Top 50 Stone Cold Steve Austin Rivalries

Tom Zenk

One of Austin's most consistent opponents in WCW was Tom Zenk. The Z-Man challenged "Stunning" Steve for his World Television Title several times in the early 1990's. Later on, Zenk appeared as one of the masked Dos Hombres that challenged The Hollywood Blonds after Shane Douglas left WCW.

For someone who actively wrestled for less than 15 years, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin sure managed to make a whole lot of enemies along the way.

WHAT? He had some feuds. WHAT? There was bad blood. WHAT? Lots of rivalries.

To be fair, some of these were an intense series of matches at one point in his career, while others were feuds that lasted many months, even years. Much like the Top 50 Rivalries for Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, we're basing this on storyline rivalries Austin had with wrestlers and non-wrestlers alike, not speculating on what may have happened backstage.

In counting down the Top 50 Stone Cold Steve Austin Rivalries, we looked at the following criteria:

How prominent was the rivarly?
What type of stage(s) did it play out on?
How memorable were the matches and/or segments?
How much did the rivalry do to advance either person's career?

As always, we'd love your feedback. If you have any ideas for future Top 50 columns (the archives are to the bottom right of this page), leave a comment in the section below, or hit us up on Twitter @CanadianBulldog with the hashtag #Top50.

Ready? Here we go!

As a wrestling fan growing up, Stone Cold Steve Austin watched the Von Erichs on World Class. When he debuted in the same territory years later, Austin was often matched up with Chris Von Erich, the youngest son. Austin and Von Erich often met in tag team matches, with Percy Pringle and Chris Adams as their partners.

Chris Von Erich

Stunning Steve Austin was set to defend his United States Title at WCW Fall Brawl against Ricky Steamboat, who had been injured and unable to compete. Instead, WCW deployed Hacksaw Jim Duggan (who hadn't competed there previously), who won Austin's United States gold in a matter of seconds.

Any picks missing or misplaced? Leave your feedback in the Comments section below...

In 2001, Stone Cold Steve Austin was WWF World Champion and a freshly-turned heel and was bullying wrestlers in the locker room. Spike Dudley refused to sign Austin's petition after Stone Cold made fun of his girlfriend Molly Holly, leading to a brief series of matches between the two on Raw and SmackDown.

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Stunning Steve and Arn Anderson first crossed paths in 1993 in WCW when they were members of The Hollywood Blonds and Four Horsemen, respectively. Later when both were members of WWE, Austin and Anderson had some out-of-the-ring skirmishes when Double A was defending the honor of Ric Flair.

Arn Anderson

Another tag team that The Hollywood Blonds often crossed paths with in WCW were 2 Cold Scorpio & Marcus Alexander Bagwell. Before and while The Blonds were World Tag Team Champions, they took on the upstart team of Scorpio and Bagwell at live events across the country and in one-on-one matches as well.

In 1994, Stunning Steve feuded briefly with Mero, who at the time was known as Johnny B. Badd, over Austin's United States Title. They also clashed several times in the WWF, such as during Austin's King of the Ring tournament victory, and afterwards when the Marvelous Marc Mero heel character was created.

Marc Mero

Stone Cold Steve Austin and Chyna never met in a one-on-one contest during their WWF careers, but did have several tag team matches, as well as Chyna being in the corner of Triple H and Shawn Michaels. Oddly, the two were (briefly) booked to meet one another in the main event of SummerSlam '99!

Chyna

The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) were staples of The Attitude Era, so it seemed inevitable that they would cross paths with Austin. Stone Cold would team The Undertaker against the multi-time tag team champions, and they were also thorns in his side when the "new" D-Generation X was formed.

The New Age Outlaws

In 1997, Stone Cold Steve Austin was still technically a heel, but one of the men he fought in "toughman" battles on Raw was none other than his occasional WCW tag team partner Vader. The match included outside interference by Bret Hart, which led to a Fatal Four Way with the three of them and The Undertaker.

Vader

For weeks, Santino Marella appeared on Monday Night Raw, poking fun at Stone Cold Steve Austin and his new film The Condemned, impersonating The Texas Rattlesnake and threatening to open up a can of "the ass whip". Finally, Austin showed up and drowned Marella with the help of his beer truck.

Santino Marella

The Great Muta and Stunning Steve Austin clashed in both WCW and New Japan in the mid-1990's as part of a talent exchange between the two companies. Most famously, they competed at Spring Stampede in 1994, with United States Champion Austin narrowly defeating Muta by disqualification.

The Great Muta

Spike Dudley

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Davey Boy Smith was another heel who was having matches against fellow heel Steve Austin in early-1997, just before The Hart Foundation reunited. Once Austin became a fan favorite, he teamed with the likes of Shawn Michaels and Dude Love to face WWF Tag Team Champs Davey Boy Smith and Owen Hart.

Davey Boy Smith

Although they met several times in the mid-1990's, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Jake "The Snake" Roberts' most famous confrontation was in the finals of the 1996 King Of The Ring. While Austin won handily, he used the victory to make fun of Roberts' newfound religious beliefs, paving the way for his Austin 3:16 catchphrase.

Jake "The Snake" Roberts

WWE Hall of Famers Pat Patterson & Gerald Brisco were trusted lieutenants (some might say "stooges") of Vince McMahon and accordingly often made life miserable for the rebellious Stone Cold Steve Austin. Austin fought both men on a May 1998 edition of Raw, marred by interference by Dude Love and others.

Pat Patterson & Gerald Brisco

While they never faced each other at their respective peaks, Stunning Steve Austin first battled Shane Douglas in WCW in 1992, a match that included interference by his Hollywood Blonds partner Brian Pillman. Later, The Blonds feuded over the WCW Tag Team Titles with Douglas and partner Rick Steamboat.

Shane Douglas

In 2002 on Monday Night Raw, Stone Cold Steve Austin and his wife Debra decided to take the night off and go to a karaoke bar. Eddie Guerrero also showed up and heckled Austin during his performance. Following a brief staredown, Guerrero bashed Austin in the head with a bottle of beer.

Eddie Guerrero

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan

As one of Vince McMahon's henchmen in The Corporation, Big Boss Man made life miserable for Stone Cold Steve Austin, even helping to screw him out of a match in the Survivor Series 1998 title tournament. In 2001, Boss Man reappeared as a bodyguards of sorts for Booker T, whom was targeting Austin at the time.

Big Boss Man

The Big Show literally made his WWF debut in 1999 with the implied purpose of destroying Stone Cold Steve Austin. During his match against Austin at the St. Valentine's Day Massacre pay-per-view, Show appeared from under the ring and accidentally threw Austin through the cage, inadvertenly letting his rival win instead.

The Big Show

Savio Vega

Steve Austin's first major WWF rivalry in March 1996 was with Savio Vega as he transitioned from The Ringmaster into Stone Cold. The two battled at WrestleMania XII, with Austin winning, and Vega gained measures of revenge while competing as the masked Carribean Kid and in Carribean Strap matches.

Stone Cold Steve Austin and Brock Lesnar were set to wrestle in a King of the Ring qualifying match in 2002 before Austin left the WWE. Upon his return, Austin made life generally miserable for Lesnar during his feud with Bill Goldberg, including a referee spot for Goldberg-Lesnar at WrestleMania XX.

Brock Lesnar

"Stunning" Steve Austin's first victory in WCW was over World Television Champion "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton in June 1991. Austin would go on to have several hard-fought rematches with The Midnight Express member before the two united within Paul E. Dangerously's Dangerous Alliance later that year.

"Beautiful" Bobby Eaton

Speaking of The Dangerous Alliance.... "Stunning" Steve was a key member in The Alliance's ongoing rivalry with Sting and others during the early 1990's. Prior to that (as mentioned in last week's Top 50 Dream Matches That Actually Happened), Sting also beat Austin in the tournament finals for the U.S. Title.

Sting

When the nWo arrived in the WWE in 2002, Scott Hall made a beeline for Stone Cold Steve Austin. The two faced off verbally, including Austin kidnapping Hall backstage and Hall smashing Stone Cold in the knee with an obviously fake concrete brick. Austin defeated Hall in their lone match at WrestleMania XVIII.

Scott Hall

Although their first on-camera moment together in 1999 had Stone Cold Steve Austin rescuing Stephanie McMahon from the evil Undertaker, the two have been off and on enemies ever since. Whether she's been supporting her father Vince McMahon or husband Triple H, Stephanie and Austin are often at odds.

Stephanie McMahon

Here's a rivalry that spans two different organizations. In WCW, Stunning Steve often found himself facing Dustin Rhodes, both in tag team matches and singles and even a U.S. Title match at Starrcade 1993. Later in the WWF, Goldust got on the wrong side of Stone Cold and found himself trapped in a port-a-potty.

Dustin Rhodes / Goldust

During Stone Cold's time in the InVasion angle, he constantly found himself at odds with Alliance member Rob Van Dam. RVD wasn't willing to fall in line with other former WCW and ECW stars and as a result, the two had several clashes including a Triple Threat match with Kurt Angle at No Mercy in 2001.

Rob Van Dam

While Steve Austin and Chris Benoit surprisingly never met during their time in WCW, things eventually came to a head in 2001 when both Benoit and Chris Jericho challenged Austin and Triple H. The following year, Austin and Benoit would feud briefly as part of a conflict with Raw General Manager Ric Flair.

Chris Benoit

One of the most pronounced rivalries Stunning Steve Austin had in WCW was with Barry Windham over the World Television Title. At one point, the two engaged in a two of three falls match on WCW Saturday Night, with Windham winning the TV Title before dropping it back Austin about a month later.

Barry Windham

Believe it or not, but Kane was the first WWF Superstar to even temporarily derail the red hot reign of Stone Cold Steve Austin when he captured Austin's WWF World Title in a First Blood match at King of the Ring in 1998. Kane's reign lasted only a day, but the bad blood between the two resurfaced over the years.

Kane

Much like with sister Stephanie McMahon (see # 26), Shane McMahon would constantly be a thorn in Stone Cold Steve Austin's side. At the Survivor Series in 1998, Shane O'Mac (then a babyface referee) screwed Austin out of his match with Big Boss Man and went on to align with his father and The Rock.

Shane McMahon

Chris Jericho was quite often a rival for Stone Cold Steve Austin, beginning in mid-2001 when he challenged for Austin's WWF Title. By the end of the year, Jericho defeated Austin to capture the Undisputed WWF Championship. Later on, when Stone Cold was Raw General Manager, the two continued their rivalry.

Chris Jericho

Upon his arrival in ECW, Superstar Steve Austin targeted The Sandman (it makes sense, given the beer-chugging abilities of both men). Austin was vocal in his scorn of both Sandman and his manager Woman, and the two were involved in a three-way dance with Mikey Whipwreck in December 1995.

The Sandman

When Chris Jericho defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin the WWF Undisputed Title at the end of 2001, part of that was owed to the interference of Booker T. Incensed, Austin later followed the five-time WCW Champ to a supermarket and opened up a can of whoop ass (and other groceries) on Booker.

Booker T

In recent years, Steve Austin has referred to Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat as one of his favorite opponents. In WCW, the two clashed many times over the United States Championship, including a match in August 1994 where Steamboat injured his back and retired permanently from active competition.

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

When Stone Cold Steve Austin returned to WWE in 2003, he was (in storyline) invited back by Eric Bischoff, the man who (in storyline and in real life) fired him from WCW. The two had a hellacious match at No Way Out and continued to feud while both were authority figures on Monday Night Raw.

Eric Bischoff

Stone Cold Steve Austin returned from a year-long layoff in 2000 to learn that the man who had run him over was Rikishi, a former fan favorite who claimed to orchestrate the hit and run on behalf of his cousin The Rock. While Triple H ultimately took responsibility, Austin and Rikishi still had quite a rivalry.

Rikishi

Steve Austin's very first rivalry was in late 1989 with "Gentleman" Chris Adams, the man who legitimately trained him for wrestling in WCCW. Austin turned against his teacher and clashed throughout 1990 before eventually taking Adams' wife Toni for his own - both in storyline and in real-life!

Chris Adams

Wooooooo! Steve Austin feuded more than once with his wrestling idol "Nature Boy" Ric Flair. It begin in WCW in 1993, when Austin and Brian Pillman challenged Flair and Arn Anderson Almost a decade later, Flair (and Anderson) made life tough for Austin when Flair was Raw General Manager.

Ric Flair

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels are natural-born rivals, so it made perfect sense that they would clash in 1998. Michaels was the most hated man in the company and a member of D-Generation X, while Austin was the rebel looking to win his first WWF World Championship at WrestleMania XIV.

Shawn Michaels

After spending months together as uneasy allies under Vince McMahon's thumb, Steve Austin joined The Alliance, which led to Kurt Angle challenging him for his WWF World Title. Angle defeated Austin for said belt just two weeks after 9/11, riding a wave of patriotism and fueling an epic rivalry.

Mick Foley

One of the most iconic visuals in recent wrestling history is the in-ring clash between "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and boxing legend Mike Tyson on January 19, 1998. While a match between the two could have done monster business, Tyson's role as a (short-lived heel) referee at WrestleMania was more than enough.

Mike Tyson

Much like Vader (see # 43) and Davey Boy Smith (see # 39), Steve Austin took on Mick Foley's Mankind while both were heels. However, their feud extends much deeper, with Foley's other alter-ego Dude Love becoming one of Vince McMahon's first surrogates in his war with Austin beginning in 1998.

Kurt Angle

Owen 3:16 Says I Just Broke Your Neck - not much more needs to be said about Owen Hart's rivalry with Stone Cold Steve Austin. Beyond the neck-breaking incident at SummerSlam 1997, Austin feuded with Owen and other Hart Foundation members over the Tag Team and Intercontinental Titles.

Owen Hart

Talk about personal rivalries, it doesn't get much more personal than Brian Pillman defending his home with a gun while Stone Cold Steve Austin lurked on the outside of the house. Before that (and Austin breaking Pillman's ankle) happened, the two also feuded in WCW after The Hollywood Blonds broke up.

Brian Pillman

Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker first clashed in the main event of 1997's In Your House: A Cold Day In Hell, but it was hardly the only time they would wrestle. The two were on opposite sides at numerous PPV's, including SummerSlam, Breakdown, Rock Bottom, Armageddon and Judgment Day.

The Undertaker

Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H may have been buddy-buddy on Austin's recent WWE Network podcast, but the two share a very stormy history together. In addition to The Game orchestrating Austin's hit and run in 1999, Austin gained a measure of revenge a year later dropping Triple H's car from a forklist (and... not killing him?), leading to an incredible Three Stages Of Hell match between the two at No Way Out in 2001.

Triple H

If not for his storied rivalry with Bret "Hit Man" Hart, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin may not have been as popular a competitor as he is now. The two had an initial clash upon Hart's return to the WWF at Survivor Series 1996, which carried through to the next year's Royal Rumble, Fatal Four Way and WrestleMania XIII, where both men switched allegiances. This led to even more bouts between Austin and Hart's Hart Foundation faction.

Bret "Hit Man" Hart

From the time that both men were WWF rookies, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock have been linked, more often than not on opposite sides of the ring. The two rivals first traded the Intercontinental Championship in late-1997 and then they began competing for the WWF World Championship. Two of their three WrestleMania matches (which is still a record to this day) were the lone main events of the evening and for the World Title.

The Rock

Vince McMahon

2 Cold Scorpio &

Marcus Alexander Bagwell

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon is arguably the biggest, most prolific rivalry in wrestling history, let alone in Austin's career. What began in 1997 as a Stone Cold Stunner to McMahon in Madison Square Garden took on a life all its own, with McMahon then standing in the way of Austin because he wasn't the type of WWF Champion the Chairman wanted. McMahon sent numerous people after Stone Cold over the years to gain a measure of revenge against The Texas Rattlesnake and eventually became a semi-active competitor himself, solely for the purpose of ridding the wrestling world of Austin. It became extremely personal.