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• "Stone Cold" Steve Austin Defined Wrestling In The 1990s

• Steve Austin's Suffered A Life Threatening Neck Injury In 1997

• Steve Austin Fought Through Injuries Until Retiring In 2003

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin revolutionized professional wrestling almost instantly upon his arrival to WWE during the mid-1990s. Less than a year after making his debut in late 1995, Steve Austin quickly adopted the "Stone Cold" character, and it launched him into stardom not long after. Becoming the biggest star in wrestling during the late 1990s, Steve Austin spent many years opening up a can of whoop-ass on anyone who crossed his path. However, Steve Austin's in-ring career had to end when he retired from wrestling following his final match at WrestleMania 19 in 2003, citing injuries as the reason.

Related: "Gentleman" Chris Adams: The Man Who Trained "Stone Cold" Steve Austin

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin Defined Wrestling In The 1990s

Many WWE superstars went on to become legends in the business. There's no arguing that "Stone Cold" Steve Austin is one of the greatest WWE superstars of all time and was someone who made the company a lot of money. He was involved in many of WWE's most successful PPV events and sold a ton of merchandise, and was among WWE's most valuable assets when the company launched the successful Attitude Era in 1997.

From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, Steve Austin has had countless memorable moments throughout his WWE tenure, whether it's the "Austin 3:16" promo after winning the King of the Ring 1996, winning his first WWE Championship at WrestleMania 14, or even driving a Zamboni to the ring on a September 1998 episode of Raw Is War. Throughout the years, Steve Austin contributed to the exciting television WWE produced during the Attitude Era. To this day, he is still a beloved superstar in wrestling and even a noted figure among non-wrestling fans.

Related: 10 Clean Steve Austin Losses You Forgot About

Steve Austin's Suffered A Life Threatening Neck Injury In 1997

As one would imagine, Steve Austin's rise in WWE wasn't an easy road. Steve Austin had many hurdles since starting his wrestling career in the late 1980s. One major hurdle in his career was suffering a life threatening injury as he was in the process of receiving his main event push in 1997.

For those that don't know, Steve Austin had a reputation for being a technician in the ring. However, because of the circumstances surrounding the injury he sustained at the SummerSlam 1997 PPV, Steve Austin had to adapt his wrestling style to a more brawler-type performer. Although he continued his career until retiring in 2003, he had to call it quits as his injuries caught up to him.

At SummerSlam 1997, as Steve Austin challenged Intercontinental Champion Owen Hart for the belt, he suffered a life-threatening injury when landing on his head during a botched piledriver. Upon impact, Steve Austin was paralyzed for some time, before finishing the match. To his credit, Steve Austin continued the bout by rolling up Owen Hart to win the Intercontinental Championship, but the damage to his neck was done.

After the fallout of SummerSlam 1997, Steve Austin took many months off to heal his injury until returning to Survivor Series 1997 to defeat Owen Hart in an Intercontinental Championship match. Thankfully for WWE, Steve Austin could carry the company for the rest of the 1990s. However, his injuries would eventually catch up after a few years.

Steve Austin Fought Through Injuries Until Retiring In 2003

In late 1999, as The Attitude Era was thriving for WWE, Steve Austin took a hiatus from wrestling as his neck injury from the SummerSlam 1997 PPV would catch up to him. Despite being the central figure of WWE TV during much of the late 1990s, he took almost a year off of wrestling, and there was even a chance he could've retired in 1999. However, Steve Austin underwent surgery during his hiatus and returned to the No Mercy 2000 PPV to defeat Rikishi, resuming his in-ring career once again.

Steve Austin continued to wrestle in the main event scene full-time until departing from WWE following his controversial walk-out in June 2002. After making amends and returning to the company in early 2003, Steve Austin wrestled a few matches, with his final bout being against The Rock at WrestleMania 19.

As of result of his previous neck injuries that caught up to him while also dealing with additional knee injuries, Steve Austin officially retired from in-ring wrestling. He stayed out of the ring for almost two decades until Wrestlemania 38, where he wrestled Kevin Owens in a triumphant comeback.