Stone Cold With the Beer Truck
The rise of Stone Cold Steve Austin in the late 90s was incredible. He was a bald redneck who wore camo and beat up his arrogant boss. He drank beer, flipped off people he didn’t like, and swore like hell.
If you were eight years old at the time, it was magical.
And on the Monday before WrestleMania XV, he gave us this jewel of TV programming. Now, for fans, this segment is almost universally loved. But for people who haven’t really watched wrestling, seeing this out of context is one of the most baffling things to witness.
It begins with Stone Cold driving a beer truck down to the ring to confront his enemies: The Rock (who he would be wrestling for the championship in six days), Vince McMahon (the owner of the company and main villain), and Shane McMahon (Vince’s son and henchman).
Stone Cold then stands on top of the truck and trash talk in his trademark Texas drawl.
That’s pretty cool. It’s pretty wild. But Austin wasn’t done.
He grabbed a giant hose and sprayed beer into the ring, knocking over his interlocutors. They fell over and struggled to flee, as if the beer was surging out of an anti-riot firehose.
In Stone Cold fashion, he finishes the night by triumphantly pouring beers into his mouth while standing on top of the truck to unrestrained admiration from the crowd.
Man, wrestling is strange and extraordinary.