was bleeding profusely from his face, but he still refused to tap out when Hart locked in his Sharpshooter. Austin finally passed out from blood loss, still held in the Sharpshooter, and lost the match. Hart, after the bell, continued to hold the Sharpshooter, who despite his wounds refused any assistance back to the locker room, thus turning Hart heel and Austin babyface in a rare double-turn. Austin eventually got his revenge on Hart in the main event of In Your House 14 Revenge of the 'Taker, in a match to determine the number-one contender to The Undertaker's WWF Championship. Austin won when Hart was disqualified due to assistance from The British Bulldog, earning him a title match against The Undertaker at In Your House 15: A Cold Day In Hell. Austin faced Hart once again in a street fight on the April 21 episode of Raw, injuring his opponent's leg with a steel chair during the bout. The match was ruled a no contest. He proceeded to beat Hart while on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance. At A Cold Day In Hell, Austin had The Undertaker down with the Stunner, but while distracted with a timely interference by Brian Pillman, Stone Cold's old tag partner, who rang the bell before Austin got the cover, Undertaker then nailed Austin with a Tombstone Piledriver and achieved the victory off the distraction.
During this time, Austin found a way to win the WWF Tag Team Championship on two separate occasions. On May 25, 1997, Austin and Shawn Michaels defeated Owen Hart and The British Bulldog for the title. They held the title until July 14, before Michaels was forced to vacate due to an injury. That same night a tournament was held to determine who would face Austin and a partner of his choosing for the vacant championship. Hart and Bulldog won the tournament, with Austin refusing to pick a partner and choosing to wrestle the former tag team champions by himself. Late in the match, a debuting Dude Love came out to offer assistance and Austin became a two-time tag team champion. Austin continued his feud with the Hart family, becoming embroiled in a heated rivalry with Owen Hart, who pinned a distracted Austin and secured victory for The Hart Foundation in the ten-man Tag Team match main event of In Your House 16 Canadian Stampede, where Austin was partnered with Ken Shamrock, Goldust, and The Legion of Doom.
At SummerSlam, Austin and Owen Hart faced each other with Hart's Intercontinental Championship on the line and an added stipulation that Austin would have to kiss Hart's buttocks if he lost. During the match, Hart botched a piledriver and dropped Austin on his head, resulting in a legitimate broken neck and temporary paralysis for Austin. As Hart stalled by baiting the audience, Austin managed to crawl over and pin Hart using a roll-up to win the Intercontinental Championship. A visibly injured and dazed Austin was helped to his feet by a number of referees and led to the back. Due to the severity of his neck injury, Austin was forced to relinquish both the Intercontinental Championship and the Tag Team Championships. Austin was sidelined until Survivor Series. However, in the interim he made several appearances, one being at Badd Blood where he was involved in the finish of a match between Hart and Faarooq, which was the final match in a tournament for the Intercontinental Championship. Austin hit Faarooq with the Intercontinental Championship belt while the referee's back was turned, causing Hart to win the match. Austin's motive was to keep the Intercontinental Championship around Hart's waist, as demonstrated when he interfered in Hart's matches on the October 20 and 27 episodes of Raw. Austin regained the Intercontinental Championship from Hart at Survivor Series.
With Hart out of the way, Austin set his sights on The Rock, who stole Austin's belt on the November 17 episode of Raw after Austin suffered a beating by his Nation of Domination stablemates. In the weeks to come, The Rock began declaring himself to be the best damn Intercontinental Champion ever. The Rock kept possession of the belt until D Generation X In Your House, when Austin defeated him to retain the title and get his belt back. As Austin had used his pickup truck to aid in his victory, McMahon ordered him to defend the title against The Rock the next night on Raw. In an act of defiance after forfeiting the title to The Rock, Austin tossed the belt into a New Hampshire river.
On September 22, 1997, on the first ever Monday Night Raw to be broadcast from Madison Square Garden, Owen Hart was giving a speech to the fans in attendance. During his speech, Austin entered the ring with five NYPD officers following, and assaulted Hart. As it looked like Austin was going to fight the officers, Vince McMahon ran into the ring to lecture Austin about why he couldn't be physically able to compete. After telling McMahon that he respects the fact that he and the WWF cared, Austin attacked McMahon with a Stone Cold Stunner, leaving McMahon in shock. Austin was then arrested on charges of trespassing, assault, and assaulting a police officer. This marked the beginning of the Austin McMahon rivalry.With Bret Hart's departure for WCW, Austin and Shawn Michaels were the top superstars in the company. Austin won the 1998 Royal Rumble, lastly eliminating The Rock. The next night on Raw, Austin interrupted Vince McMahon in his presentation of Mike Tyson, who was making a special appearance, over the objection of McMahon referring to Tyson as "the baddest man on the planet". Austin flipped off Tyson, which led to Tyson shoving Austin much to McMahon's embarrassment, who began to publicly disapprove of the prospect of Austin as his champion. Tyson was later announced as "the special enforcer" for the main event at WrestleMania XIV, although he appeared to be aligning himself with WWF Champion Shawn Michaels' stable D Generation X. This led to Austin's WWF Championship match against Michaels at WrestleMania XIV, which he won with help from Tyson, who turned on DX by making the deciding three count against Michaels, and later hit him with his knock out punch. This became Shawn Michaels' last match until 2002 as he had suffered two legitimate herniated discs and another completely crushed at the hands of The Undertaker in a Casket match at the Royal Rumble. With Michaels' absence and winning the WWF title, the Austin Era was ushered in, and with it, the Attitude Era.
On the Raw after Austin won the WWF Championship, Vince McMahon presented him with a new title belt and warned Austin that he did not approve of his rebellious nature and that things could be done "the easy way or the hard way". Austin gave his answer in the form of another Stunner. This led to a segment a week later where Austin had pledged a few days prior in a meeting to "play ball" with McMahon, appearing in a suit and tie, with a beaming McMahon taking a picture of himself and his new corporate champion. The entire thing was a ruse by Austin who in the course of the segment proceeded to tear off the suit, tell McMahon it was the last time he would see Austin dressed like this, punch his boss in the "corporate grapefruits," and take another picture of the two of them while McMahon was doubled over in pain. In April 1998, it appeared Austin and McMahon were going to battle out their differences in an actual match, but the match was declared a no contest when Dude Love made an appearance. This led to a match between Dude Love and Austin at Unforgiven In Your House, where Austin hit McMahon with a steel chair, then the following month they had a rematch at Over the Edge: In Your House for the WWF Championship. Austin managed to retain the title despite McMahon acting as the referee and his Corporate Stooges Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson as timekeeper and ring announcer, respectively.
McMahon continued to do everything he could to ruin Austin, and he finally scored a big victory for his side at the 1998 King of the Ring tournament. There, Austin lost the WWF Championship to Kane in a First Blood match after the Undertaker intervened and hit him with a chair while the ref was incapacitated, despite Stone Cold having knocked Kane unconscious and thwarted an earlier intervention by Mankind. Austin further infuriated McMahon by winning back the championship the next night on Raw. Austin also emerged victorious against The Undertaker at SummerSlam. In response, McMahon set up a Triple Threat match at Breakdown: In Your House, where The Undertaker and Kane pinned Austin at the same time. McMahon decided to vacate the WWF Championship and award it based on a match between The Undertaker and Kane, in which Austin was the guest referee. Austin refused to count for either man and attacked both towards the end of the match. McMahon later fired him, although Austin got revenge by kidnapping McMahon and dragging him to the middle of the ring at gunpoint, which ended up being a toy gun with a scroll that read Bang 3:16. Also the segment was very "embarrassing" to McMahon as it showed he was so scared that he urinated his pants. Stone Cold was later re-signed by Shane McMahon. In the semifinals of the Survivor Series tournament to award the vacant WWF Championship, Austin lost to Mankind, after Shane double-crossed Austin. The next night on Raw, Judge Mills Lane ruled that The Rock had to defend his newly won WWF Championship against Austin that night, as stipulated in the new contract Austin had signed two weeks earlier with Shane. The Undertaker interfered and hit Austin with a shovel, earning Austin a disqualification victory, but The Rock kept the championship. At Rock Bottom: In Your House, Steve Austin defeated The Undertaker in a Buried Alive match after Kane Tombstoned The Undertaker into the grave. With this victory, Austin qualified for the 1999 Royal Rumble.Austin's next definitive chance to exact revenge on Mr. McMahon came during the 1999 Royal Rumble match. On Raw, McMahon drew Austin's entry number with the obvious intention of screwing him over. Austin drew entry number one, while McMahon drew number two thanks to WWF Commissioner Shawn Michaels. During the Rumble match, McMahon slipped out of the ring and into the crowd as Austin chased him down. It turned out to be a trap as McMahon led Austin into the lobby restroom where he was ambushed by members of The Corporation. Austin was injured and taken away in an ambulance. With Austin gone and not in the Rumble match, McMahon joined the announce table in calling the match. Later on, however, Austin returned in an ambulance and re entered the Royal Rumble, delivering a Stunner to the Big Boss Man and eliminating him. With the assistance of the Corporation and a last minute interference from The Rock, Austin was eliminated by McMahon himself, and McMahon won the 1999 Royal Rumble. With McMahon turning down his number-one contender spot against The Rock, WWF Commissioner Michaels awarded Austin the title shot during Raw the next night. At St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Stone Cold got a one on one match against McMahon in a Steel Cage match, with the WWF Championship opportunity at WrestleMania XV at stake. During the match, Paul Wight made his debut, breaking through from under the ring and attacking Austin. Wight's attack propelled Austin into the side of the cage forcing the cage to give way and dropping Austin to the floor first, making him the victor. Austin defeated The Rock at WrestleMania XV to win his third WWF Championship.
Austin faced The Rock in a rematch at Backlash, in which Shane McMahon was the referee. During the match, Vince McMahon approached the ring, only to hand Austin back his 'Smoking Skull' belt and take Shane out of the proceedings. Austin won the match when another referee made the count. The Undertaker, however, won the WWF Championship from Austin at Over the Edge. Due to events revolving around Vince McMahon, Stephanie and Linda McMahon made Stone Cold the Chief Executive Officer of the company. Vince and Shane McMahon challenged Austin to a Handicap Ladder match at King of the Ring with the CEO title on the line, which the duo of father and son won. The next night on Raw, however, Austin made it clear that while he was the CEO of the company, he could have a title shot at any time and place to be determined by himself. Austin made the WWF Championship match that night on Raw and defeated The Undertaker to win his fourth WWF Championship. However, after he won it, The Undertaker came and hit him with the title belt, leading to a First Blood match between the two at Fully Loaded where Mr. McMahon stipulated that if Austin lost he would never be able to wrestle for the WWF Championship again, and if Austin won, he would never see McMahon again. Austin won after interference from X-Pac, hitting The Undertaker with a TV camera and gave McMahon a goodbye Stone Cold Stunner.
Austin held on to the WWF Championship until SummerSlam when he lost it to Mankind in a Triple Threat match also featuring Triple H. Austin would get his rematch at No Mercy against Triple H, but he lost after The Rock accidentally struck him with a sledgehammer that was meant for Triple H. When Survivor Series rolled around, Triple H was still champion. Austin was booked into a Triple Threat match for the WWF Championship against Triple H and The Rock. However, Austin was run down by a car in the parking lot. The Big Show would replace Austin in the match and would win the WWF Championship. Austin then underwent neck surgery by Dr. Lloyd Youngblood, due to Austin's injury from the piledriver at Summerslam 1997. He was away for a nine-month rehabilitation, with the car angle as his reason for leaving.
In April 2000, Austin appeared at Backlash, attacking Triple H and Vince McMahon to help The Rock reclaim the WWF Championship. Austin then made an appearance via satellite on SmackDown! in September as him announcing his return at Unforgiven. At Unforgiven, Austin made his official return along with his new theme song, "Glass Shatters" by Disturbed. The company, meanwhile, tried to find out who ran him down at Survivor Series the previous year. Rikishi finally admitted to being the driver because he did it for the Rock. Rikishi felt that Austin occupied the top spot in the company and with him gone, Rock, a fellow Samoan, would be able to ascend to the top of the company. At No Mercy, Austin was back to face Rikishi in a No Holds Barred match. During the match, Austin motioned he was going to drive his truck into Rikishi, who by that time was a bloody mess. Before he could, he was stopped by officials, the match being deemed no contest and Austin was arrested and later bailed by Commissioner Mick Foley. During a handicap match against Rikishi and Kurt Angle, Triple H came down with the apparent intention of teaming with Austin. After clearing the ring, Triple H smashed his sledgehammer over Austin's head, and revealed it was actually him behind the whole scheme, devised to shield the WWF Championship from Austin and end his career. At Survivor Series, Triple H had plotted to run Austin down again during their match (thus repeating the events of the previous year's Survivor Series), but his plot failed when Austin lifted Triple H's automobile with a forklift, then let it drop 20 feet, causing Triple H to shout "Holy shit!" just before the car was released. Also, in December, Stone Cold Steve Austin competed in a six-man Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon for the WWF Championship, against Triple H, The Undertaker, Rikishi, Kurt Angle and The Rock. In the end, Stone Cold Steve Austin gave The Rock a stunner and was about to pin him when Triple H came in the way and got a stunner Kurt Angle took advantage of the situation and pinned The Rock and picked up the victory, hence retaining the WWF Championship. After the match, Stone Cold Steve Austin delivered a stunner to Kurt Angle, while he was celebrating his victory.
Austin won his third Royal Rumble in January 2001, last eliminating Kane. His rivalry against Triple H ended at No Way Out in a Three Stages of Hell match, with Triple H beating Austin two falls to one.
At WrestleMania X-Seven, Austin faced The Rock for the second time, turning heel by hitting Rock with a steel chair several times provided to him by an interfering Vince McMahon, a man he once considered his nemesis, to win the WWF Championship. With the victory, Austin became a five-time WWF Champion. The next night on Raw, after teasing a quick face turn, the heel turn continued. He also altered his character considerably over the next few months, in a deliberate turn from the rebellious and anti-establishment character beloved by the fans, Austin became a whiny, temperamental primadonna who would complain incessantly when he felt he was not getting the respect from the fans and wrestlers that he deserved. He also developed an infatuation with McMahon, going to great lengths to impress him and even going so far as to hugging him and bringing him presents. McMahon, though visibly uncomfortable and wary by the attention, was still grateful to have Austin with him instead of against him. During a Steel Cage match with The Rock in a rematch for the title, Triple H came down to the ring with a sledgehammer and together with Austin viciously attacked The Rock and put him out of action. Austin further cemented his heel turn the following Thursday on SmackDown! when, during an interview with Jim Ross about his actions at WrestleMania, thought Ross was denouncing their friendship and then proceeded to attack and brutally assault Ross. Austin and Triple H became a team and called themselves The Two-Man Power Trip.
Austin and Triple H were the top heels in the company, and feuding with The Undertaker and Kane. After defeating Kane and The Undertaker for the WWF Tag Team Championship at Backlash, they held the tag team titles, the WWF Championship (Austin), and the WWF Intercontinental Championship (Triple H) all at once. At Judgment Day, Triple H lost his Intercontinental title to Kane. Then, the following night on Raw, Austin and Triple H wrestled against Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit with the tag team titles on the line. Midway through the match, Triple H tore his quadriceps muscle. As planned, the team lost the tag team titles at the end of the match when Triple H accidentally hit Austin in the stomach with a sledgehammer but the injury to Triple H, which kept him out for the remainder of the year, forced the WWF to go in another direction.
Austin officially broke up The Power Trip on that week's SmackDown!, criticizing Triple H for his injury and for hitting him with the sledgehammer. He continued to align himself with McMahon and began feuding with Jericho and Benoit by himself, with Kurt Angle joining the group as Triple H's replacement. For most of the next month leading to King of the Ring, he constantly fell victim to a double submission involving Jericho's Walls of Jericho and Benoit's Crippler Crossface, Austin did not wrestle as he was nursing an injury, but continued to feud with the reigning tag team champions, eventually costing them the titles on the SmackDown preceding King of the Ring against the Dudley Boyz. Austin defeated Jericho and Benoit in a Triple Threat match, despite interference from the debuting Booker T. Stone Cold would suffer a back injury during the match after Booker T dropped Stone Cold through the Spanish announce table, as revealed in the Stone Cold The Bottom Line On The Most Popular Superstar of All Time DVD.After King of the Ring, Austin was left without a feud as Benoit was lost for the next year after neck surgery and Jericho moved on to other things. He began a small spat with Angle over who was McMahon's biggest supporter. Meanwhile, the purchase of World Championship Wrestling by McMahon began to bear fruit as The Invasion began. McMahon was not able to fight off the invading WCW wrestlers, and when they formed an alliance with a group of Extreme Championship Wrestling alumni that were signed to the WWF and both Shane and Stephanie McMahon were now aligned against their father, McMahon's empire began to crumble and he had zero help from his two biggest stars at the time. Austin made it known that he was against teaming with Angle, whom Austin saw as both a threat to his WWF Championship, as well as an annoying tag-along.
Finally, a frustrated McMahon called Austin out and demanded that he bring the old Stone Cold back, even going as far as asking Austin to give him a Stone Cold Stunner, so he could effectively captain a team of WWF wrestlers in a ten-man tag team match at the upcoming InVasion pay per view in July. A dejected Austin initially refused, but on the following edition of Raw he returned to his old ways and hit Stunners on every member of the Alliance. Then, at InVasion, Austin captained the WWF team consisting of himself, Angle, Jericho, and the Undertaker and Kane against the team of WCW's Booker T and Diamond Dallas Page and ECW's Rhyno and the Dudley Boyz. Late in the match, however, as Angle had Booker in the ankle lock, Austin turned on Angle by Stunning him and joined the Alliance. The reason why Austin did this was that he felt McMahon was grooming Angle to take over his spot, that he was trying to get in touch with The Rock to return, and that he himself was "unappreciated" when McMahon insisted he return to the old Austin. Austin was immediately made the Alliance's new leader and began to feud with Angle over his WWF Championship.
Also, during this time, Austin would begin his "What?" catchphrase, which he would say randomly while giving a promo. The catchphrase eventually would start to become popular towards the end of the Invasion, and is still used by fans to this day. He also used his "What?" catchphrase during an episode of WWE Slam City when the music is not loud enough.
Austin lost his title to Angle at Unforgiven by submitting to the ankle lock, but began badgering Angle for a rematch after claiming his hand was under the ropes which it was. Austin received that rematch on the October 8, 2001 edition of Raw and won the title after WWF Commissioner William Regal betrayed Angle and joined the Alliance. Austin then began feuding with Alliance member Rob Van Dam, who was the only member of the Alliance to be cheered by the fans despite the villainous tactics of the group. Austin faced Angle and RVD at No Mercy later that month and won by pinning Van Dam.
On the October 29, 2001 Raw, Angle joined the Alliance and became the second most powerful wrestler in the group. Survivor Series was coming up, and it was ultimately decided to have a winner-take-all Survivor Series tag match with the winning team becoming the surviving entity. Austin was chosen to captain team Alliance, which consisted of Angle, Shane McMahon, RVD and Booker T, against Team WWF which was captained by The Rock, who had returned the week following Austin's betrayal of the WWF at InVasion. The Rock's team included Jericho, Kane, The Undertaker, and The Big Show. Before Survivor Series, Austin and Rock rekindled their rivalry at the UK-only pay-per-view Rebellion and Austin successfully defended his WWF title with help from Angle.
At Survivor Series, Austin was one of the last two wrestlers in the match, with The Rock being the other, and was the last remaining hope for the Alliance to survive. Late in the match, Austin attempted to win the match with the Rock Bottom, the Rock's finishing maneuver, but failed to earn a three count. He then kicked out of his own Stone Cold Stunner, which the Rock nailed on him, and attacked two referees including Alliance referee Nick Patrick. With the officials down, Angle ran to the ring and picked up Austin's title belt. He then entered the ring and struck Austin with it, betraying the Alliance and enabling The Rock to hit the Rock Bottom on Austin for the pin and the victory. With that, the InVasion ended, the Alliance was forced to disband, and Austin's future in the company was in question.
Eventually, McMahon decided he was going to strip Austin of the title and award it to Angle for his actions. Just before he could, Ric Flair returned to the WWF for the first time since his 1993 departure and announced he was now half owner of the company. Austin returned moments after this announcement and attacked Angle and McMahon for their actions. He was then handed his title belt by Flair and celebrated with him in the ring, returning to the fans' good graces once again.
Flair then decided that Austin would face off against The Rock, who was still in possession of the former WCW World Championship (which was renamed the World Championship), at the upcoming Vengeance pay per view in December to unify the titles. However, since Austin was still feuding with Angle and Rock had an unresolved feud with Jericho over his own title, McMahon overruled Flair and said that both men would wrestle their respective rivals for their respective titles at Vengeance, with the winners to face each other and the winner of that match to be crowned Undisputed WWF Champion. Austin won his first match by defeating Angle with the Stone Cold Stunner and faced World Champion Jericho in the unification match. Austin lost the match after McMahon and Booker T interfered and lost his title. Immediately after, Austin and Booker T began feuding which would lead to various fights in strange venues, such as a church confessional, a bingo hall, and a supermarket.
Beginning 2002, although Austin's character remained with the WWF's most popular wrestlers as top face, his upcoming storylines in the build-up to WrestleMania were somewhat questionable compared to those of his previous years. In the 2002 Royal Rumble, Triple H made his long-awaited return from injury, with he and Austin two of the last four participants in the ring along with Kurt Angle and Mr Perfect. Austin was eliminated by Kurt Angle, however he shortly went back in the ring and hit all three with a steel chair. A few days later on Raw, he defeated Kurt Angle to earn a shot at Chris Jericho's WWF Undisputed Championship at No Way Out.
In the build up to No Way Out, McMahon had re signed the New World Order, who started a feud with him after Austin refused a beer gift. Problems in the backstage creativity were however then seemingly beginning to surface. Austin was reported as being unhappy regarding Hulk Hogan's return to the WWF, and was reported as refusing to lose to Hogan in a proposed match at WrestleMania X8, while Hogan reportedly told McMahon the same regarding losing to Austin. In recent years, Austin has this to say about why the match never took place: "I guarantee you, if my head had been at a little different place, then by all rights, a should have happened," Austin told JR. Physically and mentally where I was at, I could go. I think Hogan probably would have been a step or two behind that. That wasn't acceptable to me, and I didn't want to slow myself down. I say that with all due respect to Hulk Hogan, because he had a hellacious run. That was my thought process back in the day. I didn't think we could deliver. Consequently, the match was re-billed as The Rock defeating Hogan, whilst Austin defeated Scott Hall, climaxing his feud with the nWo.
In a surprise altercation, the next night on Raw, Austin refused to show up and took a week-long break without the company's consent, claiming exhaustion. McMahon claimed his actions caused fury among fans who had paid to see him that night. Austin returned on the April 1, 2002 episode of Raw, the first of the new "brand extension" era. The show was centered on which show he would sign with, and he ultimately chose Raw. Austin entered a feud with The Undertaker that resulted in a number one contender's match for the WWF Undisputed Championship at Backlash, which Austin lost despite having his foot on the rope when he was pinned. He would later be betrayed by Big Show, who went on to rejoin the nWo, and Ric Flair. Austin then defeated Big Show and Flair in a handicap match at Judgment Day.
In an interview on WWE television by telephone in May 2002, Austin stunned the company and fans by launching a verbal attack on the direction the company was heading in and slated the creative team for not using him the way he felt they previously did. The commentators struggled to keep Austin's opinions on a neutral wavelength, leading to the WWE apologising to fans for the outburst and stated it was not part of Austin's current or upcoming storylines. McMahon responded a week later on the same show playing down the outburst, claiming that Austin was merely the type of wrestler who was occasionally difficult to work with.
The WWE rehired Eddie Guerrero for Austin to feud with, while also prepping Austin for a feud with Brock Lesnar. Austin, however, vetoed any matches that would result in him losing to Lesnar and ultimately walked out of the company. Austin later explained that he thought hot-shotting a rookie made Austin look weak and did not give Lesnar a proper stage for such a big win over a star of the magnitude that Austin held. Further fanning the flames amongst Austin's growing number of detractors was a well-publicized domestic dispute incident between Austin and his wife Debra.
On June 3, following the dispute with Debra, Austin made his last appearance for WWE on Raw. After Austin no showed the episode of Raw the following week, his storylines were dropped. Austin walked out again, publicly stating he felt bad storylines were presented to him by the creative team. This time his departure was for good. McMahon, along with longtime Austin supporter and real-life friend Jim Ross, buried Austin on WWE programming, referring to him as "taking his ball and going home" because he wasn't getting his way, whilst also explaining to the fans that neither he nor Ross were able to persuade Austin to change his mind. McMahon insisted that Austin owed an apology to all the fans across the world, especially those who paid solely to see him that night.
McMahon toasted to Austin's career with a beer thanking him for all his hard work nonetheless. The same night, Austin's entrance theme was played during an in-ring segment by Ric Flair, but it was transitioned to Eddie Guerrero's theme and he entered the arena. The Rock also made an appearance on Raw that night, despite being drafted to Smackdown!, and announced his frustrations towards Austin and threw a can of beer at McMahon. Austin's merchandise continued to sell greatly in the weeks following his departure, however with no sign of a return likely to be seen, the company stopped marketing his character, his merchandise, and removed his profile from WWE.com. This period was documented in an episode of WWE Confidential.
For the remainder of 2002, Austin kept a low profile and did not make any public appearances. It was reported however by the end of the year, Austin and McMahon met and resolved their differences. He then agreed to return to the company in early 2003. In an interview with WWE Raw Magazine, he announced deep regret over the situation that led to his departure and the way in which he had left, and deeper regret over inaccurate speculation regarding his alleged grudges held against other WWE wrestlers, claiming he had no problem with Scott Hall rejoining the company. However, he admitted he still held strong reservations about his singles match with Hall at WrestleMania only lasting seven minutes and felt build-up to the match did not live up to his or Hall's fans expectations, and was angered by speculation suggesting he disagreed with Kevin Nash re-joining the company, insisting he and Nash have always been good friends.He confessed he had a major rift with Triple H's role in the company upon his return in 2002, but insisted as of 2003 they resolved their issues. In addition, he claimed a brief dispute with The Rock was resolved quickly upon his return, and that none of his disputes with the talent roster continued or played the major part in his departure. In February, Austin returned at No Way Out in a short match against Eric Bischoff. Austin would wrestle only one match between then and WrestleMania in another short match against Bischoff on Raw but was then defeated by The Rock at WrestleMania XIX, who returned about the same time as a smug, sell out villain, which, ultimately, became Austin's last official match in WWE. It was also revealed in the documentary The Mania of Wrestlemania based around the Wrestlemania 19 event that the letters "OMR", meaning "One More Round", were put on his jacket for his match against The Rock.
The night after on Raw, Bischoff "fired" Austin on medical grounds. The next morning, Austin gave an interview on WWE. com announcing his retirement from wrestling, although he stated that he and Vince McMahon had reached an agreement seeing him only appear in non-wrestling roles on a weekly basis. In reference to Bischoff firing him on Raw that week, he said that although firing was for storyline purposes, he admitted the medical problems read out on Raw were real and mainly related back to his injury sustained at SummerSlam 1997 in a match with Owen Hart, and had begun to seriously plague him since late 2001. He confessed wrestling against the advice of his doctors up to his departure in 2002, which forced him to quit wrestling, and cited this as the sole reason as to why he suddenly departed, with doctors advising an awkward or violent move performed on him could have resulted in Austin being permanently disabled or resulting in death.
The following week, Austin began his non-wrestling career with the WWE and began a fresh storyline when he was brought back by Linda McMahon as the Co-General Manager of Raw. He continued this storyline for the remainder of the year, still showing wrestling moves including the Stone Cold Stunner and several exchanges of punches and kicks, although limiting regularity of these being performed. On the November 17, 2003 episode of Raw, Austin was "fired" from Raw as the result of a stipulation in a match at Survivor Series where Austin's hand-picked team of wrestlers failed to beat Bischoff's team of wrestlers. Austin quickly returned to WWE television before the end of 2003 when he was part of the WWE Tribute to the Troops taped live in front of U.S. troops in Iraq, posing and stunning Mr. McMahon. He finally came back on Raw on December 29 as its "Sheriff", giving a Stone Cold Stunner to Eric Bischoff and rehiring Shawn Michaels, who had just been "fired" by Bischoff.
Austin appeared on and off as 2004 began, culminating in him being the special guest referee for the notorious match between Brock Lesnar and Goldberg at WrestleMania XX in which fans cheered for Austin and jeered both Lesnar and Goldberg due to both men announcing their departures from the company following the event. Then, on April 17, WWE put out a press release on their website claiming that Steve Austin and WWE were unable to settle long-running contract disputes and had again parted ways.
Austin made his first appearance on WWE programming in a year at WrestleMania 21 where he was confronted by Roddy Piper in Piper's Pit, until Carlito interrupted to insult both. This resulted in Carlito receiving a Stunner from Austin and Piper throwing him out of the ring. The segment ended with Austin and Piper celebrating with beer until Austin gave Piper a Stunner as well. He then appeared on a few episodes of Raw. At ECW One Night Stand, Austin came to the ring following the show's main event. Wearing a Las Vegas Outlaws XFL jersey, he came to the ring to give The Sandman a beer he had asked for. However, Austin invited the whole locker room to the ring for a "beer bash". Before the bash, he demanded the WWE Crusaders come to the ring for a fight. Tazz came to the ring, which started the brawl. After Tazz applied the Tazzmission to Kurt Angle, the brawl ended. ECW stood alone in the ring after throwing all of the Crusaders out of the ring. Mick Foley then dragged Eric Bischoff to the ring. The Dudley Boyz gave him a Dudley Death Drop, followed by Chris Benoit giving him a Diving Headbutt, and Rey Mysterio followed that with a 619. When Austin then asked Bischoff about his feelings on the night, he responded with Fuck ECW, which prompted Austin to give him a stunner. As the Dudley Boyz took Bischoff outside and loaded him onto a garbage truck, the remaining ECW Originals took part in the "beer bash" as the show went off the air.
Austin was on Raw the following night. Then, at WWE Homecoming, he again returned to Raw, delivering Stunners to all four members of the McMahon family. An angle including Jim Ross being fired led to a match in which Austin agreed to face Bischoff's replacement, Jonathan Coachman, at Taboo Tuesday, with the stipulation of Ross regaining his announcing job if Austin wins and Austin losing his own job if he loses. Austin hurt his back prior to the match, and could not wrestle unless he was heavily medicated, so the match was cancelled. To explain away his failure to appear at Taboo Tuesday, Vince McMahon said on Raw that Austin had been involved in an accident, thus preventing him from competing. Batista substituted for Austin, defeating Coachman along with Vader and Goldust. The stipulation was dropped due to Austin not competing. He returned to WWE briefly to face John "Bradshaw" Layfield in a beer drinking contest at the March 5, 2006 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event. Austin won by disqualification as he saw JBL cheating by pouring the beer down his clothes. JBL threw some beer in Austin's face and tried to run away, but Chris Benoit quickly threw JBL back in the ring. Austin gave a Stunner to JBL. Austin inducted Bret Hart into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 1, 2006. Austin returned to WWE programming (appearing on Raw, ECW, and SmackDown!) in March 2007, partially to promote his starring role in the release of WWE Films' production, The Condemned. On March 31, 2007, Austin inducted his friend Jim Ross into the WWE Hall of Fame. At WrestleMania 23, Austin, as a special guest referee, officiated the match between Bobby Lashley and Umaga. The stipulation for the match was that if Lashley lost, Donald Trump's head would be shaved, and if Umaga lost, Mr. McMahon's head would suffer the same fate. In the course of the event, Austin delivered stunners to Umaga, Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, and Donald Trump. Lashley eventually won the match, and Trump, Austin and Lashley then shaved Mr.McMahon's head on live TV. Stone Cold ended by stunning McMahon as well as Donald Trump and toasting beers. He then appeared in a video on the June 11 episode of Raw as part of "Mr. McMahon's Appreciation Night", where he shared his thoughts on his past feuds with McMahon. Austin appeared on the August 18, 2007 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event, as a possible illegitimate child of Mr. McMahon and stunned McMahon and Jonathan Coachman. Austin appeared at SummerSlam to aide Matt Hardy in battling Montel Vontavious Porter in a Beer Drinking Contest. The match ended in a no contest after Austin handed a beer to MVP and gave him the Stone Cold Stunner.
Austin made another appearance at Cyber Sunday, where he guest refereed a World Heavyweight Championship match between the champion Batista, and the challenger The Undertaker. Batista walked out the champion after delivering a Batista Bomb to The Undertaker. On the November 5, 2007 episode of Raw, Austin made an appearance to confront Santino Marella for criticizing The Condemned. The argument ended as Marella received a Stone Cold Stunner from Austin, who then walked backstage only to return with a Budweiser beer truck to hose down Marella and his valet Maria with beer. On December 10, 2007 during the Raw 15th Anniversary special, Austin returned after Vince McMahon received the mandible claw from Mankind and a chokeslam from The Undertaker for proclaiming himself "the greatest Raw superstar of all time." Shortly after, McMahon received a Stone Cold Stunner and Austin called out all WWE stars in attendance to the ring to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Raw. The show closed as Austin, Triple H and Hornswoggle poured beer on McMahon, who was knocked out outside the ring.
On October 26, 2008, at Cyber Sunday, Austin was the special guest referee during a match between Batista and Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship. In between the match Stone Cold told a fleeing Jericho that if he was counted out or disqualified, Batista would win the title. During the course of the match, Batista accidentally knocked Austin down. When Austin recovered, Randy Orton, who had come out as the third referee, knocked Austin back down, only to receive a Stone Cold Stunner when Austin recovered. Eventually Batista won the match by hitting his signature Batista Bomb on Chris Jericho, leading Austin to give the three count, making Batista the new World Heavyweight Champion. On January 12, 2009, episode of Raw, Austin was announced to be the first member of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2009. He was inducted by his long-term on-screen rival Vince McMahon, who referred to Austin as "The Greatest WWE Superstar of all time." During the induction, there were "one more match" chants, to which Austin said he was officially closing the door on his wrestling career and starting a new chapter in his life. At WrestleMania XXV, Austin was introduced alongside the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2009. After the introductions, Austin's theme music hit, and he re-entered the ringside area wearing a vintage "Austin 3:16" shirt driving an ATV. He then enjoyed his trademark beer bash with the fans and with long-time friend Jim Ross.
Austin returned to the company on the March 15, 2010 episode of Raw as its guest host. On that episode, he moderated a contract signing between Vince McMahon and Bret Hart for their match at WrestleMania XXVI. In the same episode Austin met up backstage with his longtime rival Shawn Michaels, who asked Austin whether he believed that Michaels could end the Undertaker's undefeated WrestleMania streak in their upcoming match. Austin replied "Hell yeah I think you can beat the Undertaker, but I don't think you're going to, The streak is going to go 18-0". Michaels lost the match extending the Undertaker's streak to 18-0 and forcing Michaels to retire. On the 900th episode of "Raw", which took place on August 30, 2010, the intro and theme for Stone Cold Steve Austin were shown. However, this was only a trick by CM Punk, who was attempting to prove a point about what the Straight Edge Society believed was a disturbing history of the WWE. Austin did not actually make an appearance on this night.
In early 2011, Austin was announced as the head trainer and host for the revival of WWE Tough Enough. On the March 7 episode of Raw, Austin interrupted the contract signing of the special guest referee to the Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler match at WrestleMania XXVII, originally scheduled to be John "Bradshaw" Layfield. After stunning Layfield, Austin signed the contract instead and became the official guest referee for the scheduled match. Although Lawler won by submission, the anonymous Raw General Manager reversed the decision and disqualified Lawler, claiming that Austin had "overstepped his authority". He appeared on Raw the following night with the cast from Tough Enough, while also getting into an altercation with The Miz and Alex Riley. On April 7, 2011, Austin gave an interview where he talked about his return, filming Tough Enough and the respect he has for CM Punk. Austin was asked about a return to the ring and said that he felt that if he had to, he had two more years in him and could still do a full-time schedule. However, he then stated that he was happy with where he was at in life and wanted to be able to hunt and fish 10 to 20 years from now and be able to do it pain free.
On the June 6 episode of Raw, Austin appeared live alongside old rival Vince McMahon to declare Andy Leavine as the winner of Tough Enough. He also served as the Special Guest Referee in the evening's tag team main event, John Cena and Alex Riley vs. The Miz and R-Truth. The end of the match came as a result of Austin hitting the infamous Stone Cold Stunner on The Miz, which was followed by an Attitude Adjustment from Cena and then the pinfall victory. However, the anonymous Raw General Manager chimed in and the GM's ringside mouthpiece Michael Cole announced that since Austin had abused his authority as referee, The Miz and R-Truth win via disqualification. Austin did not take kindly to the GM overturning his decision and Cole also received a Stunner, which was followed with another Attitude Adjustment courtesy of Cena. Austin and Cena closed the show, celebrating with a beer bash.
Austin appeared as the special guest GM on the "WWE All-Star" edition of Raw. During the show, Austin destroyed the Anonymous Raw General Manager's laptop by running over it with his ATV. It was revealed on WWE.com that Austin would appear at WrestleMania XXX. Austin appeared with Hulk Hogan and The Rock in the opening segment.
Austin filmed as guest roles on Celebrity Deathmatch and Nash Bridges, where he played Detective Jake Cage. He appeared at the 1998 Billboard Music Awards. He has appeared on V.I.P, Dilbert, the Teen Choice Awards, and the CMT Music Awards. His motion picture debut was in a supporting role as Guard Dunham in the 2005 remake of The Longest Yard. Austin had his first starring film role, as Jack Conrad, a dangerous convict awaiting execution in a Salvadoran prison, who takes part in an illegal deathmatch game that is being broadcast to the public in the 2007 thriller The Condemned.
In 2010, Austin appeared in The Expendables as Dan Paine, the bodyguard and right-hand man for the primary antagonist of the film, played by Eric Roberts. It was his last theatrical release film until 2013. He appeared as Hugo Panzer on television series Chuck. He has also starred in Damage, Hunt to Kill, The Stranger, Tactical Force, Knockout and Recoil. Austin is the host for the reality competition show Redneck Island which aired in June 2012 on CMT, and has continued for a third season. In 2013, Austin appeared in Grown Ups 2 as Dennis "Tommy" Cavanaugh, it was his first theatrical release film since 2010.
In April 2013, Austin started a weekly podcast named The Steve Austin Show which is family friendly, while his second podcast The Steve Austin Show Unleashed is more adult oriented.
He announced on his podcast in December 2013 that he has been given green light for Broken Skull Challenge, a reality competition show starting July 6, 2014 on CMT.
Austin dated Kathryn Burrhus throughout high school and college, and the two married on November 24, 1990. Nonetheless, Austin pursued a relationship with Jeannie Clark, with whom he was working. His marriage to Burrhus was quickly annulled on August 7, 1992, and Austin and Clark married on December 18, 1992. Together, they have two daughters, Stephanie born in 1991, and Cassidy born in 1996. Cassidy lives with her mother in England, while Stephanie resides in Los Angeles. Austin also adopted Jade, Clark's daughter with former husband Chris Adams. Austin and Clark divorced on May 10, 1999. Jade lives in the U.S. with her husband and son.
On September 13, 2000, Austin married WWE Diva Debra Marshall. On June 15, 2002 police were called to their residence in San Antonio. They found a hysterical and bruised Marshall. Austin had left the house and was asked by police not to return. On August 14, 2002, Austin was arrested and charged with domestic abuse. He plead no contest on November 25, 2002 and was given a year's probation, a $1,000 fine, and ordered to carry out 80 hours of community service. Marshall would later claim that Austin was a steroid user and this incident was the result of roid rage. Austin filed for divorce from Marshall on July 22, 2002 and the divorce was finalized on February 5, 2003. On June 29, 2007, Marshall told Fox News that Austin beat her three times. She also stated that WWE put a gag order on her so she would not reveal that Stone Cold hit her, as it would cost the company millions of dollars. The WWE did not respond to her allegations.
In December 2007, the Wrestling Observer newsletter reported that "Stone Cold" Steve Austin legally changed his real name (Steven Williams) to his wrestling name Steve Austin. In late 2009, Austin married his fourth wife, Kristin, with whom he splits his time between Marina Del Rey, California and Tilden, Texas, where he owns the Broken Skull Ranch.
Christopher Robillard Mordetzky born January 8, 1983 is an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Chris Masters. He is best known for his tenure with WWE.Mordetzky began training for a wrestling career at the age of 16 in Ultimate Pro Wrestling. He trained there for one year and suffered an injury, leaving him out of action for three months. During this time, Mordetzky learned that WWE was recruiting talent from UPW, and he took time off from wrestling for nearly three years to pursue a powerful physique that would interest World Wrestling Entertainment.His work paid off, as WWE offered him a developmental contract in 2003, training him at its developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling OVW. At OVW, he developed his wrestling skills and refined his character, achieving success in both the singles and tag team divisions. When Mordetzky was called up to the main roster,WWE showed vignettes outlining him as The Masterpiece, touting him as having a body so perfect, it would appear he was sculpted out of stone. Mordetzky credits Matt Morgan for creating the "Masterpiece" gimmick, and said Vince McMahon encouraged him to emulate former wrestler Paul Orndorff
World Wrestling Entertainment
Master Lock Challenge 2005
The Masterpiece Chris Masters made his debut in WWE on Raw as a villain, drawing attention to his physique in bodybuilding poses during his entrance to the ring. On the February 21, 2005 episode of Raw, Masters made his debut by defeating Stevie Richards. During the contest Masters broke Richards' nose performing the Polish Hammer.The Polish Hammer continued to be a signature move of Masters' for months after this first match, but with warning that it would only be used in striking an opponent's chest.
Masters made a claim that his version of the full nelson hold, which he dubbed the Master Lock, was unbreakable.Masters began a series of contests he would call "Master Lock Challenges" where Masters would put an opponent in the Master Lock and the opponent would try to break free before Masters made him submit or pass out. Masters would go on to log more full nelson submission victories than any wrestler in WWE history, breaking the record previously held by Kurt Angle.Originally he would call out plants from the crowd, placing a $1,000 prize of his own money to be paid to anyone who could break free from the Master Lock. At Backlash, he defeated Melissa Coates in a Master Lock Challenge. However, these challenges were often criticised. The referee would normally end the challenge after a few seconds, declaring Masters the winner even if the challenger had not given up or passed out. Also, if Masters himself released the hold, it was often declared a victory for Masters. He engaged in feuds with lower-card wrestlers, Val Venis and Sgt. Slaughter, who both failed to break the Master Lock. Using villainous tactics, he often attacked the wrestlers beforehand and frequently cheated for example using a low-blow to escape Sgt. Slaughter's cobra clutch. Masters increased the offered reward each week up to $20,000 and sometimes threw in a bonus. After defeating the 400-pound Rosey on July 18, Masters defiantly stated "it doesn't matter how big they are!", prompting The Big Show to accept a Master Lock Challenge. In accordance with his villainous persona, Masters fled, refusing a match with the Big Show.
In late August, Masters entered a feud with Shawn Michaels, leading to a tag match between himself and Carlito against Ric Flair and Michaels.During the match, Masters defeated Ric Flair by submission. Masters regularly teamed with Carlito, albeit in a rigid business relationship. Michaels competed in a Master Lock Challenge on September 5.Masters, upset at the vigorous resistance of Michaels, released the hold and beat him with a steel chair before re-applying the hold.The Master Lock Challenge, which had not decided a clear victor between the two, led to a match at Unforgiven which Michaels won.
Masters, alongside fellow Raw wrestler, Edge, was one of several wrestlers to "invade" SmackDown! in preparation for the match between the SmackDown! and Raw brands at Survivor Series. The two ambushed Rey Mysterio, leading to a tag match at Taboo Tuesday against Mysterio and Matt Hardy. Edge could not participate, so Masters teamed with Edge's replacement, Gene Snitsky. Masters and Snitsky lost when Mysterio pinned Masters.At Survivor Series, Masters competed in a five-on-five Survivor Series match between SmackDown! and Raw wrestlers. During the match, there appeared to be a near-break in the Master Lock by Bobby Lashley, who "powered out" of the hold. As the hold was never completely locked in, however, the "Master Lock" had not been officially broken.Masters had his first WWE Championship match on the November 28 episode of Raw.It was a Triple Threat Submission Match with Kurt Angle and John Cena. The idea was that both Masters and Angle had a submission finisher, and Cena did not at that moment, so therefore, Cena could not win. Prior to the match, Masters made headlines after attacking then-champion Cena from behind following one of Cena's matches. Masters applied the Master Lock hold, and became the first wrestler to bring Cena to unconsciousness, as Cena was unable to break the hold. During their match, Masters was struck with a chair shot from Cena, who ultimately retained the title, forcing Masters to tap out to Cena's STF.Masters would go on to bring Cena down using the Master Lock two more times, making him the first wrestler to bring John Cena to unconsciousness.
Masters portrayed the role of a bailiff during the mock trial for then General Manager Eric Bischoff on the December 5 episode of RAW, with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon as judge. Upon being called to the stand to testify for Bischoff's defense, he was asked to give his name, which he did saying his name was Chris Masters. He was immediately accused of perjury and disqualified as a witness, as McMahon broke kayfabe and stated that Masters' real name was Chris Mordetzky.
On December 12, Chris Masters defeated Viscera on an episode of Raw to gain a spot in the Elimination Chamber match for John Cena's WWE Championship at New Year's Revolution. Viscera was shown to be too big to cinch on the Master Lock until being grounded. On the December 26 episode of Raw, Masters faced Chavo Guerrero, in a Beat the Clock match to determine who would be the final entrant to be released from his pod in the Elimination Chamber. Masters had to defeat Guerrero in 5 minutes and 56 seconds, which was the time set by Michaels when he defeated Snitsky in the opening match of the show.Guerrero managed to survive the Master Lock long enough so that Masters was unable to beat the clock.At New Year's Revolution, Masters was eliminated from the Elimination Chamber match when Carlito double-crossed him by delivering a low blow while he had Cena in the Master Lock and then used a roll-up for the pin. On January 9, after some heated words with Carlito, both men had a tag match against two men who were also having difficulties, Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels. During the match, Michaels walked backstage, leaving Angle to fend for himself. Masters saw the opportunity and applied the Master Lock to Angle, thus gaining the victory. On January 16, Masters challenged Cena to take part in a Master Lock Challenge. Cena accepted the challenge and displayed signs that he might in fact break out of the hold, until Edge attacked Cena with his title belt and ended the challenge.
Various feuds 2006–2007
At the Royal Rumble, Masters again worked together with Carlito, but Carlito again double-crossed him and eliminated him from the match.On the February 6 episode of Raw both men were entered into a Road to WrestleMania Tournament, to determine the number one contender for a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 22. In Masters' first round match up he would use the ropes for leverage in a victory against Kane to secure himself a place in the second round against the winner of a later match between Carlito and Rob Van Dam. Van Dam won that match.The next week on Raw, Van Dam was able to beat Masters and advance to the tournament final.After this, Masters continued to feud with one half of the World Tag Team Champions, Big Show, while Masters' on and off teammate Carlito would feud with Kane. On the February 27 episode of RAW, McMahon offered Shawn Michaels' former tag team partner Marty Jannetty a WWE contract in exchange for kissing his exposed buttocks in the middle of the wrestling ring. When Jannetty hesitated, McMahon changed the condition to winning a Master Lock Challenge, and summoned Masters to the ring. After applying the Master Lock, McMahon ordered Masters to force Jannetty's face against his buttocks. Masters failed to complete this instruction as Shawn Michaels interrupted and knocked out Masters. Michaels was then attacked by Shane McMahon, who forced him to kiss Mr. McMahon's buttocks instead. On March 6 episode of Raw, McMahon publicly thanked everyone who encouraged the previous week's events, and officially awarded Masters AND Carlito a tag team title match at WrestleMania 22.At WrestleMania 22, the pair lost the match to Big Show and Kane. The pair argued amongst themselves after the match. Even though Carlito had repeatedly betrayed Masters over the previous months, it was Carlito who turned face. During the next Raw, Masters began to feud with Carlito after Carlito attacked him from behind. This led to a match between the two men at Backlash which Carlito won.
After this, Masters pursued the WWE Intercontinental Championship but would leave for several months to go to drug rehab due to an addiction of painkillers. Before leaving, Masters was on the May 22 episode of Raw, losing a match to John Cena despite low blowing John Cena for two times in a row.He returned to the ring during an OVW TV taping on August 6. He had lost much of his muscle mass, appearing much slimmer, although he still had some definition in his arms and abdomen. On the August 28 episode of Raw, Masters made his return against Cena.Along with less muscle mass, he sported a goatee and mustache leading Jerry "The King" Lawler to refer to him as a "leaner and meaner" Chris Masters. This change of image was short-lived, however, as Masters shaved the goatee and regained some of his muscle mass. When Masters returned, he was put in lower-card matches including a short feud with Super Crazy, who had moved from SmackDown!, with Masters coming out on the losing end of their matches. The pair would also compete in a losing effort, along with four other Superstars, in a Six-Pack Challenge for the Intercontinental Championship. Masters gained his first victory since his return against Jerry Lawler on the November 6 episode of Raw in a match where Eric Bischoff, General Manager for the night, forced Lawler to be first handcuffed to the top rope. Masters continued the feud with Lawler for a few weeks with Lawler also losing a Master Lock Challenge before defeating Masters.
On the December 4 episode of Raw, Jonathan Coachman set up a Master Lock Challenge against John Cena for the WWE Championship. Masters appearing to have the challenge won released the hold for a short time, allowing Cena to reverse the hold into his own Master Lock, forcing Masters to submit, retaining his title, and making Cena the first to win the Master Lock Challenge. At the start of 2007, Masters would restart his feud with Carlito, which led to several matches between the two. The first was a one-on-one contest at New Year's Revolution won by Masters. In a rematch the next night on Raw, Carlito came out victorious. On the January 15 episode of Raw, Ron Simmons, with interference from Super Crazy, almost "won" the Master Lock Challenge. An attempted Master Lock Challenge for The Great Khali on the February 26 episode of Raw did not occur when Masters was unable to apply the hold to Khali. The Master Lock was first officially broken on the March 19 episode of Raw, by ECW World Champion Bobby Lashley.after Masters debuted it more than two years ago.
In May and June, Masters challenged Santino Marella for the Intercontinental Championship, losing four times via roll-up. However, on the May 28 episode of Raw, he defeated Marella in the Master Lock Challenge.
On the June 11 episode of Raw, Masters was drafted from Raw to SmackDown! as part of the 2007 WWE Draft. While on SmackDown! he was used sporadically including a few Master Lock Challenges. He had entered into a feud with Chuck Palumbo competing in several matches and an attempted Master Lock Challenge that did not begin as Masters fled the ring after Palumbo realized Masters was trying to trick him. Following this, Masters was suspended for 30 days for failing a drug test. Masters returned to SmackDown! on October 5, applying the Master Lock to Palumbo. Masters suffered a dislocated elbow during his last match, which would have sidelined him for four months. On November 2, 2007, it was reported that Masters had been suspended for 60 days for having violated WWE's Substance Abuse and Drug Policy a second time.Six days later, Mordetzky was released from his WWE contract on November 8, 2007.
On December 20, 2007, Mordetzky made his first wrestling appearance since his departure from WWE, competing under the name Chris Moore for Antonio Inoki's Inoki Genome Federation at the event Genome2: Inoki Fighting Xmas in Tokyo, Japan, defeating Ryuji Yanagisawa. Mordetzky also appeared under his Chris Masters ring name and gimmick at Harley Race's World League Wrestling show on December 29, during a Lumberjack match between Branden Tatum and Dinn T. Moore. Tatum pinned Moore after Masters applied the Master Lock behind the referee's back. He soon won the WLW Heavyweight Championship, his first singles title, on February 9, 2008 from Keith Walker. He later lost the title to Derek McQuinn on May 25. In May 2008, news reports revealed that Mordetzky had signed a one-year contract with Nu-Wrestling Evolution.
Mordetzky wrestled on the independent circuit in Australia and New Zealand appearing for New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling on April 23 in Lower Hutt. He defeated Adam Avalanche and Rufguts in a Triple Threat match at the show Power Play 6.
Masters also competed in Europe for American Wrestling Rampage, in the UK for Varsity Pro Wrestling and Puerto Rico for the World Wrestling Council.
Mordetzky returned to World Wrestling Entertainment on July 27, 2009, reprising his character as The Masterpiece Chris Masters. He entered the ring with an unabridged Titantron, displaying his signature poses. Mordetzky did not take the mic and little commentary was made on his absence. He faced Montel Vontavious Porter in a match that resulted in a double-countout after he applied the Master Lock submission to MVP outside the ring. A mini feud continued between the two as Porter was able to score a pinfall victory over Masters the following week to end the feud.
In November 2009, Mordetzky began a face turn, entertaining fans with a Tony Holland-style pec dance.On the November 2 episode of Raw, Mordetzky entered the Raw's Got Talent show hosted by guest host Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne, and The Great Khali, where he performed a "special performance art piece"; he flexed his pecs to the beat of Ozzy's song "Crazy Train", earning a positive crowd reaction. Masters later recalled that he was not a fan of the "pec dancing" gimmick, but made the best of it for the company.On the December 7 episode of Raw, Masters cemented his face turn by saving Eve Torres and Hornswoggle from Chavo Guerrero after applying the Master Lock.After that, Masters and Torres began an on-screen relationship.
Masters mostly engaged in lower-card feuds throughout 2010 and 2011. Some wrestling observers have speculated that his character was being reduced to a comedic role because WWE hoped to avoid negative publicity tied to his past Talent and Wellness Violations. Following WrestleMania XXVI, Masters was not active on-screen for over 30 days.
Masters was drafted back to the SmackDown brand on April 26 during the Supplemental Draft. In his first match on the brand, he defeated Chavo Guerrero. Masters found himself lossless in singles matches from May to September, winning eleven singles matches during that period, where all the matches took place on Superstars. Masters was announced as one of the men to compete in the Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team match as part of Team Mysterio, teaming with Rey Mysterio, Big Show, Kofi Kingston and Montel Vontavious Porter to take on Team Del Rio Alberto Del Rio, Tyler Reks, Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre and "Dashing" Cody Rhodes. On the November 19 episode of SmackDown, Masters lost to Swagger in a Survivor Series Showdown match. Later that same night, he competed in a 10-Man Survivor Series Showdown Battle Royal where he eliminated Rhodes, though later on in the match he was eliminated, the Battle Royal was won by Mysterio and Big Show as it was a team vs team battle royal. At the Survivor Series pay-per-view, Masters was eliminated by Del Rio, but his team still went on to win. In late 2010, Masters mentored Byron Saxton on WWE NXT. In February and March 2011, Masters would feud with Tyler Reks on Superstars, and Masters won all four matches they had with each other.A push and possible gimmick change was rumored, but never materialized.
On April 26, 2011 Chris Masters was drafted back to the Raw brand as part of the 2011 Supplemental Draft, but never wrestled on Raw in his four months as a Raw wrestler. His last appearance on WWE programming was against Jack Swagger on August 4, 2011 episode of Superstars in a losing effort. On August 5, 2011, Mordetzky was released from his contract by WWE.
In December 2011, Mordetzky joined the Ring Ka King promotion, a branch of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling for India under the name American Adonis. There he defeated Roscoe Jackson, but was defeated by Indian wrestler Mahabali Veera. In December 2011, Mordetzky was also revealed to be involved in the Wrestling Retribution Project under the ring name "Concrete". Mordetzky appeared on the World Wrestling Fan Xperience WWF Champions Showcase Tour in Manila, Philippines on February 4, 2012, where he wrestled under the name Chris Master. There he was defeated against fellow WWE alumni MVP. In April 2012, Mordetzky participated in the Revolution event for International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom IPW:UK in London. Other wrestlers at the event were WWE Tough Enough Season 5 contestant Matt Cross and WWE alumni and friend Carlito.
In June 2012, Mordetzky was defeated by Robbie E in a dark match for Impact Wrestling. Mordetzky has also been involved in many other wrestling events since his release from WWE such as Southside Wrestling UK beating El Ligero, Dutch Pro Wrestling DPW, Fire Star Pro Wrestling, Big Time Wrestling BTW, World Star Wrestling WSW, Vendetta Pro Wrestling and Tommy Dreamer's House Of Hardcore HOH. October 26, 2012, Masters was defeated by Matt Hardy in the Big Time Wrestling 16th Anniversary Show. On October 27, 2012, Masters defeated Rik Luxury, Sean Casey and then-Champion Chavo Guerrero, Jr. in a Four-Way Elimination match for the Vendetta Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Championship.
On April 20, 2013, Masters unsuccessfully challenged Rob Conway for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. On January 24, 2014, Masters won the Real Canadian Wrestling RCW Canadian Heavyweight Championship. Masters lost the title the next day. On March 1, 2013, Master won the Preston City WrestlingPCW Road to Glory Tournament, earning the right to a match for the PCW Heavyweight Championship.On March 29, 2014, at International Wrestling Federation's Breaking Ground, Masters was defeated by Chris Hero. On June 26th Masters defeated Ken Kerbis & Kronus in a triple threat match for the AWO Championship at the All Wrestling Organization annual show Wrestlefest in Tira, Israel. On 1st August, 2014, Masters defeated Joey Hayes to become PCW Heavyweight Champion at Preston City Wrestling's third anniversary show. On 1st November 2014, Masters faced 'The One' Simon Lancaster at the RDW 10th Anniversary Show, the match ended in a draw when the RDW champion, Spyda, attacked both men. Masters then went on to aid Lancaster in a match against Spyda, winning Lancaster the championship.
Mordetzky has Polish and Jewish roots. He has stated that the Ultimate Warrior and Shawn Michaels were two of his favorite wrestlers while growing up. When asked what it was like wrestling Michaels, Mordetzky replied, "It was a dream come true. That's something I'll take with me to my grave. He was my childhood idol, I idolize the guy, and I still trip out that I got to wrestle him on a pay-per-view. How many people get to do that? How many people get to wrestle their idol?"
Mordetzky claims that the biggest misconception that most people have about him is that he's just a bodybuilder.
John Cena went on record to say that Chris Masters is the strongest competitor he has faced in his career. Though Masters never defeated Cena in the ring, Masters defeated Cena in an arm wrestling match. Masters put Cena out in the Master Lock hold on three separate non-match occasions. Masters is the only competitor who brought John Cena to unconsciousness once, let alone three times.
Mordetzky is good friends with WWE wrestler Randy Orton, along with WWE alumni Carlito, Chavo Guerrero, Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, John Morrison, and Rob Van Dam. Mordetzky has appeared on both Van Dam's radio show RVD-Radio and reality television show RVD-TV. The Wrestling Observer reported that Vince McMahon only re-hired Masters in 2009 at the recommendation of Randy Orton.
Mordetzky was married to Vesela Marinova.
During the weekend of SummerSlam 2012, Masters posted a controversial photo depicting himself holding a gun pointed toward his head on Twitter. It was rumored that he was under the influence of alcohol, but nothing was ever confirmed. Later, he apologized for the incident, claiming that he was not suicidal.
A tweet posted to his Twitter profile in March 2013 stated that Mordetzky saved his mother's life from a criminal who had committed arson at her home. This was later featured on wwe.com, detailing that he had broken down a ten-foot tree with his bare hands and used it to open a path to his mother's windows, freeing her`
World Wrestling Entertainment
Master Lock Challenge 2005
The Masterpiece Chris Masters made his debut in WWE on Raw as a villain, drawing attention to his physique in bodybuilding poses during his entrance to the ring. On the February 21, 2005 episode of Raw, Masters made his debut by defeating Stevie Richards. During the contest Masters broke Richards' nose performing the Polish Hammer.The Polish Hammer continued to be a signature move of Masters' for months after this first match, but with warning that it would only be used in striking an opponent's chest.
Masters made a claim that his version of the full nelson hold, which he dubbed the Master Lock, was unbreakable.Masters began a series of contests he would call "Master Lock Challenges" where Masters would put an opponent in the Master Lock and the opponent would try to break free before Masters made him submit or pass out. Masters would go on to log more full nelson submission victories than any wrestler in WWE history, breaking the record previously held by Kurt Angle.Originally he would call out plants from the crowd, placing a $1,000 prize of his own money to be paid to anyone who could break free from the Master Lock. At Backlash, he defeated Melissa Coates in a Master Lock Challenge. However, these challenges were often criticised. The referee would normally end the challenge after a few seconds, declaring Masters the winner even if the challenger had not given up or passed out. Also, if Masters himself released the hold, it was often declared a victory for Masters. He engaged in feuds with lower-card wrestlers, Val Venis and Sgt. Slaughter, who both failed to break the Master Lock. Using villainous tactics, he often attacked the wrestlers beforehand and frequently cheated for example using a low-blow to escape Sgt. Slaughter's cobra clutch. Masters increased the offered reward each week up to $20,000 and sometimes threw in a bonus. After defeating the 400-pound Rosey on July 18, Masters defiantly stated "it doesn't matter how big they are!", prompting The Big Show to accept a Master Lock Challenge. In accordance with his villainous persona, Masters fled, refusing a match with the Big Show.
In late August, Masters entered a feud with Shawn Michaels, leading to a tag match between himself and Carlito against Ric Flair and Michaels.During the match, Masters defeated Ric Flair by submission. Masters regularly teamed with Carlito, albeit in a rigid business relationship. Michaels competed in a Master Lock Challenge on September 5.Masters, upset at the vigorous resistance of Michaels, released the hold and beat him with a steel chair before re-applying the hold.The Master Lock Challenge, which had not decided a clear victor between the two, led to a match at Unforgiven which Michaels won.
Masters, alongside fellow Raw wrestler, Edge, was one of several wrestlers to "invade" SmackDown! in preparation for the match between the SmackDown! and Raw brands at Survivor Series. The two ambushed Rey Mysterio, leading to a tag match at Taboo Tuesday against Mysterio and Matt Hardy. Edge could not participate, so Masters teamed with Edge's replacement, Gene Snitsky. Masters and Snitsky lost when Mysterio pinned Masters.At Survivor Series, Masters competed in a five-on-five Survivor Series match between SmackDown! and Raw wrestlers. During the match, there appeared to be a near-break in the Master Lock by Bobby Lashley, who "powered out" of the hold. As the hold was never completely locked in, however, the "Master Lock" had not been officially broken.Masters had his first WWE Championship match on the November 28 episode of Raw.It was a Triple Threat Submission Match with Kurt Angle and John Cena. The idea was that both Masters and Angle had a submission finisher, and Cena did not at that moment, so therefore, Cena could not win. Prior to the match, Masters made headlines after attacking then-champion Cena from behind following one of Cena's matches. Masters applied the Master Lock hold, and became the first wrestler to bring Cena to unconsciousness, as Cena was unable to break the hold. During their match, Masters was struck with a chair shot from Cena, who ultimately retained the title, forcing Masters to tap out to Cena's STF.Masters would go on to bring Cena down using the Master Lock two more times, making him the first wrestler to bring John Cena to unconsciousness.
Masters portrayed the role of a bailiff during the mock trial for then General Manager Eric Bischoff on the December 5 episode of RAW, with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon as judge. Upon being called to the stand to testify for Bischoff's defense, he was asked to give his name, which he did saying his name was Chris Masters. He was immediately accused of perjury and disqualified as a witness, as McMahon broke kayfabe and stated that Masters' real name was Chris Mordetzky.
On December 12, Chris Masters defeated Viscera on an episode of Raw to gain a spot in the Elimination Chamber match for John Cena's WWE Championship at New Year's Revolution. Viscera was shown to be too big to cinch on the Master Lock until being grounded. On the December 26 episode of Raw, Masters faced Chavo Guerrero, in a Beat the Clock match to determine who would be the final entrant to be released from his pod in the Elimination Chamber. Masters had to defeat Guerrero in 5 minutes and 56 seconds, which was the time set by Michaels when he defeated Snitsky in the opening match of the show.Guerrero managed to survive the Master Lock long enough so that Masters was unable to beat the clock.At New Year's Revolution, Masters was eliminated from the Elimination Chamber match when Carlito double-crossed him by delivering a low blow while he had Cena in the Master Lock and then used a roll-up for the pin. On January 9, after some heated words with Carlito, both men had a tag match against two men who were also having difficulties, Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels. During the match, Michaels walked backstage, leaving Angle to fend for himself. Masters saw the opportunity and applied the Master Lock to Angle, thus gaining the victory. On January 16, Masters challenged Cena to take part in a Master Lock Challenge. Cena accepted the challenge and displayed signs that he might in fact break out of the hold, until Edge attacked Cena with his title belt and ended the challenge.
Various feuds 2006–2007
At the Royal Rumble, Masters again worked together with Carlito, but Carlito again double-crossed him and eliminated him from the match.On the February 6 episode of Raw both men were entered into a Road to WrestleMania Tournament, to determine the number one contender for a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 22. In Masters' first round match up he would use the ropes for leverage in a victory against Kane to secure himself a place in the second round against the winner of a later match between Carlito and Rob Van Dam. Van Dam won that match.The next week on Raw, Van Dam was able to beat Masters and advance to the tournament final.After this, Masters continued to feud with one half of the World Tag Team Champions, Big Show, while Masters' on and off teammate Carlito would feud with Kane. On the February 27 episode of RAW, McMahon offered Shawn Michaels' former tag team partner Marty Jannetty a WWE contract in exchange for kissing his exposed buttocks in the middle of the wrestling ring. When Jannetty hesitated, McMahon changed the condition to winning a Master Lock Challenge, and summoned Masters to the ring. After applying the Master Lock, McMahon ordered Masters to force Jannetty's face against his buttocks. Masters failed to complete this instruction as Shawn Michaels interrupted and knocked out Masters. Michaels was then attacked by Shane McMahon, who forced him to kiss Mr. McMahon's buttocks instead. On March 6 episode of Raw, McMahon publicly thanked everyone who encouraged the previous week's events, and officially awarded Masters AND Carlito a tag team title match at WrestleMania 22.At WrestleMania 22, the pair lost the match to Big Show and Kane. The pair argued amongst themselves after the match. Even though Carlito had repeatedly betrayed Masters over the previous months, it was Carlito who turned face. During the next Raw, Masters began to feud with Carlito after Carlito attacked him from behind. This led to a match between the two men at Backlash which Carlito won.
After this, Masters pursued the WWE Intercontinental Championship but would leave for several months to go to drug rehab due to an addiction of painkillers. Before leaving, Masters was on the May 22 episode of Raw, losing a match to John Cena despite low blowing John Cena for two times in a row.He returned to the ring during an OVW TV taping on August 6. He had lost much of his muscle mass, appearing much slimmer, although he still had some definition in his arms and abdomen. On the August 28 episode of Raw, Masters made his return against Cena.Along with less muscle mass, he sported a goatee and mustache leading Jerry "The King" Lawler to refer to him as a "leaner and meaner" Chris Masters. This change of image was short-lived, however, as Masters shaved the goatee and regained some of his muscle mass. When Masters returned, he was put in lower-card matches including a short feud with Super Crazy, who had moved from SmackDown!, with Masters coming out on the losing end of their matches. The pair would also compete in a losing effort, along with four other Superstars, in a Six-Pack Challenge for the Intercontinental Championship. Masters gained his first victory since his return against Jerry Lawler on the November 6 episode of Raw in a match where Eric Bischoff, General Manager for the night, forced Lawler to be first handcuffed to the top rope. Masters continued the feud with Lawler for a few weeks with Lawler also losing a Master Lock Challenge before defeating Masters.
On the December 4 episode of Raw, Jonathan Coachman set up a Master Lock Challenge against John Cena for the WWE Championship. Masters appearing to have the challenge won released the hold for a short time, allowing Cena to reverse the hold into his own Master Lock, forcing Masters to submit, retaining his title, and making Cena the first to win the Master Lock Challenge. At the start of 2007, Masters would restart his feud with Carlito, which led to several matches between the two. The first was a one-on-one contest at New Year's Revolution won by Masters. In a rematch the next night on Raw, Carlito came out victorious. On the January 15 episode of Raw, Ron Simmons, with interference from Super Crazy, almost "won" the Master Lock Challenge. An attempted Master Lock Challenge for The Great Khali on the February 26 episode of Raw did not occur when Masters was unable to apply the hold to Khali. The Master Lock was first officially broken on the March 19 episode of Raw, by ECW World Champion Bobby Lashley.after Masters debuted it more than two years ago.
In May and June, Masters challenged Santino Marella for the Intercontinental Championship, losing four times via roll-up. However, on the May 28 episode of Raw, he defeated Marella in the Master Lock Challenge.
On the June 11 episode of Raw, Masters was drafted from Raw to SmackDown! as part of the 2007 WWE Draft. While on SmackDown! he was used sporadically including a few Master Lock Challenges. He had entered into a feud with Chuck Palumbo competing in several matches and an attempted Master Lock Challenge that did not begin as Masters fled the ring after Palumbo realized Masters was trying to trick him. Following this, Masters was suspended for 30 days for failing a drug test. Masters returned to SmackDown! on October 5, applying the Master Lock to Palumbo. Masters suffered a dislocated elbow during his last match, which would have sidelined him for four months. On November 2, 2007, it was reported that Masters had been suspended for 60 days for having violated WWE's Substance Abuse and Drug Policy a second time.Six days later, Mordetzky was released from his WWE contract on November 8, 2007.
On December 20, 2007, Mordetzky made his first wrestling appearance since his departure from WWE, competing under the name Chris Moore for Antonio Inoki's Inoki Genome Federation at the event Genome2: Inoki Fighting Xmas in Tokyo, Japan, defeating Ryuji Yanagisawa. Mordetzky also appeared under his Chris Masters ring name and gimmick at Harley Race's World League Wrestling show on December 29, during a Lumberjack match between Branden Tatum and Dinn T. Moore. Tatum pinned Moore after Masters applied the Master Lock behind the referee's back. He soon won the WLW Heavyweight Championship, his first singles title, on February 9, 2008 from Keith Walker. He later lost the title to Derek McQuinn on May 25. In May 2008, news reports revealed that Mordetzky had signed a one-year contract with Nu-Wrestling Evolution.
Mordetzky wrestled on the independent circuit in Australia and New Zealand appearing for New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling on April 23 in Lower Hutt. He defeated Adam Avalanche and Rufguts in a Triple Threat match at the show Power Play 6.
Masters also competed in Europe for American Wrestling Rampage, in the UK for Varsity Pro Wrestling and Puerto Rico for the World Wrestling Council.
Mordetzky returned to World Wrestling Entertainment on July 27, 2009, reprising his character as The Masterpiece Chris Masters. He entered the ring with an unabridged Titantron, displaying his signature poses. Mordetzky did not take the mic and little commentary was made on his absence. He faced Montel Vontavious Porter in a match that resulted in a double-countout after he applied the Master Lock submission to MVP outside the ring. A mini feud continued between the two as Porter was able to score a pinfall victory over Masters the following week to end the feud.
In November 2009, Mordetzky began a face turn, entertaining fans with a Tony Holland-style pec dance.On the November 2 episode of Raw, Mordetzky entered the Raw's Got Talent show hosted by guest host Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne, and The Great Khali, where he performed a "special performance art piece"; he flexed his pecs to the beat of Ozzy's song "Crazy Train", earning a positive crowd reaction. Masters later recalled that he was not a fan of the "pec dancing" gimmick, but made the best of it for the company.On the December 7 episode of Raw, Masters cemented his face turn by saving Eve Torres and Hornswoggle from Chavo Guerrero after applying the Master Lock.After that, Masters and Torres began an on-screen relationship.
Masters mostly engaged in lower-card feuds throughout 2010 and 2011. Some wrestling observers have speculated that his character was being reduced to a comedic role because WWE hoped to avoid negative publicity tied to his past Talent and Wellness Violations. Following WrestleMania XXVI, Masters was not active on-screen for over 30 days.
Masters was drafted back to the SmackDown brand on April 26 during the Supplemental Draft. In his first match on the brand, he defeated Chavo Guerrero. Masters found himself lossless in singles matches from May to September, winning eleven singles matches during that period, where all the matches took place on Superstars. Masters was announced as one of the men to compete in the Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team match as part of Team Mysterio, teaming with Rey Mysterio, Big Show, Kofi Kingston and Montel Vontavious Porter to take on Team Del Rio Alberto Del Rio, Tyler Reks, Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre and "Dashing" Cody Rhodes. On the November 19 episode of SmackDown, Masters lost to Swagger in a Survivor Series Showdown match. Later that same night, he competed in a 10-Man Survivor Series Showdown Battle Royal where he eliminated Rhodes, though later on in the match he was eliminated, the Battle Royal was won by Mysterio and Big Show as it was a team vs team battle royal. At the Survivor Series pay-per-view, Masters was eliminated by Del Rio, but his team still went on to win. In late 2010, Masters mentored Byron Saxton on WWE NXT. In February and March 2011, Masters would feud with Tyler Reks on Superstars, and Masters won all four matches they had with each other.A push and possible gimmick change was rumored, but never materialized.
On April 26, 2011 Chris Masters was drafted back to the Raw brand as part of the 2011 Supplemental Draft, but never wrestled on Raw in his four months as a Raw wrestler. His last appearance on WWE programming was against Jack Swagger on August 4, 2011 episode of Superstars in a losing effort. On August 5, 2011, Mordetzky was released from his contract by WWE.
In December 2011, Mordetzky joined the Ring Ka King promotion, a branch of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling for India under the name American Adonis. There he defeated Roscoe Jackson, but was defeated by Indian wrestler Mahabali Veera. In December 2011, Mordetzky was also revealed to be involved in the Wrestling Retribution Project under the ring name "Concrete". Mordetzky appeared on the World Wrestling Fan Xperience WWF Champions Showcase Tour in Manila, Philippines on February 4, 2012, where he wrestled under the name Chris Master. There he was defeated against fellow WWE alumni MVP. In April 2012, Mordetzky participated in the Revolution event for International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom IPW:UK in London. Other wrestlers at the event were WWE Tough Enough Season 5 contestant Matt Cross and WWE alumni and friend Carlito.
In June 2012, Mordetzky was defeated by Robbie E in a dark match for Impact Wrestling. Mordetzky has also been involved in many other wrestling events since his release from WWE such as Southside Wrestling UK beating El Ligero, Dutch Pro Wrestling DPW, Fire Star Pro Wrestling, Big Time Wrestling BTW, World Star Wrestling WSW, Vendetta Pro Wrestling and Tommy Dreamer's House Of Hardcore HOH. October 26, 2012, Masters was defeated by Matt Hardy in the Big Time Wrestling 16th Anniversary Show. On October 27, 2012, Masters defeated Rik Luxury, Sean Casey and then-Champion Chavo Guerrero, Jr. in a Four-Way Elimination match for the Vendetta Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Championship.
On April 20, 2013, Masters unsuccessfully challenged Rob Conway for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. On January 24, 2014, Masters won the Real Canadian Wrestling RCW Canadian Heavyweight Championship. Masters lost the title the next day. On March 1, 2013, Master won the Preston City WrestlingPCW Road to Glory Tournament, earning the right to a match for the PCW Heavyweight Championship.On March 29, 2014, at International Wrestling Federation's Breaking Ground, Masters was defeated by Chris Hero. On June 26th Masters defeated Ken Kerbis & Kronus in a triple threat match for the AWO Championship at the All Wrestling Organization annual show Wrestlefest in Tira, Israel. On 1st August, 2014, Masters defeated Joey Hayes to become PCW Heavyweight Champion at Preston City Wrestling's third anniversary show. On 1st November 2014, Masters faced 'The One' Simon Lancaster at the RDW 10th Anniversary Show, the match ended in a draw when the RDW champion, Spyda, attacked both men. Masters then went on to aid Lancaster in a match against Spyda, winning Lancaster the championship.
Mordetzky has Polish and Jewish roots. He has stated that the Ultimate Warrior and Shawn Michaels were two of his favorite wrestlers while growing up. When asked what it was like wrestling Michaels, Mordetzky replied, "It was a dream come true. That's something I'll take with me to my grave. He was my childhood idol, I idolize the guy, and I still trip out that I got to wrestle him on a pay-per-view. How many people get to do that? How many people get to wrestle their idol?"
Mordetzky claims that the biggest misconception that most people have about him is that he's just a bodybuilder.
John Cena went on record to say that Chris Masters is the strongest competitor he has faced in his career. Though Masters never defeated Cena in the ring, Masters defeated Cena in an arm wrestling match. Masters put Cena out in the Master Lock hold on three separate non-match occasions. Masters is the only competitor who brought John Cena to unconsciousness once, let alone three times.
Mordetzky is good friends with WWE wrestler Randy Orton, along with WWE alumni Carlito, Chavo Guerrero, Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, John Morrison, and Rob Van Dam. Mordetzky has appeared on both Van Dam's radio show RVD-Radio and reality television show RVD-TV. The Wrestling Observer reported that Vince McMahon only re-hired Masters in 2009 at the recommendation of Randy Orton.
Mordetzky was married to Vesela Marinova.
During the weekend of SummerSlam 2012, Masters posted a controversial photo depicting himself holding a gun pointed toward his head on Twitter. It was rumored that he was under the influence of alcohol, but nothing was ever confirmed. Later, he apologized for the incident, claiming that he was not suicidal.
A tweet posted to his Twitter profile in March 2013 stated that Mordetzky saved his mother's life from a criminal who had committed arson at her home. This was later featured on wwe.com, detailing that he had broken down a ten-foot tree with his bare hands and used it to open a path to his mother's windows, freeing her`