Stone Cold Steve Austin

Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is a television actor, producer, and retired professional wrestler signed to WWE in a Legends deal. Austin wrestled for several wrestling promotions such as World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Declared byWWE (formerly WWF) chairman Vince McMahon to be the most profitable wrestler in the company's history, he gained 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 Mr. McMahon. Austin has been described as the industry's biggest star in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and the "poster boy for the WWF's Attitude Era." Austin held 25 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 Steven James Anderson in Victoria, Texas. After his father left the family, his mother, Beverly, re-married to Ken Williams, and Austin adopted his stepfather's surname. He spent most of his childhood in Edna, Texas. After attending high school, Austin got a football scholarship at Wharton County Junior College, followed by a full scholarship at the University of North Texas. After some time, Austin decided to become a professional wrestler and enrolled at the wrestling school run by Chris Adams, whose school was run out of the Dallas Sportatorium where he was wrestling for World Class Championship Wrestling. Austin made his debut in World Class in 1989 under his real name, but was later given the name "Steve Austin" by Memphis-area booker Dutch Mantel. Austin's run in Memphis was part of the merger between World Class and the Continental Wrestling Association out of Memphis, with the combined company known as the United States Wrestling Association. Austin would eventually return to Dallas and feud with Adams, with Percy Pringle and Jeannie Adams (Adams' real-life former wife and Austin's girlfriend at the time) as his valets. It was during this time Austin adopted the "Stunning" nickname that followed him to WCW. 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. He defeated Savio Vega in his first WrestleMania appearance, at WrestleMania XII. During this time, Austin shaved his head bald and came to be known as "The Ringmaster" Steve Austin; the prefix would soon be disbanded and he would simply perform under his own name. 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 was headed for rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Austin took on the new moniker of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Austin's genuine rise to superstardom began at the 1996 King of the Ring. Austin began using his trademark finishing maneuver, the Stone Cold Stunner (a move that was used previously by Jimmy Garvin, while the two were in WCW); 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. --- Austin filmed as guest roles on Celebrity Deathmatch and Nash Bridges, where he played Detective Jake Cage. He appeared in the 1998 Billboard Music Awards. He has appeared on shows like V.I.P, Dilbert, Teen Choice Awards, 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 film The Expendables as Dan Paine, the bodyguard and right hand man for the primary antagonist of the film. 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. --- 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 ("Lady Blossom"), 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 1992), and Cassidy (born in 1996). Steve's daughter Cassidy lives with her mother in the UK. He also adopted Jade, Clark's daughter with former husband Chris Adams. Austin and Clark divorced on May 10, 1999 and their daughters live in Southend-on-Sea, England with Clark, while Jade lives in America 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, Texas. They found a hysterical Marshall with bruises. 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 pled no contest on November 25, 2002 and was given a year's probation, a $1,000 fine, and ordered to carry out eighty 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.