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Truth behind Stone Cold Steve Austin's infamous '3:16' rant that catapulted WWE

Stone Cold Steve Austin has had his fair share of iconic catchphrases, but the one that stands above them all is the Austin 3:16 slogan - and he thought of it on the spot

[Stone Cold Steve Austin]

Stone Cold Steve Austin's most iconic catchphrase is probably his 'Austin 3:16' (Image: WireImage)

Catchphrases have always been a key element of professional wrestling, with memorable lines helping to cement a character's place in the hearts of fans.

Think John Cena's "You Can't See Me," or any one of The Rock's endless classic quips delivered in front of thousands of ecstatic WWE fans. But perhaps the most legendary of all is "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's "Austin 3:16" catchphrase.

This phrase has become one of the most recognisable in the history of professional wrestling, but where did it originate?

Austin joined The Rich Eisen Show where he revealed his iconic slogan dated back to a promo he cut on Jake Roberts at King of the Ring 1996.

[Austin]

Austin came up with his catchphrase on the spot in a 1996 promo(Image: Getty Images)

The WWE Hall of Famer explained how he spontaneously came up with the two lines that night, inspired by Jake's religious-themed promo, which paved the way for the debut of Austin 3:16.

"They had decided I was going to be that guy to get the push and the first match of that night I was wrestling Marc Mero, he did this fancy move and he ended up kicking me in the mouth and split my mouth wide open," Austin said.

"They ended up taking me to the hospital to get stitched up, so while I'm gone to get about 14-15 stitches in my upper lip, Jake Roberts was going to be my next opponent.

[Steve Austin]

Steve Austin early in his career as Ringmaster(Image: WWE)

"As soon as I stepped out of the ambulance coming back, I just had a pair of shorts on with my gear on and everything and Michael Hayes came up to me and says 'hey, I just want to let you know while you are gone, Jake cut a religious promo on you.'

"He kind of told me words to the effect of what he said and I said as soon as he said that, Austin 3:16 popped into my mind.

["Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. Kevin Owens]

'Austin 3:16 popped into my mind'(Image: WWE)

"Back in the day, the old football days, they always had the John 3:16 posters behind the field goal attempt and I said 'Oh man, I've got one for (Jake's) ass.' I just spun that thing together and when we went out, we went out there and I wrestled Jake, it was a short match.

"Go over there and do the promo with the guy who told me about the Jake promo and I just let it loose.

"Pretty much an ad-lib, one of those things you just let it go on the fly and gold starts happening.

"I said 'Austin 3:16 says I just whooped your ass!' And as I kept on, Vince was doing the announcing and I knew I needed a button on the end of that promo. Something I just pulled out of thin air... 'And that's the bottom line cause Stone Cold said so!'

"I got two trademarks. I hit two grand slams at two at-bats at an event I was never supposed to win. It was just something I capitalized on, the timing was right, I was right and I was ready. Magic happened that night."

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