Notable Highlights from Online World of Wrestling:

-December 7, 1997: Defeated The Rock at the D-Generation X pay-per-view to retain the Intercontinental Championship

-January 18, 1998: Won the Royal Rumble, lastly eliminating The Rock

-February 15, 1998: Teamed with Owen Hart, Cactus Jack, and Chainsaw Charlie to defeat Triple H, Savio Vega, and the New Age Outlaws in the main event of No Way Out of Texas

-March 29, 1998: Defeated Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania XIV to win the WWF Championship

-April 13, 1998: The segment featuring Steve Austin vs. Mr. McMahon helps end the 83-week dominance of WCW over the WWF and swings the tide in Vince's company's favor.

-May 3, 1998: Defeated Dude Love to retain the WWF Championship at Over the Limit

-June 29, 1998: Defeated Kane to regain the WWF Championship on Raw

-July 26, 1998: Teamed with the Undertaker to defeat Kane and Mankind at Fully Loaded for the WWF Tag Team Championship

-August 30, 1998: Defeated The Undertaker in the main event of SummerSlam to retain the WWF Championship

-December 13, 1998: Defeated the Undertaker in a Buried Alive match at Rock Bottom

-February 14, 1999: Defeated Vince McMahon in a Steel Cage Match at St. Valentine's Day Massacre

-March 28, 1999: Defeated The Rock to win the WWF Championship at Wrestlemania XV

-April 25, 1999: Defeated The Rock at Backlash to retain

-July 25, 1999: Defeated The Undertaker in a First Blood Match at Fully Loaded to retain the WWF Championship

-A neck injury kept him out of action until September of 2000

-October 22, 2000: Fought Rikishi to a No Contest at No Mercy

-October 30, 2000: Defeated Rikishi in a Steel Cage Match on Raw

-November 19, 2000: Fought to a No Contest with Triple H at Survivor Series

-January 21, 2001: Won the Royal Rumble, lastly eliminating Kane

-April 1, 2001: Defeated The Rock in the main event of Wrestlemania X-7 to win the WWF Championship

Steve Austin epitomized the World Wrestling Federation’s Attitude Era. He was the symbol of anti-authority, in-your-face attitude that defined the era. He spit in the face of authority, flipped middle fingers, chugged beers, and greeted his fans with an often-thunderous "Hell Yeah!" He was the symbol for the common man who was frustrated with his boss and wanted to strike out against the system.

Austin took a struggling, floundering WWF, strapped it on his his back, and took it to places it had never been. With Stone Cold as its main attraction, the World Wrestling Federation achieved its finest financial success and global expansion. Steve Austin was a pop culture icon, appearing on magazine covers, hundreds of different tee shirts, books, video tapes, and various other merchandise items and marketing materials. Kids even wore tee shirts sporting the "Austin 3:16" catchphrase to school. Austin made professional wrestling cool and the business prospered because of it.

The most lasting impression Steve Austin made was his rivalry with Mr. McMahon. Austin was the rebellious Superstar, doing what he wanted, when he wanted regardless of whether or not it complied with the standards the corporate side of the WWF wanted. McMahon was the evil owner, hell-bent on keeping his employees and their actions in line with his expectations.

They had to dress a certain way, speak a certain way, and act in a certain manner. If they failed to do so, they were unfit to hold a championship in his company. The story seems complex but the reason it worked, the reason so many fans associated with it, was that it featured the most simplistic emotions.

From March of 1998 until July of 1999, McMahon did everything he could to make Stone Cold’s life a living hell. He forced him into brutal, hellish matches with the likes of Dude Love, Kane, The Undertaker, and The Rock, all in hopes that one of those men would wrest the WWF Championship from Austin. It worked, temporarily.

At the 1998 King of the Ring pay-per-view, Austin lost the title in a controversial finish to Kane. The victory for the "Big Red Machine" and his boss, however, was short lived as Austin regained the gold one night later in a moment that proved the old mantra that "anything can happen on Raw." Austin would carry the title, uninterrupted, until the Breakdown pay-per-view, when it took both Kane and Undertaker to defeat him in a Triple Threat Match.

At the Survivor Series, in a tournament to decide a new champion, Austin was caught off guard when Shane McMahon, Vince’s son, turned his back on him and screwed him out of his semifinal match with Mankind. Austin would rebound by defeating the Undertaker at Rock Bottom in a Buried Alive match. Now focused on recapturing his WWF Championship, Austin set his sights on the Royal Rumble match.

Also entering the Rumble, however, was Mr. McMahon. With the idea that preventing Austin from winning the match fresh in his mind, McMahon utilized the Corporation and, later, The Rock to eliminate the "Texas Rattlesnake" and hand the billionaire boss the unlikely victory. Austin recovered less than a month later when he beat, battered, and brutalized McMahon inside a steel cage at St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Wrestlemania XV would add to Austin’s legacy. In the main event, at the height of the Attitude Era, Stone Cold dethroned The Rock and picked up his third WWF Championship in a year. Stone Cold was as hot as any professional sports act and was beloved by millions and millions across the globe. It did not seem like the Stone Cold train could or would ever be derailed.

Austin would have another banner year through most of 1999. Still the top act in the top company for wrestling in the world, Austin picked up one more WWF Championship in July, all the while doing battle with the likes of Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, Rock, and Triple H. As SummerSlam approached, however, rumors began to swirl regarding a potential injury that Austin was working with.

At SummerSlam, Austin lost the WWF Championship to Mankind in a Triple Threat match, also involving Triple H. Many believed the injury to be involving his knees. When Austin returned to the ring in October at No Mercy, many assumed the injury had healed. However, by the time November rolled around, everyone knew that was no the case.

From November of 1999 until September of 2000, Stone Cold Steve Austin was sidelined with a severe neck injury that threatened his career. When he returned, it was evident that he had lost a step and that he may never be the same full-throttle, high impact type of performer he had been previously. A slow start on his road back saw sub-par performances against Rikishi and Triple H in October and November. In December, he was surrounded by five other main event talents in a Hell in a Cell at Armageddon.

January saw the return of the Steve Austin the fans knew and loved. Finally regaining confidence in the squared circle, Austin won the Royal Rumble match in impressive fashion, eliminating Kane, who had last nearly an hour and tossed a record eleven stars from the match. At February’s No Way Out, Austin blew off a rivalry with Triple H that had lasted for since November. The match, a Three Stages of Hell match, was one of the great matches in a year chocked full of them. Steve Austin was finally back and, some claimed, better than ever.

At Wrestlemania X-7, Steve Austin and The Rock closed out the Attitude Era as only they could. In a match full of emotion, full of excitement, and full of world-class storytelling, Austin and The Rock showcased what made the Attitude Era such a golden time for the sport. As the match wore on, and Austin failed to put the Rock away, he became increasingly frustrated.

Eventually, it was revealed that Stone Cold, the ultimate rebellious anti-hero and anti-authority figure, had sold his soul to Vince McMahon in exchange for the boss’ help in defeating The Rock. The Steve Austin character had come full circle, whether it worked in the long term or not.

Stone Cold Steve Austin is the greatest attraction in the history of professional wrestling. While Hulk Hogan made it the entertainment form it is today and really established it in the 1980’s, Stone Cold picked the weak, barely-breathing sport off the ground and carried it into uncharted territory. The Rock, Triple H, The Undertaker, Kane, and Mick Foley were vital parts of the era, parts that were essential to the growth.

But Steve Austin was the engine. He was the piece that made the machine that was the World Wrestling Federation run. Every man, with the possible exception of the Undertaker, became as big of stars as they did because they worked with Steve Austin. Later, he took stars such as Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, and Chris Benoit and made them household names by association.

The Attitude Era was an era of tremendous evolution in the sport of professional wrestling. Every year, Wrestlemania is held in football stadiums across the country, bringing in tens of thousands of WWE fans to the show. It is because of Steve Austin and the era that he ushered in, the stars that were created in that period of time, and the fans that were made as a result of spectacular story-telling and in-ring performance, that the company and the entire business continues to thrive.