#3 Stone Cold Steve Austin
You may have known this by now as the history of Stone Cold Steve Austin is a widely researched topic, but before becoming the 'baddest SOB' in pro wrestling history, Steve Austin was a stunning bloke with a blonde combover in the first half of the 1990s.
Helmed by Paul Heyman, The Dangerous Alliance was a notorious faction in the now-defunct promotion WCW during that time and in 1991, got on board Steve Austin, then known as 'Stunning' Steve Austin.
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It made absolute sense to have 'Ravishing' Rick Rude and 'Stunning' Steve Austin in the same stable that also included the likes of Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, Madusa and Larry Zbyszko.
Over the next few months, The Dangerous Alliance was booked in noteworthy feuds against WCW's biggest stars such as Barry Windham, Sting, and Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat. They won titles and were featured prominently until the relationship between Heyman and WCW went south due to contractual differences.
The faction split up in 1992 and Heyman shifted his attention towards getting the NWA's Eastern Championship Wrestling back to its former glory.
After the end of the Alliance, Austin continued to work with WCW and won the Tag Team titles on countless occasions.
Life came full circle in 1995 as Austin was picked up by Heyman to join ECW. ECW was where Steve Austin planted the seeds of his rise as the undaunted, brash and authority-hating figure who later became known as Stone Cold Steve Austin in the WWE.
In ECW, Austin honed his promo skills under the supervision of Paul Heyman and worked on the character that would help Vince McMahon prevail in the Monday Night Wars.
Without Paul Heyman, we probably would have never had the iconic Stone Cold Steve Austin.