Some call it the most important promo in professional wrestling history — and honestly they might be right. Either way, one thing we can say with certainty is that it's exactly 30 years today since "Stone Cold" Steve Austin delivered the promo that would change the face of pro-wrestling forever: the much heralded "Austin 3:16" speech delivered on this day at WWF King of the Ring in 1996.
"You sit there and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere. Talk about your psalms, talk about John 3:16 … Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ******* !"
By now, plenty of us can recite much of the segment from memory. Not least the closing line that became an instant catchphrase in its own right:
".... and that's the bottom line … because Stone Cold said so!"
That alone could easily lay claim to being the most memorable payoff in wrestling.
"You sit there and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere. Talk about your psalms, talk about John 3:16 … Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ******* !"
By now, plenty of us can recite much of the segment from memory. Not least the closing line that became an instant catchphrase in its own right:
".... and that's the bottom line … because Stone Cold said so!"
That alone could easily lay claim to being the most memorable payoff in wrestling.
2 months ago
