Stone Cold Steve Austin Quotes

“I go back to the old school days of that Attitude Era stuff. Everybody knows when I speak of the Attitude Era, my favorite stuff is of the mid-’80s, all that NWA stuff, the World Class stuff, the stuff that Bill Watts was doing.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“A great gimmick is a great gimmick, but on a dud, it just doesn’t work. It comes down to talent.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I am not a coward.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“You can’t push the envelope at 10,000 RPM and expect to come out smelling like a rose and feeling like a million bucks on the other side.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“Diamond Dallas Page is one of my best friends.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“Vince McMahon is a workaholic; he sleeps 4 hours a night. The last thing that you want to tell the old man is that you are burned out – you need a break.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I found out in pro wrestling that it works better if you just try and be yourself versus working on something you’re not, so I’m me, and maybe it’s magnified a bit, but it’s easier just being me.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“When that glass broke and ‘Stone Cold’ was making an entrance, and that roof blew off that building, that sends you higher than life or anything that I know of. It’s an adrenaline rush you can’t explain.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“When I went out and did what I did in the world of professional wrestling as Stone Cold Steve Austin, pretty much anything and everything thing I said was ad lib, on the spot, just let it fly and go for it.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“My run cannot be touched. If you want to talk about longevity, you can speak the name Hogan. If you want to talk about white-hot, selling tickets, and taking the business to a height it’s never been – and, with a hell of a supporting cast, I might add – you’re talking about Stone Cold Steve Austin.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I’m for same-sex marriage.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I made a good living being a tough guy on TV, but I’d rather laugh and joke all day long than try to be a tough guy.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I was a Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes guy. Ric Flair continues to be my favorite wrestler of all time. I loved Harley Race and Nick Bockwinkel and all of those guys, but I’m a big Flair guy.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“Everything I’ve done goes back to pro wrestling. Had I not been able to achieve what I did, I guarantee you… my high school jobs were always working in the highway department – driving dump trucks, patching up roads, digging ditches, driving a forklift.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I think if I’d never had found pro wrestling, I’d be a blue collar guy, working a 9-to-5 job.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I’m honest and tell it like it is. I’ve been around the horn a few times and learned valuable lessons from screwing up a bit. So, if I can pass off advice or make someone smile on the way to work, I’m for it.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“If it’s the morning, and I had a late night, the worst thing in the world is a bright light.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I own a ranch in Texas, so there’s always something to do as far as work goes, whether it’s tractor stuff or tearing down fence.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“Driving a forklift is kind of like riding a bicycle. You’ve either got forklift skills or you don’t, and I can remove somebody’s molars with a forklift.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I don’t live as ‘Stone Cold.’ I live as Steve Austin. I was ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin back in 2003, then I rode off into the sunset.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“People go into that arena, and they know the fix is in. They know what pro wrestling or sports entertainment is. That being said, they want it executed to the highest level so that they can suspend their disbelief and buy in, and so, in a world of make believe, you make people believe in you. It’s as real as it can be.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“When I see things through my eyes, I don’t want to ever just be really negative towards someone’s performance. There are many ways to skin a cat. Sometimes I watch the guys, and they’re doing different things than I would have done, but I don’t ever want to be too critical.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“Once I came up with the ‘Stone Cold’ thing, it was like a snowball rolling down a hill; it just kept getting larger and larger, and I wasn’t afraid to push the envelope.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“On ‘Redneck Island,’ a show I love, there was a lot of drama and storylines going on because someone’s always voted off the island through process of elimination.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“Shoot, man, I loved being a damn heel. Something about that, just going out there and being the most despicable person you could ever be, was a real turn-on for me. And I grew up a real shy kid in south Texas, and it was something for me to lean on and have fun with.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“You know how much money I could have made playing professional football as a tight end? But I can’t jump, and I can’t run fast. That was my problem.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“Probably the greatest match in my career, and really put me on the match as a main event guy and paved the way for what I was to become, was Wrestlemania 13, with the one and only, Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“We didn’t roll credits after ‘Monday Night Raw.’ You know, it didn’t say, ‘Stone Cold Steve Austin played by Steve Austin,’ so all of a sudden people think that’s who and what you are 24/7, you know, 365 days a year.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“When you look back on anything in life, hindsight being 20/20, some things you’d like to have done a little differently.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I’m telling you, there have been some great finishers in the world of pro wrestling or sports entertainment. Whatever you want to call it. Man, I enjoyed the Iron Claw back in the day. I believed it was real.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“My favoirte wrestler is ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“There’s so many things I want to accomplish in the world of acting. But, the two most important are that I want to keep paying the bills and I want to get better. That’s about it. I enjoy what I do. I’ll stay busy. I’ve been lucky.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“My exit strategy from pro wrestling wasn’t carved in stone. I retired because of a few neck issues, some neurological issues.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“When you wrestle for 15 years, you don’t want to go back to driving that forklift.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“Based on the name value I had, I went to L.A. and got involved in independent movies.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I’m pro-WWE, but also I maintain my independence and speak my true thoughts, never bashing the product. But yes, I can be critical. I’ve earned the right to be critical.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“Cancer has affected my family; my mother and father have battled cancer. I know how tough it is.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“John Cena has done well for himself.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I used to love Andre The Giant. I could sit around all day and listen to Andre stories. He was such a wonderful, unique guy who everyone loved being around. The thing about Andre, he just had this magical mystique about him.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I’ll tell you what, the chemistry that I had with Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart in the ring, and the respect and the trust we had for each other, was unbelievable.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I’m not wrestling anymore. I’m out of that part of my career.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“That final match I had at WrestleMania with The Rock was my last match.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“Don’t look forward to me putting on the trunks and knee braces to get back in the ring and stomp a mudhole in somebody and walking it dry.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“There’s no reason to go back in the ring and prove anything.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“Earl Hebner should definitely be in the WWE Hall of Fame.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I appreciate everyone that had supported my career.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I have so many great memories of the wrestling business. I’ve worked real hard to get to the top, and how many flukes and breaks to have happened that had allowed me to have the success that I did.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I’ve got a chance to host a show called ‘Redneck Island’ on CMT. I love doing that show.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I enjoy reality television.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“WWE dropped the ball with ‘Tough Enough.’”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“Man, it was a great ride back in the day. Obviously, I started out in WCW, and I was a good mechanic back in the day. Got fired from that gig, made a turn for ECW.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“A lot of people say, ‘What set the Attitude Era up?’ or, ‘What started the Attitude Era?’ To me – and I was allegedly the leader of it – sports entertainment, pro wrestling, whatever you want to call it has always had an attitude. So, why that particular generation got labeled, I don’t know.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“You’re in there, you’re having a match, and you’re feeding off that crowd. That’s the gasoline that fuels the match, and that’s how you make your decisions. If you’re not listening to that crowd when you’re working, you’re missing the biggest part of what working is all about.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“When you see me on TV as Stone Cold Steve Austin, that’s definitely a part of my personality.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“In the ring, if someone hits you too hard, you can only take so many of those, and you have to send back a receipt, meaning ‘Hey, settle down.’ If a guy has a bad night at the office and catches you in the chin, you pop him so he knows what’s going on.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I didn’t do choreographed fighting for a living. I was a professional wrestler for 15 years; there’s a big difference.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“Say the average arena is 20,000 people. You’re in the very center of that arena, and you’re playing to the worst seat in the house up there. So everything is very big, very large. It’s like a very violent form of Broadway in a 20×20 ring.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“You cannot put Paul Heyman with Roman Reigns. People would know you’re putting Paul Heyman with him because there is a problem.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“Paul Heyman works with Brock. The magic works between Brock and Paul because of their dynamic and their chemistry.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I think they’ve got to give Kevin Owens a run with the belt. He’s a veteran, and he’s really clicking on the mic, and the kid is super talented.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“In the wrestling world, you had WWE, WCW, and smaller promotions that were like the independents. I look at it as craft beer being the independent beer makers. It’s the indie scene.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“They made a three-hour ‘Raw,’ but two hours is about my time limit. I ain’t got that kind of attention span.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I like pure pro-wrestling, when it’s serious in its orientation and presentation – like it’s a legit sport with Jim Ross calling the action.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“With the Monday Night Wars, it was almost a pay-per-view every single Monday between the two factions because they were trying to throw everything but the kitchen sink to win the ratings war.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“It’s like I tell everybody, if you get a chance to win the Royal Rumble or the King of the Ring back when they had it, that means you’re gonna get a push. You getting an opportunity at something big, and it can really set up your future for you. So if you’re that guy, boy, it’s pressure.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“The thing that’s so tough about ‘Broken Skull Challenge’ is you’re going head-to-head with another human being who may or may not be stronger than you and may or may not want it more than you.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I don’t know if a pro wrestling career prepares you for Hollywood. When you get out there, and you’re in an arena for 20,000 people or 90,000 people, it’s a lot different than being on a quiet set with 100 people, so I think you get used to dealing with cameras.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“Man, I had a good time working on ‘Grown Ups 2.’ First of all, when I read the script, it is hands-down the funniest script I’ve ever read. It’s laugh-out-loud funny.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I don’t look to save the world with any of the movies that I make. I’m not trying to make any political statement with the movies I make. I’m trying to have a good time. I’m trying to entertain people.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I’m really proud of ‘Broken Skull Challenge.’”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I’m glad about ‘The Curtain Call’ now, but I remember being very confused watching it all go down because I was right there behind the curtain watching it all, and I couldn’t believe these guys were breaking kayfabe.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“Wrestling is a very serious subject for me.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I think ‘The Condemned’ has a great story. It’s a lot more than a mindless action flick.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“In ‘The Condemned,’ if you saw the movie, that’s all me; I’ll go toe to toe with anyone in an action movie.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I’ve been in the entertainment industry – wresting, but the entertainment industry since 1989; if you have thin skin, you’re going to have a tough time in this town, but I’ve got thick skin.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“When I got into professional wrestling, I started, and I starved for two years, and I finally got some breaks. And then I got the biggest break, and I made the most of it and took wresting to its highest level ever.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I would consider doing something along the lines of ‘Tough Enough’ because that was my first endeavor into reality television, and that is a world I know and love, and that’s why I was on that show.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I love the business of pro wrestling, and it is something I know better than anything else I know about.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“The thing about the ‘Broken Skull Challenge’ is that there’s really nothing else like it on television.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I wear decent shades, but if I lose them, I’ll go right to the store and get cheap ones because my eyes are that sensitive.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I got out of the business when I got out. The hunger was out of my system.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I’m not addicted to wrestling anymore. For a long time, I was.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I had a lot more creative freedom back in the day.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I love my fans, and I love my relationship with the fans, but when you’re a performer, and you’re used to being the mac daddy, the main cat, and all of a sudden you’re not that guy anymore, it’s kind of a whole different spectrum and a whole different level.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“The Rock is one of the biggest movie stars in the world. So give the guy his due.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“As much as I love the business and I love my fans, I don’t want to be at every WrestleMania.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I love my mother to death. I’m pretty much a reflection of her.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I don’t have the talent of Daniel Day-Lewis. I’m Steve Austin, so when I get to hang out and be who I am, and I live on set, it’s like a paid vacation, man.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“When Savage died, that was hard on me. I didn’t even hardly know Randy, but I just turned 51 this past December, and he was 58 when he died. I’m like, ‘Hey man, just because I’m in that line of work, do I have an expiration date? Am I supposed to go?’ I always wonder, but I don’t harbor it.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“Any time you go live with Vince McMahon it’s going to be a very interesting experience.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“When I came to WWE back in the day, I’d been working seven-and-a-half years, and I was very frustrated. I started getting some momentum, and my work was very vicious, and it was very believable.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“Everyone out here in Los Angeles is trying to do whatever to break into films. It is a tough industry to get into, kind of like pro wrestling in a lot of respects when you think about it.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I got pile drived in ’96 or ’97 and was a quadriplegic for about a minute and a half. I couldn’t move anything. It was in the Meadowlands at a pay per view with a million or two people watching, and I couldn’t move. That cost me a surgery, but I healed pretty quickly, so that was probably my worst day at the office.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I respect Hulk Hogan because his career lasted some 30 odd years. I think I lasted about 15, but during my peak years, I took the business to a height it never seen before.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I really value my days down there in ECW in Philly.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“It goes – for me – WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, Summerslam. The big three.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“Everyone can have a rough day at the office, as they say. I’ve had those myself many times when the bell rings.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I want to be careful when I’m breaking down matches because I don’t want to offend anybody or knock anybody’s work. It took me a long time to get where I was at, so I know how it feels when someone knocks on you.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin

“I actually have a pretty good sense of humor.”

― Stone Cold Steve Austin