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It's Stone Cold Steve Austin Day So Here's Some Interesting Facts

It's Stone Cold Steve Austin Day So Here's Some Interesting Facts

WHAT?!

Mel Ramsay

Mel Ramsay

It's not an official day, but as someone who once owned Stone Cold Steve Austin bed sheets, I think it needs celebrating. It's 3/16 (to Americans, for us Brits it's the correct 16/3 but there's no 16th month) and it's time to pay homage to one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.

'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, AKA Austin 3:16, AKA "You can talk about your Psalms and your John 3:16. Well, Austin 3:16 says I just whooped your ass."

This beer-swigging, pissed off attitude-having ass-kicker is one of the reasons the WWE was so popular around the turn of the century.

So let's learn some stuff about him.

His ex-wife invented the name 'Stone Cold Steve Austin'

Steve Austin needed a ring name. However, WWE kept sending over awful suggestions like 'Fang McFrost' and 'Ivan the Terrible'.


Jeanie Clarke. Credit: Facebook

Luckily, his ex-wife, Jeanie Clarke, loved cups of tea. She told Wrestlinginc.com: "Yes, I did [come up with the name], over a cup of tea... basically, the concept was Steve's, because Steve and I were just sitting watching TV, flicking channels, and this show came on called The Iceman about a killer, a hit man type guy.

"Steve just said, 'I want a character like that' meaning someone cold, and he called Vince (McMahon) and he said this is the character he wanted. The office, they were just sending all these faxes of these temperature-based names like Fang McFrost... they were so hokey.


Stone Cold does a stunner on Donald Trump. Credit: WWE

"I remember Brian Pillman and Steve in hysterics over these names, but none of them worked for Steve. One day he was just kind of pensive, a little bit worried-looking, and I just said 'Drink your tea before it gets stone cold' and I went... 'There it is, Stone Cold'. He got a big smile on his face, and he liked it, so that's how it started, over that cup of tea."

He came up with 'Austin 3:16' off the top of his head

The wrestling fans among you will already know this, but in June 1996 Steve defeated Jake Roberts at King of the Ring.

As Jake was being carried out of the arena, he mocked the born-again Christian by saying: "You sit there and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere! Talk about your Psalms, talk about John 3:16... Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!"

And then the saying was born. Cue millions of T-shirt sales and some pissed off Christians.

He's been married four times

Interestingly enough, his first marriage to Kathryn Burrhus in 1990 was annulled despite them having two children.

He was then married to Jeannie Clark between 1992-1999, and then Debra Marshall (2000-2003). He met Debra when she was Jeff Jarret's valet in the WWF. He then married Kristin Feres in 2009, whom he still lives with.

He's starred in a fair few movies

It started in the late 90s when Steve starred in several episodes of an American TV show called Nash Bridges.

He also appeared on quite a few Celebrity Deathmatch episodes. However, his biggest movie to date was The Expendables. Oh, and Grown Ups 2.

He's a strong advocate for gay marriage

Hell. Yes.

And he talked about it on a podcast which you can hear below.


He says: "I don't give a shit if [it's] two guys, two gals, guy-gal, whatever it is - I believe that any human being in America, or any human being in the goddamn world, that wants to be married, and if it's same-sex, more power to 'em.

"What also chaps my ass, some of these churches, have the high horse that they get on and say 'we as a church do not believe in that'.

"Which one of these motherfuckers talked to God, and God said that same-sex marriage was a no-can-do?"


Credit: PA Images

Legend.

So, happy Stone Cold Day.

Hope it's a Stone Cold Stunner. Eh? Geddit?

Ah screw it, I'm going to go down four beers.

WHAT?!

Featured Image Credit: PA Images