Stone Cold Steve Austin's Definitive 10 Best Wrestling Matches, Ranked
Sophia Edwards Steve Austin is unquestionably one of the biggest stars in pro wrestling history. That's mostly due to his work in WWE as Stone Cold, where he was the top star during the Attitude Era, but Austin also did great for himself in other places like WCW and ECW.
First 10 WWE Wrestlers To Defeat Steve Austin (In Chronological Order)
Steve Austin rarely lost in WWE, especially after he became the top star during the Attitude Era. Who were his first losses against?Throughout his awesome career, Austin took part in many awesome matches against some of the biggest names of all time. Here are Austin's ten best matches in his entire wrestling career. To learn more about how we rank wrestling matches on TheSportster, please check out our match ranking criteria guide here.
10 Stunning Steve Austin Vs. Ricky Steamboat - No DQ Match, WCW United States Championship (WCW Clash Of The Champions #28)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.75/10
Storytelling | 2/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2.5/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.25/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer's Rating: 3.75 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 7.77
Before becoming Stone Cold in WWE, Austin made a name for himself in WCW as Stunning Steve. After great runs as part of the Dangerous Alliance and the Hollywood Blonds, Austin went solo and feuded with the legendary Ricky Steamboat over the United States Title.
Austin was the reigning United States Champion heading into the 28th edition of Clash of the Champions, where he and The Dragon tore the house down. Steamboat came out on top, but Austin was the biggest winner after having worked with one of the greatest ever.
9 Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs. The Rock (WWE WrestleMania 19)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.75/10
Storytelling | 2.25/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 1.5/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.5/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.5/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer's Rating: 4 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 8.43
Stone Cold's biggest rival throughout the Attitude Era was The Rock. The two men clashed several times over the years, most notably at three WrestleMania events. Austin won the first two encounters, but Rock finally got the job done at 'Mania 19.
That turned out to be the last match of Austin's career as a full-time performer, which was a brilliant touch given their rich history. Austin deserved a proper send-off, and he went out in style by putting The Rock over at WrestleMania.
8 Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs. Dude Love - Falls Count Anywhere Match, WWE Championship (WWE Over The Edge 1998)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.25/10
Storytelling | 2.5/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 1.75/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.5/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.5/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer's Rating: 4.5 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 8.61
After being the top star in WWE for over a year, the 'Austin era' finally began at WrestleMania 14, where Austin beat Shawn Michaels to capture his first WWE Championship. Unfortunately for The Rattlesnake, Vince McMahon didn't want him as champion and did everything in his power to take the title off Austin.
5 Wrestlers That Steve Austin Loved & 4 He Didn't
Stone Cold Steve Austin didn't trust anybody, but he did have some wrestlers that he loved. Others wrestlers weren't on the Rattlesnake's good side!McMahon's frst plan was to "use" Mick Foley, who challenged Austin as Dude Love. Their feud culminated at Over the Edge, with Vince as the referee and his stooges as ring announcer and timekeeper. It was a wild brawl that had the crowd on the edge of their feet from start to finish, and one of Austin's best WWE Title defenses.
7 Austin, LOD, Shamrock & Goldust Vs. The Hart Foundation (WWE In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede 1997)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.25/10
Storytelling | 2.25/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.5/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.5/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer's Rating: 4.25 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 8.89
Stone Cold became the top face in WWE during his feud with Bret Hart in 1997. Hart's amazing character work in 1997 resulted in him being absolutely hated in America, while the rest of the world still loved him. That fun dynamic resulted in one of the best multi-man tag matches of all time.
At Canadian Stampede 1997, in Bret's home country of Canada, he and The Hart Foundation received a hero's welcome against the American team of Austin, LOD, Ken Shamrock & Goldust. It's not easy to find a crowd reaction than the one they got in this match.
6 Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs. Kurt Angle - WWE Championship (WWE SummerSlam 2001)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.5/10
Storytelling | 2.25/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2.5/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.5/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer's Rating: 4.5 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 8.84
Steve Austin's heel run in 2001 isn't remembered fondly by most fans, and rightfully so. While it wasn't exactly his best run, his in-ring work did get a lot better during that time, resulting in some awesome matches with young babyfaces.
Austin's best feud during that time was arguably with Kurt Angle, and the two stole the show at SummerSlam 2001. Austin did everything he could to escape with his WWE Title, and that's exactly what happened after Austin got himself disqualified.
5 The Dangerous Alliance Vs. Sting's Squadron - WarGames Match (WCW WrestleWar 1992)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.5/10
Storytelling | 2.5/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.5/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.5/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer's Rating: 5 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 9.06
Austin had a tremendous 1992 in WCW, establishing himself as one of the best rising stars in wrestling. As a member of the underrated Dangerous Alliance, Austin found himself inside the barbaric WarGames at WrestleWar 1992.
A Look Back At WCW WrestleWar 92 & The Best War Games Match Ever
At WrestleWar 92, WCW gave us Sting at his peak and an insane WarGames match that goes down as the greatest of all-time.They battled Sting's Squadron (Sting, Nikita Koloff, Dustin Rhodes & Ricky Steamboat) in what is widely regarded as the best WarGames in history. Sting made Bobby Eaton quit after Larry Zbyszko errantly injured Eaton's arm.
4 Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs. Bret Hart (WWE Survivor Series 1996)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.75/10
Storytelling | 2.5/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2.5/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.5/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer's Rating: 4.5 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 9.03
Austin made it to the top for many reasons, but Bret Hart played a huge part in launching him into the WWE main event scene. Hart reportedly convinced Vince McMahon to sign Austin in late 1995, and then personally asked to work with him the next year.
Hart was coming back from a hiatus after losing the WWE Title to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania, but there was no ring rust at all. Austin and Hart put on a terrific match that proved Austin had everything to be a top star.
3 Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs. The Rock - No DQ Match, WWE Championship (WWE WrestleMania 17)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.75/10
Storytelling | 2.5/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2.5/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.25/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.5/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer's Rating: 4.5 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 9.38
The biggest match of Stone Cold's entire career was his WrestleMania 17 main event clash with The Rock. It drew a monster buyrate due to the two men's unmatched charisma, and the fact it was a fantastic match helped too.
Austin brought back several classic spots from his feud with Bret Hart as false finishes, such as the famous bloody Sharpshooter spot, which made it even better. Austin's heel turn in the end was questionable, but everything else about it was perfect.
2 Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs. Triple H - Two Out Of Three Falls Match (WWE No Way Out 2001)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 10/10
Storytelling | 2.5/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2.5/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.5/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.5/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer's Rating: 4.75 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 9.38
Austin's rivalry with Triple H was a bit confusing due to the 'who ran over Austin' angle, but it got a lot better in early 2001. Their feud got more and more personal every week, and it culminated with a violent Three Stages of Hell Match at No Way Out 2001.
They stole the show that night, putting on a spectacular bout that will be remembered forever. Austin won the first fall, but Hunter found a way to win. The last fall was great, with Triple H falling on top of Austin after getting hit with a chair, while Hunter simultaneously hit Austin with the sledgehammer.
1 Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs. Bret Hart - Submission Match (WWE WrestleMania 13)
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 10/10
Storytelling | 2.5/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2.5/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.5/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.5/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer's Rating: 5 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 9.65
While the Survivor Series 1996 match put Steve Austin on the map, their Submission Match at WrestleMania 13 made Austin the biggest star in the industry. Their match was great and still stands as one of the best matches ever.
Austin and Hart famously pulled a terrific double-turn in the end, with Austin choosing to pass out instead of tapping out to the Sharpshooter. The visual of a bloody Austin trying to fight his way out of the hold made him the top guy in WWE, and it will never be forgotten.
