Steve Austin’s recent return to WWE with the appearance at Raw Reunion reminded fans of the iconic memories from the legend. Many fans and pundits have a valid argument that Austin is the greatest superstar in WWE history. Austin was the face of the company that helped WWE pass WCW to take over the Monday Night Wars and never looked back. The record-breaking success with ratings, buy rates and revenue at the time all came with Austin holding down the top spot.
Relationships between Austin and the other wrestlers varied throughout the years. There were the trusted wrestlers that he always had a good connection with that helped them work together in the ring. Others would tension form between the rattlesnake and some of his peers he didn’t like. We will look at both sides of his career with five wrestlers “Stone Cold” Steve Austin used to hate along with five that he always loved.
10 Used To Hate: Hulk Hogan
The recent signs of a friendship between Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan shocked wrestling fans. Austin put over Hogan during the Raw Reunion main event segment and the two even recorded a podcast together during their free time for Austin’s show.
Their past featured some strange moments of tension. Austin took some shots at Hogan during the WrestleMania 21 Hall of Fame that crossed the line of fun ribbing. There were rumors of Austin refusing the WrestleMania 18 match with Hogan that The Rock ended up receiving. Austin was not fond of Hogan’s political pull after he lost his spot in WCW shortly into the Hogan regime.
9 Always Loved: Bret Hart
The respect between Bret Hart and Steve Austin created a bond that helped change wrestling forever. Hart was a fan of Austin’s WCW work and claimed in his book that he suggested WWE sign Austin when he was on the free-agent market.
Austin’s incredible King of the Ring win in 1995 helped make him relevant and a feud with Bret took him to the next level. Hart and Austin had arguably the best match in WWE history at WrestleMania 13. Austin credits Hart with a pivotal role in his success and the two have always had kind words to say about the other.
8 Used To Hate: Marc Mero
Marc Mero signed a huge contract with WWE in the mid-90s that upset quite a few people on the roster. WWE signed him away from WCW with a guaranteed downside significantly higher than respected veterans like The Undertaker.
That was one reason Steve Austin had a poor relationship with Mero when they were both in WWE. Austin had a lot of political power during his WWE Championship and ultimately refused to work with Mero. The reason cited by Austin was that Mero lost matches to his wife Sable which hurt his credibility. Austin was never fond of Mero and the two rarely worked together.
7 Always Loved: The Rock
The Rock and Steve Austin will always be remembered together as the two faces of the Attitude Era. Wrestling is usually dominated by one face of the industry as seen in the eras of Hulk Hogan and John Cena. Austin and Rock were both iconic figures that worked together at the same time.
The two formed a bond that made them respected peers in the early portion of their feuds. That later formed a friendship that is still alive today. Austin is proud that his final match came at WrestleMania 19 taking a loss to the Rock. The end of that match features Rock covering his face as he thanks Austin for their work together in a beautiful moment.
6 Used To Hate: Scott Hall
Steve Austin’s lack of interest of working with Hulk Hogan during the New World Order return in 2002 led to him working with Scott Hall instead. The feud struggled to get any momentum with Austin eventually blaming Hall for not being in the right physical or mental shape.
Their match and the story leading up to it each disappointed and wasted one of Austin’s final WrestleMania appearances. Hall lost his spot on the WWE roster a few months after their match together. Austin was not fond of Hall wasting one of his big money matches later in his career.
5 Always Loved: Goldberg
Many wrestling fans expected Steve Austin and Goldberg to despise each other. It would have made sense given the similarities in their wrestling characters in the 90s. Both bald men wearing black trunks and boots dominating the competition came off as too identical to be a coincidence.
Any resentment was gone by the time Goldberg joined WWE when Austin was there in a non-wrestling capacity. Austin was one of the few WWE wrestlers to form a friendship with Goldberg as they actually had a lot in common. Goldberg appeared on Austin’s podcast and referenced their friendship a few times.
4 Used To Hate: Owen Hart
The infamous Summerslam 1996 match between Steve Austin and Owen Hart almost ended the career of Austin in the early stages of his major push. Hart delivered a Tombstone piledriver to Austin that badly injured his neck and forced him to miss a few months.
Austin’s career was never the same and the early retirement came due to his neck issues that started here. Owen reportedly never apologized or checked in on Austin during his recovery which was expected between peers in this scenario. It led to Austin taking issue with Owen as the two never were close again.
3 Always Loved: Brian Pillman
Steve Austin and Brian Pillman bonded in WCW during the early 90s as two underutilized wrestlers that teamed together as the Hollywood Blondes. Both wrestlers were impressive on their own, but it led to them having great matches together during their short run together.
Pillman signing with WWE in the mid-90s was good news for Austin as they planned to have a big feud together. Their plans would never come off as expected due to Pillman’s injuries and eventual death at a young age. Austin and Pillman’s friendship helped both become the wrestlers they would in that time.
2 Used To Hate: Jeff Jarrett
One of the biggest enemies of Steve Austin during his wrestling career was Jeff Jarrett. Podcast stories from Jim Ross, Vince Russo, and a few others confirmed all rumors about Austin refusing to work a feud with Jarrett for the WWE Championship in 1999.
Jarrett’s return to WWE in 1997 featured him insulting Austin for his blasphemous promos. Russo claimed that Austin was waiting backstage to curse out Jarrett right after this moment. Jarrett had more momentum as a heel in 1999, but Austin still refused to work with him due to the bad blood.
1 Always Loved: Mick Foley
The friendship between Mick Foley and Steve Austin started back in WCW during the early 90s. Both men were struggling to make their way out of the mid-card picture. Austin, Foley and Diamond Dallas Page often traveled together looking to save money.
Austin and Foley would find their way back to each other in WWE working as a short term tag team and as rivals. Some of the best matches of Austin’s career came against Foley as the Dude Love character in a feud for the WWE Championship. They remained friends from the struggling WCW days to their time as worldwide celebrities in WWE.