On June 23, 1996, Steve Austin defeated Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts to become King of the Ring. He walked up to the goofy little “king” set they’d set up for interviews and delivered a game-changing interview, blowing up the newly-religious Roberts with his now infamous Bible approximation. “Talk about your Psalms, talk about John 3:16 … Austin 3:16 says “I just whooped your ass!'” Austin would go on to be the biggest draw in the history of pro wrestling, and Austin 3:16 t-shirts would become a staple of late-90s dork fashion. I had three.
Today, the Austin 3:16 promo is old enough to graduate from high school.
In case you weren’t feeling ancient already, today is the 18th birthday of King of the Ring ’96. Sigh deeply, ease yourself down into a chair and relive the sacrilegious mic work that changed a company and will be going to college soon oh my god
