The legendary career of Steve Austin showcased the importance of evolving as a performer and making changes when needed. Austin spent time in WCW and ECW before finding his long-term home in WWE. The box office success of Austin put him in the conversation of the greatest wrestler of all-time. Austin had a few different versions of his character that were drastically different.
Each chapter of Austin will be featured and ranked based on the results. There are some versions of Austin that he wants to forget even happened while others are universally loved. Find out which character of Austin provided the most positive memories for you. The following versions of Austin throughout his wrestling career are ranked from worst to best.
10 The Ringmaster
The start of Steve Austin’s WWE career was lackluster with Ted DiBiase as his manager. It made sense on paper to have a legend representing a new star, but Austin was suffering with The Ringmaster gimmick limiting him with few promos on his own.
WWE even brought back the Million Dollar Championship to add to the gimmick with minimal success. Austin didn’t find much momentum in WWE until the relationship with DiBiase ended and he ditched The Ringmaster persona.
9 Returning legend
There is a new generation of wrestling fans who only know Steve Austin as a legend making rare appearances for WWE television. Austin retired from the ring in 2003 and stopped making frequent appearances around the late 2000s.
The return of Austin is more special now since he picks and chooses when he wants to make an impact. Austin is arguably the most enjoyable legend for WWE, but it still falls below most versions that had a bigger role.
8 WCW singles star
The WCW career of Steve Austin is quite underrated when looking back at his in-ring work. Austin rarely received a noteworthy push, but he got to take part in some exciting matches against talented names.
Ricky Steamboat, Sting, and Arn Anderson are just a few wrestlers to have good matches with Austin. The problem was that WCW showed zero desire to ever use Austin in a bigger role despite there being main event potential there.
7 Raw GM
Steve Austin’s 2003 retirement hurt WWE losing one of their biggest stars around the same time The Rock left for Hollywood. WWE struck a deal to bring Austin back a few months later as an authority figure.
Past issues with Eric Bischoff resurfaced when the two were forced to be co-General Managers of Raw together. Austin always entertained the fans with more comedy coming in this role. It helped make Raw feel important despite the losses.
6 ECW
The ECW stint of Steve Austin is significantly underrated when looking back at his career. Austin was in a rough spot after his WCW run ended with him getting buried and fired after suffering an injury. Paul Heyman had a great relationship with Austin from WCW and wanted to use him in ECW.
Austin had hilarious segments spoofing Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff and a few others to air out his frustrations. ECW used Austin in the main event scene when healthy against The Sandman and Mikey Whipwreck until WWE signed him.
5 "What?" era face
The final chapter of Steve Austin’s in-ring career saw him playing a comedic face character. Austin started to rely more on the humor with the infamous “What?” promos getting over and still existing today.
The antics of Austin allowed him to get by with feuds against Ric Flair, Big Show, Eric Bischoff and The Rock. Austin was starting to hit a decline compared to his peak run, but it was still a resounding success adapting to the changes.
4 Alliance Stone Cold
The WrestleMania 17 heel turn of Steve Austin allowed him to turn heel at the prime of his career. Austin aligned with Vince McMahon for a few months before jumping ship to lead The Alliance of WCW and ECW.
The heel run of Austin saw him playing a ruthless and despicable villain who stopped at nothing to get his way. Austin even cowered at times for the first time in WWE to help get over new top stars like Kurt Angle and Rob Van Dam.
3 Hollywood Blondes
The best part of Steve Austin’s WCW career saw him teaming with Brian Pillman as the Hollywood Blondes. Austin and Pillman were arguably the two most underrated wrestlers in WCW at the time hungry as an opportunity.
The Hollywood Blondes had great matches and tremendous chemistry together. WCW’s booking prevented them from hitting their ceiling, but their work was still great. Many of their matches hold up even better today for great performances.
2 Becoming Stone Cold as a heel
The organic rise of Steve Austin initially came as a heel character when adopting the “Stone Cold” moniker. Austin cutting the infamous Austin 3:16 promo after winning the King of the Ring was the first domino to fall.
The bigger reason for the success was entering a feud with Bret Hart. Austin and Bret had a stellar feud with two classic matches that started to change both of their characters for the better. WWE realized they found a new main eventer during this time.
1 Face turn and becoming the face of the company
Steve Austin’s momentum saw his heel “Stone Cold” character getting cheers from the fans. WWE decided it was time to adapt to society and went with a double turn making Austin a face and Bret Hart a heel.
The run from mid-1997 to the end of 1999 saw Austin playing the most beloved face in WWE. Austin was now the face of WWE with everything revolving around him until needing to take some time off for an injury.