Matt Loede
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It was one of the most iconic moments in wrestling history, a moment that wrestling fans still recall with great fondness.
On this day twenty-five years ago, Stone Cold Steve Austin coined a legendary promo that can still be seen on t-shirts today – ‘Austin 3:16.’
Austin uttered the phrase during a promo following his ‘King of the Ring’ finals victory over Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts.
Austin’s promo is held as one of the early moments of the WWF ‘Attitude Era,’ which kicked off a massive boom in the wrestling industry.
That night, Austin won four matches, starting with Bob Holly, then Savio Vega next, followed by Marc Mero in just under 17 minutes, and Roberts in less than five.
Austin’s promo quickly shook the wrestling world. The very next night, there were quite a few “Austin 3:16” signs in the crowd at Monday Night RAW.
Austin’s career can be defined in a few moments and matches, but his promo 25 years ago today has to rank at the very top.
I’m still waiting for the next Stone Cold character to start watching wrestling again. I got spoiled watching the Stone Cold vs. Vince McMahon story line. So good.
The Attitude Era will never be replicated. I’ve checked in every now and then on the product over the last 2 years and outside of Becky Lynch, it’s hardly watchable. The idea that they’d want to bring back John Xina to headline anything will keep me away from WWE for quite sometime.
Wrestling has always been at it’s best when it’s controversial and counter-culture. Now it’s woke and boring. Very few interesting personalities. Most wrestlers are more interested in pimping their twitch channel than developing good characters.