There is a term that we usually use for successful movies when it achieves financial success. The term is box office attraction. When a movie gets the status of hit movies with financial success and appreciation from people, it becomes a box office hit and the lead star becomes “Box Office Attraction”. In the professional wrestling business, there are very few box office attractions in history.
People use examples like Bruno Sammartino, Antonio Rocka, Hulk Hogan, The Rock, John Cena, CM Punk but there is one example that stands out above all as he became an attraction not only massively, not only he became a star on the most crucial time period of WWF but also became an example of how to be “OVER” in the Wrestling business. An example is the Texas Rattlesnake “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
Here, we will look at the illustrious career of Steve Austin, how much money he has made out of it, and how much he is making money now because of his fame, his business status, and some facts the people are unaware of about Steve Austin.
Steve Austin Net Worth
There was a time when Steve Austin used to eat a potato and bread one time a day to live life when he was on the road for wrestling. He sometimes just ate bread to somehow not be hungry. Now, after this successful career in wrestling, hosting, a business he has made a hell of a life for himself and made a fortune for himself.
| Year | Net Worth (US$) |
| 2017 | 45 Million |
| 2018 | 50 Million |
| 2019 | 45 Million |
| 2020 | 45 Million |
| 2021 | 30 Million |
| 2022 | 30 Million |
Steve Austin Wrestling Contracts Wages
| Year | Promotion | Amount (US$) |
| 1991 | WCW | $75,000 |
| 1994 | WCW | $275,000 |
| 1998 | WWF | $5,000,000 |
| 1999 | WWF | $12,000,000 |
| 2000 | WWF | $12,000,000 |
| 2001 | WWF | $12,000,000 |
(Note:- as wrestling contracts are very exclusive and hard to leak, there are some years missing from this table)
Steve Austin Career Stats
| Statistic | Number |
| Total Matches | 1440 |
| Total Wins | 808 |
| Total Losses | 515 |
| Total Draws | 117 |
| Total Singles Matches | 854 |
| Total Singles Wins | 500 |
| Total Singles Losses | 261 |
| Total Singles Draws | 93 |
| Total Championships | 20 |
| World Championships | 6 |
| Wrestler he wrestled most | Ricky Steamboat (150 Matches) |
| Wrestler he wrestled least | Vinnie Vegas (1 Match) |
| Total WrestleMania Main Events | 3 (1998, 1999, 2001) |
| WrestleMania W/L Record | 5 Wins – 2 Losses |
| SummerSlam W/L Record | 3 Wins- 2 Losses |
| Survivor Series W/L Record | 2 Wins – 3 Losses – 1 Draw |
| Royal Rumble W/L Record | 3 Wins – 3 Losses |
Steve Austin Appearances in Movies and TV
After his wrestling career and his cameos in WWE were done, Steve Austin had nothing to do. He was most at home. He admitted that this was one of those periods which were kind of do-or-die sorts as far as the future goes. He realized that he had to do something. So, he went towards Hollywood and Television line plus he was a host in some of the shows and even though his acting career was decent, he is considered as one of the best hosts on television or a perfect person who can conduct an interview.
Steve Austin Movies
| Movie | Year |
| 1999 | Beyond the Mat |
| 2005 | The Longest Yard |
| 2007 | The Condemned |
| 2009 | Damage |
| 2010 | The Expendables |
| 2010 | The Stranger |
| 2010 | Hunt to Kill |
| 2010 | Whoop Ass |
| 2011 | Recoil |
| 2011 | Knockout |
| 2011 | Tactical Force |
| 2012 | Maximum Conviction |
| 2013 | The Package |
| 2013 | Grown Ups 2 |
| 2014 | Chain Of Command |
| 2015 | Smosh: The Moviee |
Steve Austin Television
| Year | TV Show Title |
| 1998 | V.I.P. |
| 1998-2002 | Celebrity Deathmatch |
| 1999-2000 | Nash Bridges |
| 2000 | Dilbert |
| 2005 | The Bernie Mac Show |
| 2010 | Chuck |
| 2011 | Tough Enough |
| 2012-2016 | Redneck Island |
| 2014-2017 | Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge |
| 2019- Present | Straight Up Steve Austin |
| 2020 | Undertaker: The Last Ride |
Steve Austin Business Endorsements
Steve Austin made a fortune out of the wrestling business as he was the biggest driving force in the attitude era of WWF. Even though his career in the wrestling business was over, he began a new one in a bunch of places
a) He is partnered with Kawasaki which makes Austin inspired Kawasaki MULE side x side and Kawasaki PRO-FXR
b) He also works with Cold Steel which produces Broken Skull Pocket Knife’s
c) Steve Austin also has a deal with Colt Cabana’s part-owned prowrestlingtees.com where Steve’s trademarked phrases are printed on it and he sells other merch too. The site has 58 shirts, 1 cap, and the price range is $24.99 to $29.99
d) Steve Austin has a podcast of his own known as The Steve Austin Show on PodcastOne network. He is doing this podcast since 2015.
e) Steve Austin is the founder of Broken Skull IPA beer which is sold in the USA.
Steve Austin Car Collection
As a kid, everyone acted and wanted to be like Steve Austin. Adults have their adrenaline rushed seeing Steve Austin. If we look at the car collection of The Rattlesnake, we all would want to break our banks just to have even a single out of the 12 cars he owns.
His collection includes classic cars, modern beasts, monster drivers, and cars that every person on earth has a dream of owning it.
| Car | Price (US$) |
| 1971 Pontiac Firebird Formula | $48,000 |
| 1973 Chevrolet Camaro | $31,000 |
| 1972 Cutlass Supreme | $22,250 |
| 1978 Buick Century Wagon | $6,225 |
| 1988 Dodge Ramcharger | $40,150 |
| 1995 Ford Bronco | $25,140 |
| 1996 Chevrolet Suburban | $2,500 |
| 2003 Chevrolet Silverado Z71 | $11,000 |
| 2016 Range Rover | $86,000 |
| Mercedes-Benz SL55 | $106,032 |
| Porsche Cayenne Turbo | $127,800 |
| Corvette Z06 | $80,900 |
Steve Austin Property
When it comes to the residence of “The Texas Rattlesnake”, his marriage with Kristen also involves a split of time between Austin’s Ranch in Nevada and a home in Marina Del Rey, CA. The couple also one time owned 2 homes in the same city of Marina one of times was in 2018 by Austin. However, Austin sold the Compound in Marina Del Rey for $3.395 Million. His 1st property was purchased by him in San Antonio in 2009 which he still owns.
Steve Austin Childhood and Education and Family Life
Austin was born on December 18th, 1964 in Austin, TX. His parents Beverly and James Anderson got divorced when he wasn’t even a year old. His childhood was spent in Edna, TX. Her mother married to Ken Williams in 1968. He grew up with 3 brothers (Scott, Kevin, Jeff) and Jennifer his younger sister.
His education was under Edna High School before he going to Wharton County Jr. College where he got a football scholarship. After that endeavor, his next educational step was a full scholarship to the University of North Texas.
He became a wrestling fan when he saw shows of Houston Wrestling at the time when legendary wrestling promoter Paul Boesch was 7-8 years old. He even attended WCCW (World Class Championship Wrestling) shows on Fridays in Dallas Sportatorium when he was attending college 30 miles away from the sportatorium.
Steve Austin Pro Wrestling Career
Austin’s pro wrestling career started in 1989 when he started to attend in Chris Adam’s school in Dallas with $45 (Rs. 7,354 in today’s money) as the first cost. His first learnings from Adams was the technicality of wrestling which is learning moves. He did later got lessons from WCCW referee Frogman LeBlanc. He did get influenced by Von Erich Family, Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair. After being managed by Percy Pringle (a.k.a. Paul Bearer) and feuding with Chris Adams, he left USWA (merger with WCCW).
He went to WCW in 1991 as “Stunning” Steve Austin with Vivacious Veronica as his Valet. He later got paired with Lady Blossom (a.k.a. Jeannie Adams). He later feuded with Bobby Eaton to win the WCW TV title. He did later joined Paul E Dangerously’s (a.k.a. Paul Heyman) Dangerous Alliance.
His next pairing in WCW was with Brian Pillman for the tag team “Hollywood Blondes”. The team did become WCW Tag Team Championships in March of 1993. They did hold the titles for 5 months to lose it to Arn Anderson and Paul Roma at Clash of Champions XXIV. After Brian being injured, Austin feuded with him which led to a victory for Austin at Clash of Champions XXV. He did win the WCW US Title from Dustin Rhodes. He did lost to Ricky Steamboat only to win it back when Ricky’s back got hurt and Austin got awarded the title by forfeit. He did lose 5 minutes later to “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan.
His frustrations with the company did grow longer as Austin was never the priority for the company and never got the attention he was promised, especially during Hulkamania Era. He did get his knee hurt and after returning in early 1995, he eventually was fired by Eric Bischoff after suffering a triceps injury in Japan.
1995 became Austin’s year in ECW where he got the attention he needed and it was so much enough that Jim Ross (Head of Talent relations for WWF in 1995) directly called Paul Heyman for keeping an eye on Austin as WWF was interested in him. His initial work was in-ring promos and interviews as he wasn’t cleared from injuries. He was even getting paid more than WCW as he got $500/night (Rs. 66,516 in today’s money). All his promos were the reason WWF had their attention on Steve as his promos were somewhat progressed towards “Stone Cold” Character. He was involved in a couple of ECW world title matches towards the end of his run when he wrestled guys like Whipwreck and Sandman.
Steve Austin did become a member of the WWF roster in late 1995 when Jim Ross, Kevin Nash, and Bret Hart convinced Vince McMahon to sign him. He debuted in 1996 as he got rewarded Million Dollar Championship Belt from Ted DiBiase. His initial run was under the gimmick called “The Ringmaster” who was a heel with the thought of the person who can outwrestle anyone on the roster. This push was a failure as Austin was never motivated for it and it never worked towards fans.
These two did feud going to Royal rumble match 1997 which was won by Steve. The next pay-per-view saw Bret winning his 4th WWF championship beating Austin, Undertaker, Vader which led Austin to cost Bret the WWF title to Sycho Sid on RAW. These two did feud more as they had one more match at WrestleMania XIII which was a Submission match with Ken Shamrock as guest referee and that match was won by Bret Hart using Sharpshooter and turning himself heel and Austin turning babyface.
He skyrocketed his career feuding with Vince McMahon as an anti-authority figure stunning everyone on his way. After beating Dude Love 2 times, he lost the title to Kane just to win a day later. He did beat Undertaker later and a month later, the title got vacated as 2 people won the pinfall in a 3-way match involving Kane and Undertaker. He touched the gold straight at WrestleMania XV when he beat then WWF Champion The Rock in the main event of the show.
His next Title was once again short as he lost the title to The Undertaker only to win it back a month later and drop it to Mankind at SummerSlam 99.
His injury took another toll as at Survivor Series 1999, a mystery limo driver infamously ran over Austin costing 10 months of his career.
He returned fully in September of 2000 looking for the mystery driver who eventually turned out to be Rikishi. He feuded with him and in that feud, it turned out that HHH was the one to pay Rikishi to do it as last year she tried to put his WWF title match out of the card with the challenger being uncleared to compete.
Then the feud turned from Rikishi-Austin to HHH-Austin. They had a match at Survivor Series 2000 which had closing shots of Austin flipping over a car using a crane that had HHH in it.
These went on to feud each other consisting of multiple WWF title matches which eventually led to the culmination match being a 3 Stages of Hell Match at No Way Out 2001 in Sin City (A.K.A. Las Vegas). During this, Austin won the Royal Rumble 2001 and challenged The Rock at WrestleMania X-7’s Main Event where not only Austin won the title, not only The Rock went on a hiatus after that but Austin turned heel by Shaking Vince McMahon’s hand.
He did have a 5-month heel WWF title run which also gave us that absurd invasion storyline where The Alliance (WCW+ECW) had a leader in a heel WWF Champion Steve Austin. This heel run ended in November of 2001 as Steve went on to have some quiet months of pretty much being in dull feuds one of them being with Scott Hall at WrestleMania X-8 which was supposed to be Austin vs Hulk Hogan but Austin turned it down and it became The Rock vs Hulk Hogan.
These dull feud series continued to the point where Austin walked out of WWE in June of 2002 as the creators wanted Austin to lose to a rookie Brock Lesnar in a King of the Ring qualifying match on RAW. He walked out and stayed out of the company for a long time.
He eventually returned after 8 months in February of 2003 to have the final program of Austin’s career with The Rock as the story of The Rock losing to Austin every time being on WrestleMania was behind. This was Steve’s final match as he lost to The Rock at WrestleMania XIX under the skies of Safeco Field in Seattle, WA. The reason for retirement turned out to be multiple knee injuries and the serious neck injury causing spinal stenosis with its origins being that Owen Hart piledriver at SummerSlam 1997.
Steve Austin Girlfriends
Steve was first married to his high school girlfriend Kathryn Burrhus which got broken in 1992 as Austin was pursuing a relationship with Jeanie Clarke in 1991. The Couple got divorced on August 7th, 1992.
Steve’s 2nd marriage was with Jeanie Clarke and they were parents of 2 daughters (Stephanie and Cassidy). This relationship was over by 1999 as the problems were Austin being on road for almost all the time and not spending time with his family which led to Jeanie move with her daughters to England. Although he adopted Jade who was the daughter of Jeanie when she was married to Chris Adams.
Steve next got married to Debra Marshall on September 13th, 2000. The couple got into big-time trouble in 2002. Steve beat his wife upon his cheeks, legs, eyes, back, and then he ran out of home before police arrived at the place. He was told to come back home but instead, he went to report to the police station. He was charged for domestic violence and he even got no contest on November 25th. He received a 1-year prohibition, a $1000 fine (Rs. 1,12,658 in today’s money), and an order to carry out 80 hours of community service). Debra said in 2007 on FOX News that Austin did the roid rage which led to the incident and WWE knew about it but told her to hide it as it would cost them millions of dollars. Their eventual divorce happened in 2003.
The current marriage of Steve is with Kristin Feres and they got married in late 2009.
Steve Austin Accomplishments
- Guinness World Record of winning most WWE Royal Rumble Matches :- 3 times
- Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 2016)
- 2x WCW World Television Champion
- 2x WCW US Heavyweight Champion
- 1x WCW World Tag Team Champion
- 1x NWA World Tag Team Champion
- 2x WWF Intercontinental Champion
- 4x WWF Tag Team Champion
- 1x Million Dollar Champion
- 5th WWF Triple Crown Champion
- 1996 King of the Ring Winner
- 3x Royal Rumble Winner (1997, 1998, 2001)
- 6x WWF Champion
- WWE Hall of Famer (Class of 2009)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Famer (Class of 2000)
Unknown Facts about Steve Austin
- Steve almost ends up as a Physical Education Teacher if he finishes the few credits left for him to become a teacher. But he dropped out of college and instead worked on a loading dock.
- Austin was a band geek in high school and played various instruments.
- He openly supports gay marriage.
- He was also part of the National Honor Society.
FAQ’s about Steve Austin
Steve James Anderson
(USWA/WCCW, WCW, ECW, WWF/WWE)
Yes. apparently, Austin’s problem was that he never got a shot in Memphis, Tennessee territory when he was in his rookie stages as Jerry Jarett never gave him any chance in the territory.
Ric Flair
