The moment remembered the most about the night of June 23, 1996 was Austin's coronation as King of the Ring and the birth of Austin 3:16. But what won him the match over the game Jake Roberts? The Stunner. Austin's fearsome reputation was just beginning to harvest around this time, and had started a winning streak courtesy of the Stunner. At the tournament, Austin was dominant. He defeated Marc Mero in the semifinals to advance to the championship -- with the Stunner. In the finals, he showed no remorse for the Bible-toting Roberts who competed with bruised ribs, ending the Snake's Cinderella run with the newest and hippest finishing move in the business.
December 2, 1997 was the In Your House: D-Generation X Pay-Per-View. It billed as a DX night, but Stone Cold made his mark.
Austin was involved in a feud with the Nation of Domination, The Rock in particular. On this night, the leader of the Nation challenged Austin for the Intercontinental Championship. Austin emerged victorious, and punctuated the win with a Stunner to Nation henchman D-Lo Brown on the hood of his pick-up truck!
It's hard to pick one particular Stunner above the others. If there must be one deemed most significant, it would be WrestleMania XIV, March 28, 1998, the night Austin stunned Shawn Michaels after a grueling 20 minute-plus battle to capture his first World Wrestling Federation Championship, the culmination of an eight-year journey.
The Stunner was also responsible for burying the Undertaker alive at In Your House: Rock Bottom on December 13, 1998. Sweet revenge for what the Grim Reaper put the Rattlesnake through in the preceding weeks. With Austin laid up in a hospital one night, the Undertaker and Paul Bearer infiltrated Austin's hospital room, attacked him and kidnapped him. After numerous escape attempts were thwarted, Austin was taken to a mortuary and was about to be embalmed alive until the Undertaker's brother, Kane, came to the rescue.
Shortly after, the Buried Alive match at Rock Bottom was made. And for the umpteenth time, the Stunner prevailed.
WrestleMania XV was an emotional battle between two of the Federation's top stars, and owners of the two most dynamic finishers in the business. On one side was The Rock with his Rock Bottom. On the other, Austin with the Stunner. The match was billed as one of the most anticipated in the illustrious history of WrestleMania -- and it lived up to its billing. In the end, Austin and the Stunner prevailed, giving the Rattlesnake his third World Wrestling Entertainment Championship.
Austin's feud with Vince McMahon and his family included many stunners, including the one delivered to Vince at Fully Loaded 1999 shortly after Austin's First Blood Match win over the Undertaker barred Vince from Federation television. Two months earlier, Vince screwed Austin by revealing he was the greater power, so what better way for Austin to finally put his long-standing feud with WWE owner to an end?
