By Jonathan Williams

Considering the impact he has had on the industry and the number of amazing moments he was part of, it’s hard to believe that “Stone Cold” Steve Austin‘s in-ring career only lasted a little more than a decade. But in that short time, he became the most popular wrestler of his era and one of the industry’s most iconic personas.

Even in his retirement, Stone Cold remains one of WWE‘s most popular superstars, getting bigger pops than most active roster members when he appears at Raw, WrestleMania or anywhere else. In the most comprehensive look at his career to date, Stone Cold Steve Austin: The Bottom Line on the Most Popular Superstar of All Time shows us exactly why Austin became such a phenomenon, even when his defiant attitude got the best of him.

The four-disc DVD set begins with a documentary chronicling Austin’s career, starting with his early fascination with wrestling from the first time he caught Houston Wrestling on TV. After enrolling in “Gentleman” Chris Adams‘ wrestling school at the Dallas Sportatorium and debuting in World Class Championship Wrestling, it wasn’t long before the blond-haired hunk was winning Pro Wrestling Illustrated‘s Rookie of the Year in 1990 and gaining greater national exposure in World Championship Wrestling.

Though he had a successful run there as “Stunning” Steve Austin (namely as one half of the Hollywood Blonds with “Flyin'” Brian Pillman), it wasn’t until he was fired from WCW and had his brief stint in Extreme Championship Wrestling that the no-nonsense Stone Cold persona began to emerge. The DVD then delves into his WWE career, beginning with his initial pairing with “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase as the Ringmaster and touching on every important moment in his rapid ascent to becoming wrestling’s biggest success story.

As is true in most any profession, success is ofter about being in the right place at the right time and that has certainly been the case with Austin. From the scathing “Austin 3:16” rant that got the wrestling world’s attention after his victory over Jake “The Snake” Roberts at 1996’s King of the Ring pay-per-view, through his many encounters with The Rock and his ultimate rivalry with Mr. McMahon, this retrospective features commentary from Austin, Paul Heyman, Jim Ross, McMahon, Christian, Chris Jericho, C.M. Punk and many others who witnessed the Austin Era from varying perspectives.

Courtesy WWE

While his wrestling abilities and antihero persona are what made Stone Cold the star he remains today, it’s easy to forget that much of his success came during promos, backstage vignettes and absurd moments such as when he attacked a bedridden McMahon with a bedpan and when he served as the Raw sheriff while recovering from an injury. Though his career was plagued with severe injuries, which eventually forced him into retirement, this DVD shows that even when he wasn’t able to express himself in the ring, he was just as adept at entertaining fans in other ways.

But that’s not to say Austin had any shortage of magical moments in the ring, and the next two discs offer the most comprehensive look at the biggest matches of his career, as chosen by Austin himself. From early highlights such as a 1990 United States Wrestling Association match against his mentor Adams and a 1994 WCW match in which Austin and Ric Flair teamed up against Sting and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat to three of his matches against The Rock (one for the Intercontinental Championship and two for the WWE Championship), you’ll be hard pressed to think of a match that might have been left out. And that’s saying a lot considering that 2008’s The Legacy of Stone Cold Steve Austin features three discs of memorable matches, and very few of those matches have been duplicated on The Bottom Line (though I wouldn’t have minded seeing at least one of his matches as a member of Paul E. Dangerously’s Dangerous Alliance in WCW).

Courtesy WWE

Other key matches included here are the infamous King of the Ring victory over Roberts (as well as the subsequent promo), the brutal 1997 submission match against Bret “Hit Man” Hart, and wild encounters against Shawn Michaels, Dude Love, the Undertaker and the Big Show. The last disc is filled with the non-wrestling moments that came to define Austin’s career as much as what he did in the ring. Included here are such key moments as his old ECW promos (where he humorously lambasted both WCW and WWE), Slammy Award acceptance speeches, the antics that cemented him (literally, in one instance) as WWE’s ultimate blue collar hero and a Michael Cole interview in which Austin’s “What?” catchphrase really catches on. And the special features (all on the first disc) offer more insight into Austin’s unique character and sense of humor with interview segments about his concern over losing his hair (seems like the bald look worked well for him) to the origin of his finishing move, the Stunner.

Whether you watch it on its own or see it as a complement to The Legacy DVD set, The Bottom Line truly is all that needs to be said about Austin’s career. And I think anyone who sees it, including Stone Cold, would say so.

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