The Stone Cold Gets Hit By A Car Storyline, Explained

Unless you were watching wrestling at the time, it’s really hard to describe the aura Stone Cold Steve Austin had on his stomp to the ring. When the glass shattered and Austin came down the ramp, every fan in the building was on their feet ready for whatever war Austin was marching to. The white-hot heat Austin possessed made Vince McMahon a billionaire.

The battle he was heading to at the 1999 Survivor Series would have been the most epic Triple Threat Match in history — Triple H defending the WWE title against Austin and the Rock. But on his way into the arena, some nefarious person decided to mow the Rattlesnake down and hit them with their car. Austin was on the shelf for months. Here are some key points in The Stone Cold Gets Hit By A Car Storyline.

Austin Needed The Surgery

When Owen Hart accidentally dumped Steve right on his neck, the Texas Rattlesnake took things as easy as he could without getting his stack of dimes fixed. For almost two and a half years, Austin was double-tough and refused to take any significant time off as he ascended to the top of the world. But now it was time to really have his neck looked at. Hence the reason for this angle and his surgery. He headed for Dr. Youngblood in November 1999 and returned less than a year later.

Austin Returns At Backlash

With the deck stacked against the Rock heading into Backlash 2000, WWE CEO Linda McMahon had deemed only one wrestler fit enough to stand in Rock’s corner as he was going up against Triple H for the title, Stone Cold Steve Austin. The ornery Rattlesnake made his on-camera return, famously dropping a concrete block onto the DX Express. At the PPV, Austin not only returned to help the Rock win the championship but drove into the arena with charred remains of the bus as well.

Foley’s Investigation

With Austin running amok and interfering in matches conducting his own investigation, Commissioner Mick Foley suspended the Rattlesnake with the promise that he would conduct his own investigation. The Hardcore Icon kept to his word word and eventually, after chatting with Scotty 2 Hotty realized who had thought it would be a good idea to run Austin down with their car.

“I Did It For The Rock”

While it was a convoluted “swerve, bro,” Mick Foley’s investigation unearthed a key piece of information - Too Cool and Rikishi were partying it up in Detroit the night Austin got hit. The rub was that Rikishi wasn’t in WWE at that time. This somehow meant that Rikishi was Austin’s attacker. His motive was simple — the McMahons had held the Anoa’i family for years. “I did it for the Rock,” was the now infamous line. While the Rock didn’t ask for any of this, his star did skyrocket in the wake of Austin going down.

Destroying Rikishi

Once the big giant Samoan cat was out of the bag, there was no stopping the Bionic Redneck from obliterating Rikishi right out of the WWE. Foley announced a No Holds Barred match between the two at No Mercy. On the way to the match, Rikishi again tried to run down Austin.

The match was as quick and brutal as you’d expect. Austin drove straight to the ring and bludgeoned Rikishi, nearly trying to run him over until authorities stopped the match and arrested Austin.

Working For Triple H

Before the big blow off for this feud, we’d have a few more twists and turns. Rikishi tried to pin the incident on The Rock, stating he was in on it. But The Great One wasn’t the mastermind behind this vile act at all. As usual, it was the Game doing what he did best, be the Cerebral Assassin. The reveal that Triple H was behind the whole ordeal created a big main event feud that was missing when it was Austin and Rikishi. The Game and the Rattlesnake met at the 2000 Survivor Series in a No DQ Match. Austin hoisted Triple H up in a crane before dropping him.

Royal Rumble 2001

Austin continued to swear vengeance against Triple H and their feud continued even when they didn’t have a match. At the 2001 Royal Rumble, Austin charged the ring during the Game’s title match with Kurt Angle. After costing Hunter the title, Triple H thought he would return the favor and ambush Austin on his way to the ring in the Rumble. The Game left him bloody and laying, but Austin persevered and won the match, earning his chance to point at the sign.

Three Stages Of Hell

With the two superstars chomping at the bit to destroy one another, they went all in at No Way Out in Vegas. The two gladiators did battle in a Three Stages Of Hell Match. After nearly an hour of pounding on one another in a regular match, a street fight, and ultimately a steel cage match, it was the Game that actually came out on top after HHH decked Austin with a sledgehammer at the same time Austin bailed hunter with a barb wire 2 x 4.

WrestleMania X7

Despite losing to Triple H, Austin’s guaranteed title match against the Rock at WrestleMania X7 was not compromised. After a little over half a year on the shelf, and a few more months focusing on vengeance, Austin was now laser-focused on defeating the Rock and reclaiming his spot atop the wrestling the world.

In his home state with hometown crowd and world solidly behind him, the Bionic Redneck did the unthinkable. He broke bread with Vince McMahon, struck a deal with the devil and thumped Rock with several chair shots before reclaiming the championship and sharing a beer with the man once utterly hated.

Two Man Power Trip

As usually in professional wrestling, even if it doesn’t make sense, new storylines crop up at a moment’s notice. With Austin now with Vince and Triple H, Vince’s son-in-law, the two most powerful heels in the company formed the Two Man Power Trip. Austin didn’t seem to care any longer that Triple H ran him over with his car. Together the group won the tag team titles and there’s no telling what would have happened next for the duo, has Triple H not torn his quad thus ending this whole storyline.

Next: 10 Best Years Of Stone Cold's Career, Ranked