‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin is arguably the most charismatic superstar in WWE history, and this ‘What’ promo shows why.
The beer-guzzling, stunner-hitting, all-American man is the personification of a national hero. He proved himself as one of the greatest competitors to ever set foot in the ring throughout his illustrious career. He could sling it out with the best, beat them and then down a few cans just to rub salt into the wounds.
He didn’t have the physical presence of the Undertaker or The Big Show, but what he did have reinvented the sport forever. If he weren’t a wrestler, he’d be in sales. I’m not exaggerating when I say that there might not be a single man on the planet who can sell a fight quite like ‘The Texas Rattlesnake.’
There’s a reason why Austin headlined Wrestlemania on three separate occasions. He defined ‘The Attitude Era’ with his stunning promos and had the WWE Universe on its feet on multiple occasions. But there’s one particular gimmick that stands out above all the rest.
The Stone Cold ‘What’ promo that really connected with the fans
Addressing a packed arena on the microphone was no different to breathing for the famous sportsman. He took to the art like a duck to water. His passion and raw aggression shone through and resonated with the fans in a way no wrestler had ever done before. But when he debuted the ‘What’ chant in 2001, he solidified his legacy as the best talker of them all.
The beloved superstar explained how it originated on an episode of the Broken Skull Sessions with Randy Orton.
He said: “Another thing, people always ask me how I come up with the ‘What?’ thing. I called Christian [Cage] on his cellphone. Of course, he didn’t answer ’cause it’s me calling. So I left him this long-winded message, and I’d say something stupid, and I’d go ‘what’. Kinda keep going and go ‘what’, and keep going. By the time I hung up the phone, I left him like a two-minute message, and I was working heel at the time; I was like, ‘I think I’ve got something here.’ That’s how the ‘What?’ was invented.”
The chant gained humongous popularity and evolved into one of the most popular gimmicks in the history of the company. Austin delivered the promo to a massive pop on numerous different occasions. But on an episode of Raw in 2002, he showed just how much the crowd loved it.
During an intense verbal clash between Ric Flair and The Undertaker, the glass smashed, and Stone Cold stormed to the ring. The WWE icon relentlessly asked why ‘The Nature Boy’ intended to give ‘The Dead Man’ a number one contender’s match. And after every question, the fans shouted ‘what’.
Little by little, the yells grew louder and nearly blew off the roof. But Austin’s tactic clearly worked as the spectators cheered when Flair asked whether they wanted the Texan as the number one contender. In contrast, they booed when he mentioned The Undertaker.
Ultimately they both bagged match-ups against Rob Van Dam and Scott Hall. But this compromise didn’t go down well with ‘The Phenom.’ He began brawling with Austin, but his plan didn’t work out too well. The crowd hero launched the 6 ft 8 giant over the top rope to the delight of his adoring public.
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