Watch the Throne: Ranking Every King of the Ring Winner

Think back to a time when the Big Four was The Big Five. — Think back to a time when the Big Four was The Big Five

#1 "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, 1996 King of the Ring

This moment didn't save wrestling right away, but the business as we know it wouldn't exist without it. — This moment didn't save wrestling right away, but the business as we know it wouldn't exist without it

It can be said with some degree of certainty that the wrestling business would not exist as it is today had Steve Austin not won the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, if the wrestling business even still existed at all.

Professional wrestling throughout the mid-1990s had become a parody of itself, focusing on family-friendly thrills with bright colors and silly gimmicks; both the WWF and WCW traded in intense physical competition for party-story special effects and children's morning show costumes, by and large.

June of 1996 saw two events radically change the course of wrestling history, one immediately, and the other on a slow burn. The former was the formation of the New World Order at WCW's Bash at the Beach pay-per-view event; this was the first time since the 1984 establishment of Hulk Hogan as a mainstream, all-American babyface that Terry Bollea had turned full heel, and the turn brought a new edge and a new aesthetic to WCW's product.

The latter event was the ascension of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin to King of the Ring winner; the reason wasn't the crown itself, but how Austin celebrated with a foul-mouthed promo who's standout one-liner directed at born-again Christian Jake "The Snake" Roberts became undoubtedly the most successful catchphrase and merchandise line ever in the business.

The rise didn't begin immediately, but as Austin gained more and more freedom to express himself on the microphone the same way he had in Milwaukee after dispatching Roberts, and as the WWF's merchandising department let the Austin 3:16 catchphrase make its way onto t-shirts, a sea change began in the company which swept its way up and down the card, leading to the Attitude Era and the revival of sports entertainment.

His Career After King of the Ring

Steve's King of the Ring promo lives forever not just on the Nework, but in the most iconic wrestling t-shirt of all time. — Steve's King of the Ring promo lives forever not just on the

Austin did okay for himself after becoming the 1996 King of the Ring, if you count six WWF titles, two Intercontinental titles, four Tag Team titles, three Royal Rumble wins, an award-winning podcast, and a 2009 berth, not to mention high-profile feuds with Bret Hart, The Rock, Triple H, and, most of all, Vince McMahon, as "doing okay".

Edited by Arvind Sriram