Ranking Stone Cold Steve Austin's 5 best stunners at WrestleMania 38
Stone Cold Steve Austin had a great time at WrestleMania 38. The Texas Rattlesnake returned to WWE as a special guest on "The Biggest KO Show Ever" in the main event of Night One of the Show of Shows. By the end of the night, he had defeated Kevin Owens in an impromptu No Holds Barred match.
Austin won the battle of the stunners, and Owens was not the only person on the receiving end of a stunner from the 3-time Royal Rumble winner. The toughest SOB in the business stunned a total of five people during "the most stupendous WrestleMania of all time", with varying levels of impact, esthetics and comedic effect.
.@FightOwensFight just gave @steveaustinBSR a STUNNER at #WrestleMania! https://t.co/GIxKFIyt0R
Here is our ranking of the 5 stunners handed out by Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 38. Please note that each recipient is only allowed one entry into this ranking, so we shall consider the best stunner taken by each competitor. Let us know your ranking in the comments.
#5: Mr McMahon received one of the worst stunners of all time from Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 38
Video: Mick Foley's reaction to Vince McMahon taking a stunner at #Wrestlemania 38 nodq.com/features/video… #WWE https://t.co/MLclCpP4x4
Mr. McMahon had an eventful night on WrestleMania Sunday, which concluded with a Stone Cold stunner on The Boss. The chairman of WWE defeated Pat McAfee after the SmackDown commentator emerged victorious over his protege, Austin Theory.
As McMahon and Theory celebrated, the Texas Rattlesnake came out and ended up sharing a beer with his old arch-nemesis. Austin then proceeded to stun Vinnie Mac, who flopped awkwardly to the ground.
This was definitely not a good stunner by technique, but the nostalgia of watching Stone Cold stun the chairman and the comedic nature in which the latter sold the move made it one of the moments of the night.
#4: Stone Cold Steve Austin's stunner on Pat McAfee was well sold
Pat McAfee Says He Didn’t Know Stone Cold Stunner Was Going To Happen At #WrestleMania 38 bit.ly/3u89ZbQ https://t.co/D4IbGQMGAv
Pat McAfee was the last person to receive a stunner from Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 38. The SmackDown commentator shared a beer with the Texas Rattlesnake after the latter attacked Vince McMahon and Austin Theory.
McAfee sold the move by letting out the beer he had been drinking in a HHH-esque spray whilst falling backwards. It was a nice stunner, but it lacked the extravagant theatrics of the higher ones on this list.
#3: Kevin Owens lost the stunner battle against Stone Cold Steve Austin
STONE COLD STUNNER to @FightOwensFight!!!
@steveaustinBSR
#WrestleMania https://t.co/JTbE7ebcdh
Kevin Owens is the only person to have stunned Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 38. However, it was not enough to get him a win over the Texas Rattlesnake.
Instead, Owens found himself on the receiving end of a stunner of his own. It wasn't the most dramatic or esthetically evocative iteration of the weekend but it earns third place on this list because it helped Austin win his match.
It was the most effective stunner of the event.
#2: Byron Saxton took a Stone Cold stunner in Rock-esque fashion
Poor @ByronSaxton...
@steveaustinBSR had one more Stone Cold Stunner ready at #WrestleMania! https://t.co/Y2DFufipKv
Stone Cold Steve Austin ended Night One of WrestleMania 38 by celebrating in the ring after vanquishing Kevin Owens. His celebration, in true Stone Cold fashion, entailed guzzling a few beers while posing for the fans. It also included the classic Austin tradition of sharing a beer with an unsuspecting immediate future stunner victim.
His prey on this occasion was Byron Saxton, who, upon being stunned, flailed and flopped in a fashion reminiscent of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's legendary sell of the move.
This was only surpassed by one other stunner over the weekend.
#1: Austin Theory took the best Stone Cold Steve Austin stunner of WrestleMania 38
STUNNER! STUNNER! STUNNER!
#WrestleMania @steveaustinBSR @austintheory1 https://t.co/FAMEvH3jxr
Stone Cold Steve Austin's arch-nemesis is Austin Theory's mentor. So, the moment the glass shattered on WrestleMania Sunday, it was inevitable for the two Austins on either side of Vince McMahon to collide.
Theory held his own briefly before the Rattlesnake got the better of him with a stunner promptly following. The 24-year old's sell of the move was comedy gold, springing high like he had been shot off a trampoline.
Theory received wide praise from the WWE Universe for taking one of the best stunners of all time, and this was definitely the best one at this year's Show of Shows.