"Stone Cold" Steve Austin is one of the most iconic superstars to have stepped inside a WWE ring. What would've ended up as a mediocre career as the Ringmaster got repackaged as the redneck Texan who would rip through the competition to get what he wants. His arrival was always signaled by the sound of shattering glass, which led to fans going wild while the Texas Rattlesnake's opponents trembled in fear of the coming stunners.
Austin has numerous accolades in the WWE, including his epic King of the Ring win and winning three Royal Rumbles. But most importantly, he has won the coveted WWE Championship six times in his Hall of Fame-worthy career. He has held the title for 529 combined days throughout his historic career. With that in mind, let's take a look at the rankings for each of Stone Cold's WWE title reigns and figure out which title run was his best.
6 1st Reign 29th March - 28th June 1998
Stone Cold's very first WWE title reign gets the sixth spot on this list. The Texas Rattlesnake won the title from Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 14.
After he couldn't capitalize on his controversial 1997 Royal Rumble win by failing to capture the WWE title from Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13, Austin got a chance at redemption when he won the Royal Rumble for the second consecutive year in 1998.
With Mike Tyson involved in the mix, Austin won his first WWE title by defeating Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 14. Austin held on to the title for 91 days with successful defenses against Triple H, Vince McMahon, Goldust & Dude Love, until Kane dethroned him at King of the Ring 1998 with some help from the Undertaker.
5 Second Reign 29th June - 27th September 1998
Austin regained the WWE Championship in just 24 hours after losing it to Kane at the 1998 King of the Ring PPV. Stone Cold got his rematch on the next night on Raw with Kane wanting to win the match on his own, hoping to prove his brother (i.e. The Undertaker) that he doesn't need him to retain the title.
The Texas Rattlesnake won the match after hitting Kane with the Stunner to start his second WWE title reign. Austin continued his feud with the Brothers of Destruction successfully defending the title against The Undertaker at the 1998 SummerSlam. Austin lost the title at In Your House 24: Breakdown when both Kane and The Undertaker had him down for the pin, thus ending his second reign at 90 days.
4 Fourth Reign 28th June - 22nd August 1999
The fourth spot goes to Austin’s title reign from June to August 1999, which also happens to be his shortest WWE title reign. Stone Cold won the title from the Undertaker on the June 28, 2019, episode of Raw.
The reign only lasted 55 days, with Austin having only one successful title defense against The Undertaker at Fully Loaded 1999. He then entered into a feud with Triple H & Mankind over the title, which led to a triple threat match at the 1999 SummerSlam PPV. The match featured Jesse Ventura as the special guest referee, and the ending saw Mankind pinning Austin to win his third WWE Championship.
3 Third Reign 28th March - 23rd May 1999
Stone Cold’s third reign with the WWE Championship marked the first of three WrestleMania matches between him and the Rock. Austin clashed with the Rock for the title at WrestleMania 15, and the Rattlesnake won the title despite Vince McMahon trying to screw him, and with three referees getting knocked out. Mankind acted as the referee counting the final pin, to give Austin the win.
Austin went on to successfully retain the title against the Rock in a rematch at Backlash and in a triple threat match against Triple H & The Undertaker at No Mercy. The reign ended in 56 days when Austin dropped the title to The Undertaker at Over the Edge in May 1999.
2 Sixth Reign 8th October - 9th December 2001
Stone Cold’s last WWE title reign makes it to the second spot on this list. After winning the title from Kurt Angle on the October 8, 2001, episode of Raw Auston became an integral part of the Invasion storyline by joining forces with the Alliance.
When Team WWF won the Winner Takes All elimination tag team match at Survivor Series and forcing the Alliance to disband, Austin and The Rock were still holding to the WWE and WCW Heavyweight titles, respectively.
Ric Flair returned to WWE as the new Co-owner and announced a match at Vengeance 2001 to crown a new undisputed champion. While Austin retained his title, The Rock lost the WCW title to Chris Jericho and the end of the PPV saw Chris Jericho defeat Stone Cold with some help from Booker T and Vince McMahon to become the first Undisputed WWE Champion. Only time will tell if Steve Austin will return to reclaim the title again, but this was an impressive coda for his amazing streak.
1 Fifth Reign 1st April - 23rd September 2001
It's fair enough that Stone Cold's longest WWE title reign gets the first spot on this list, and this reign started with his infamous heel turn at WrestleMania 17. The match materialized after Austin won his record third Royal Rumble match at the titular PPV on January 2001, he was ready to face either the Rock for the WWE title at WrestleMania 17. Austin won the title at the main event with some unlikely help from Vince McMahon, and after the match, the fans saw Austin shaking hands with McMahon symbolizing that he has sold his soul to the devil.
The reign lasted 175 days with Austin retaining the title against the likes of The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, and Chris Benoit until he dropped the title to Kurt Angle at the Unforgiven PPV in September 2001. Austin may have lost the title then, but history was already made and is likely to never be forgotten.