10 shocking Moments from WWF (WWE) 1996

#5 Stone Cold Steve Austin becomes King of the Ring

The promo heard around the world

Another WWF superstar on course to have a great year was the man formerly known as 'The Ringmaster'. Having ditched Ted DiBiase as his manager, and recreating a new image for himself, Stone Cold Steve Austin was making big strides in 1996, challenging fans' perceptions of the traditional face/heel dynamics. Fans knew they were supposed to hate this guy, but something about him just drew people in.

His crowning moment of the year came at The King of the Ring tournament. For reasons we will get to later, Austin was handed the crown after certain plans had to be changed, going on to defeat Jake Roberts in the finals. If the victory itself made fans pop, his acceptance speech was about to send them into a near 15-year frenzy.

Austin began mocking his rival Jake Roberts for constantly referring to the bible during promos. To a delighted audience, Austin would utter the now infamous line 'You talk about your psalms and your John 3:16, well Austin 3:16 said I just whipped your ass!''.

By the end of the year, the 'Austin 3:16' moniker would be seen written on the front of t-shirts in every wrestling arena around the world. Whether Stone Cold was in Vince's original plans for the future or not, his performance at KOTR 96 certainly made fans pay attention, and there was no looking back.