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128-422: The game was followed by a sequel, WWF Attitude , released in 1999. WWF War Zone features a gameplay system in which players must grapple with their opponent and perform a series of presses on the directional pad then a button press to perform wrestling maneuvers. WWF War Zone also features audio commentary provided by Vince McMahon and Jim Ross . A variety of modes are available. The single player game

256-708: A legitimately injured Pillman was replaced by Steven Regal , with whom Austin lost to Anderson and Roma. With Pillman injured, Austin joined Colonel Robert Parker 's Stud Stable . After Pillman returned, the team was broken up when Austin turned on him, a decision Austin describes as a "mystery". Austin defeated Pillman in a singles match at Clash of the Champions XXV in November 1993. At Starrcade in December 1993, Austin defeated Dustin Rhodes 2–0 in

384-457: A steel cage match , with the championship opportunity at WrestleMania XV at stake. During the match, Paul Wight made his WWF debut, coming from under the ring and attacking Austin, but Wight's attack propelled Austin into the side of the cage forcing the cage to give way and dropping Austin to the floor first, making him the victor. The week before WrestleMania, Austin interrupted The Rock, Vince, and Shane McMahon's interview segment by driving

512-571: A "brush with greatness". At Halloween Havoc in October 1992, Austin (substituting for Terry Gordy ) teamed with "Dr. Death" Steve Williams to wrestle Dustin Rhodes and Windham for the unified WCW and NWA World Tag Team Championship , wrestling to a 30-minute time limit draw . On March 27, 1993, the Hollywood Blonds won the unified NWA and WCW World Tag Team Championship by defeating Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas , and held

640-409: A "corporate champion"; Austin responded with a Stone Cold Stunner, leading him being kayfabe arrested once again. The following week, it appeared as if Austin had agreed with McMahon, appearing in a suit and tie, before revealing it was a ruse and again attacking McMahon. On April 13, it appeared Austin and McMahon were going to battle out their differences in an actual match, but the match was declared

768-469: A 2017 interview, "After watching the Pulp Fiction movie with Bruce Willis , that's the haircut that inspired me. I was traveling on the road to Pittsburgh with Dustin Rhodes and before I went to the show, I said fuck it. I went into the bathroom with a razor blade and shaved all my hair off. Then I grew the goatee and everything came full circle." By March 11, The Ringmaster moniker (now merely

896-481: A Stone Cold Stunner to Big Boss Man and eliminating him. With the match down to Austin and McMahon, The Rock came down to the ring to distract Austin, who was eliminated by McMahon, thus McMahon winning the Royal Rumble. McMahon turned down the number-one contender spot, and Michaels promptly awarded Austin the championship shot the next night on Raw . At St. Valentine's Day Massacre , Austin faced McMahon in

1024-492: A Triple Threat match at Breakdown: In Your House , where The Undertaker and Kane pinned Austin at the same time. McMahon decided to vacate the WWF Championship and award it based on a match between The Undertaker and Kane, in which Austin was the guest referee on Judgment Day: In Your House . Austin refused to count for either man and attacked both towards the end of the match. McMahon would, in storyline, fire him as

1152-409: A beer truck to the ring and using a hose to spray the trio with beer. Austin defeated The Rock at WrestleMania XV to win his third WWF Championship. Austin faced The Rock in a rematch the following month at Backlash , in which Shane was the referee. During the match, Vince approached the ring, only to hand Austin back his Smoking Skull championship belt and take Shane out of the proceedings. Austin won

1280-567: A better animated, less pixelated crowd. The PlayStation version received favorable reviews, while the rest of the console versions received mixed or average reviews according to review aggregator GameRankings . Daniel Erickson of NextGen gave the Dreamcast and Nintendo 64 versions negative reviews in two separate issues, saying that the latter was "worth a rental for WWF fans, but everyone else should just wait for THQ and EA to take their shots" (#59, November 1999); and later calling

1408-549: A big victory for his side at King of the Ring . Austin lost the WWF Championship to Kane in a First Blood match after The Undertaker accidentally hit him with a steel chair while the ref was incapacitated, despite Austin having knocked Kane unconscious and thwarted an earlier intervention by Mankind. Austin further angered McMahon by winning back the championship the next night on Raw . Austin also emerged victorious against The Undertaker at SummerSlam . In response, McMahon set up

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1536-499: A cage wall. Running into a cage wall can cause damage. Players can also perform diving attacks from the top of cage walls. These kinds of matches sometimes appear as Grudge matches in Season Mode. Hardcore - Similar to a Versus match, but the arena is littered with usable weapons. If any object is used or dropped a certain number of times, it will "break" and fade away. Members of the crowd will periodically throw new weapons into

1664-491: A deal with Extreme Championship Wrestling , producing two games using the same game engine, ECW Hardcore Revolution and ECW Anarchy Rulz . The PlayStation version had been originally scheduled to be released on June 3, 1999, but the release date was pushed back to August 5 due the death of Owen Hart to whom the game is dedicated. Gameplay from WWF War Zone was for the most part retained. Players execute wrestling maneuvers by grappling with an opponent then entering

1792-544: A diehard wrestling fan, you're gonna want WWF Attitude . If you have either the PlayStation or N64 version, however, you'll be satisfied with a rental." Scary Larry, however, said of the same console version in another review, "The ultimate wrestling game, one that takes the experience and immerses you totally inside of it, may still be a ways off. But Dreamcast fans will feel cheated out of a winner by this fake looking remake. Hope for Smackdown [ sic ] on

1920-565: A double countout, before defeating him in his first WrestleMania appearance at WrestleMania XII . At In Your House: Good Friends, Better Enemies , Austin lost to Vega in a rematch. At In Your House: Beware of Dog , Austin lost a Caribbean strap match to Vega, with the added stipulation that DiBiase was forced to leave the WWF as a result, leading Austin to quietly vacate the Million Dollar title. DiBiase would later say that nobody foresaw

2048-419: A forklift, then let it drop 20 feet. Austin won his third Royal Rumble match on January 21, 2001, last eliminating Kane. His rivalry against Triple H ended at No Way Out on February 25 in a Three Stages of Hell match, with Triple H defeating Austin two falls to one. With The Rock defeating Angle for the WWF Championship at No Way Out, Austin was again set to face him at WrestleMania X-Seven on April 1. In

2176-483: A free-for-all, two-on-two cage matches, and tornado tag team matches. The game also has a number of unlockable features such as hidden characters. War Zone also includes a training mode in which the player can freely practice the moves of their chosen wrestler. Other gameplay options are also available exclusively in the Nintendo 64 version - gauntlet matches in which players challenge a series of opponents one after

2304-463: A gun " segment on Raw wherein Austin broke into Pillman's home while he was nursing his injury. Pillman had been anticipating him and was armed with a pistol. Just as Austin broke in, Pillman aimed his gun at him before the episode cut to commercial break. The segment was highly controversial for its perceived violence and rare use of profanity in WWF programming. The segment is also credited for paving

2432-423: A knee injury, prompting him to switch to play as a defensive end . The first wrestling events Austin watched were those produced by Houston Wrestling and run by Paul Boesch , and Austin would later say, "I fell in love with the business when I was seven or eight years old. All I ever wanted to be was a professional wrestler. Wrestling was the biggest thing in my life." When he moved to attend university, he

2560-457: A legitimate bruised spinal cord and temporary paralysis for Austin. As Owen stalled by baiting the audience, Austin managed to crawl over and pin Hart using a roll-up to win the championship. A visibly injured and dazed Austin was helped to his feet by several referees and led to the back. Due to the severity of his neck injury, Austin was forced to relinquish both championships. On September 22, on

2688-413: A long time, but its bland graphics and sounds may turn off everyone else. Attitude adds features over War Zone , but it doesn't really make that many improvements. Attitude ' s got the moves, but it needs to put on more of a show if it's going to go for the title." In another review of the PlayStation version, The D-Pad Destroyer called it "a decent game with an incredible array of options but with

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2816-498: A marketable wrestler, and additionally thought Austin was hard to work with. Paul E. gives me a call and gives me a free platform to start venting and cutting the promos and putting a microphone in front of my face. I get a chance to speak what's on my mind and from my heart, and I find that is where the best promos come from, the ones that come from your gut and your heart — and from your brain, because you've got to feel them. Words don't mean anything if you don't mean them. So that

2944-424: A match at Survivor Series , which he accepted. During an episode of Superstars , old friend Brian Pillman conducted an interview with Austin regarding his upcoming match. After Pillman inadvertently complimented Hart, Austin grew angry and attacked him. He then proceeded to wedge Pillman's ankle in between a steel chair and stomp on it, breaking his ankle in storyline. It would lead to the infamous " Pillman's got

3072-573: A multitap). But it's the huge wealth of options and detail (including interactive player biographies) that makes the game shine and ultimately a great purchase... if you like professional wrestling." The PlayStation and Nintendo 64 versions were both finalists by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences for " Console Fighting Game of the Year " during the 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards , which ultimately went to WCW/nWo Revenge . The game

3200-693: A no-contest when Dude Love made an appearance. This led to a match between Dude Love and Austin at Unforgiven: In Your House , where Austin hit McMahon with a steel chair and went on to retain the title. The following month, Austin and Dude had a rematch at Over the Edge: In Your House for the WWF Championship. Austin managed to retain the championship despite McMahon acting as the self-appointed referee and his "Corporate Stooges" ( Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson ) as timekeeper and ring announcer, respectively. McMahon continued to do everything he could to dethrone Austin as champion and he finally scored

3328-416: A partner and decided to face the duo by himself. Late in the match, a debuting Dude Love came out to offer assistance. Austin accepted and the duo won the match and the titles, making Austin a two-time tag team champion. Austin continued his feud with the Hart family, becoming embroiled in a heated rivalry particularly with Owen, who pinned a distracted Austin and secured victory for The Hart Foundation in

3456-463: A popular wrestler at the time of the game's release who would frequently show off his mic skills during events. The Game Boy Color version of the game is slightly different from its home console counterparts, using passwords as a way to save a player's progress. Acclaim added full superstar entrances to the game, improving over the short entrances from War Zone. Match commentary was recorded by Jerry "The King" Lawler and Shane McMahon . Instead of

3584-424: A prefix to his ring name) would be discarded in favor of his most famous ring name, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in a match against Savio Vega . The new name was prompted by his English wife at the time, Jeanie, who told him to drink a cup of tea she had made for him before it became "stone cold". His new persona was partially inspired by serial killer "The Iceman" Richard Kuklinski . Austin wrestled Vega on Raw to

3712-647: A result, although Austin got revenge by kidnapping McMahon and dragging him to the middle of the ring at "gunpoint", which ended up being a toy gun with a scroll that read "Bang! 3:16." During that segment, McMahon also learned that Austin was later re-signed by his son, Shane McMahon . In the semifinals of the Survivor Series tournament to crown a new WWF Champion, Austin lost to Mankind after Shane double-crossed Austin. The next night on Raw , Judge Mills Lane ruled that The Rock had to defend his newly won WWF Championship against Austin that night, as stipulated in

3840-477: A sequence of motions and buttons presses. On-screen life meters indicate how close a wrestler is to defeat, with the meter turning red when a small amount of health is left. The previous edition's "Challenge Mode" was replaced by a Career Mode which allowed a player to wrestle as a WWF superstar. The player first starts wrestling on house shows winning matches to work their way up to RAW , then Pay-Per-View events and eventually getting opportunities to challenge for

3968-425: A simulation-oriented experience, but with faster gameplay. Motion capture for the game was done by several wrestlers not working for any major professional wrestling promotion , who performed the various moves that were included in the game. Some maneuvers were dropped from the final game due to space and gameplay considerations. WWF announcers Vince McMahon and Jim Ross recorded over an hour's worth of speech for

WWF War Zone - Misplaced Pages Continue

4096-416: A sore lack of any real personality. Attitude has a great Create-A-Wrestler mode, but eventually you will want to bring your creation into the ring. When it comes to that, WWF fans will have a great time, but the rest will quickly become frustrated. This sequel to War Zone just doesn't have enough attitude." The Enforcer later said of the Dreamcast version in one review, "If you own only a Dreamcast and are

4224-593: A tag team, as he was earmarked for a run with the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship with Harley Race as his manager. Initially billed under their individual personas, Pillman decided the pair needed their own finishing move, ring gear and team name, with traveling partner Scott Levy proposing The Hollywood Blonds, used in the 1970s by Buddy Roberts and Jerry Brown. The pair adopted an "old-style movie camera hand gesture", and informed opponents they had experienced

4352-481: A triple-threat match at Survivor Series on November 14, where Austin was run down by a car. The segment was to write him off television , with the neck injury suffered two years prior posing a real threat of early retirement, and was advised to undergo surgery. Austin would later describe this as "the worst storyline I was ever involved in". Austin made a one-off appearance at Backlash on April 30, 2000, attacking Triple H and Vince McMahon to help The Rock reclaim

4480-746: A two-out-of-three-falls match to win the WCW United States Championship . At Clash of the Champions XXVIII in August 1994, Austin lost the Championship to Ricky Steamboat. He was scheduled to face Steamboat in a rematch at Fall Brawl '94: War Games in September 1994; however, Steamboat was unable to wrestle due to a legitimate back injury and Austin was awarded the championship by forfeit. His second reign with

4608-616: A working agreement between WCW and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Austin wrestled four matches in Japan. He took part in the 1992 G1 Climax , defeating Arn Anderson in the first round before losing to Keiji Muto in the second round. He and Arn Anderson then defeated Raging Staff ( Super Strong Machine and Tatsutoshi Goto ) in a tag team bout held in the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo . In his final bout, Austin challenged Masahiro Chono for

4736-422: Is a chant in the game, referencing the midcard storyline. For many years, players were confused by his inclusion in the game. Though not playable in the game, The Hardy Boyz provided motion capture for the game. The intro to the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 versions included a dedication to Owen Hart , who died shortly before the game's release and was featured in the game as a playable character. Although Owen

4864-638: Is an American media personality, actor, producer and retired professional wrestler . He is currently signed to WWE , as an ambassador. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the development and success of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE) during the Attitude Era , an industry boom period in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Austin began his professional wrestling career in 1989, after playing college football at

4992-468: Is composed of 18 wrestlers who were working for the WWF during the game's development, including some from Acclaim's previous WWF title WWF In Your House , such as The Undertaker , Goldust , and Ahmed Johnson . New characters were added, including Stone Cold Steve Austin , Kane , and Ken Shamrock . War Zone also features a number of different factions : D-Generation X is represented by Shawn Michaels and Triple H , while The Nation of Domination

5120-430: Is highlighted by the "WWF Challenge" mode in which the player selects a character and challenges for WWF titles by beating other wrestlers. Sometimes previously defeated wrestlers will challenge the player to a "Grudge match." These matches will usually be weapons or cage matches . After winning the championship, the player can then defend it against a series of challengers. Various multiplayer options are available such as

5248-472: Is less than a year younger than Austin, leading Austin to theorize in his autobiography that their father may have left because he could not handle another child so soon. After finishing his education at Edna High School , he got a football scholarship to Wharton County Junior College followed by a full scholarship to the University of North Texas . He played originally as a linebacker before suffering

WWF War Zone - Misplaced Pages Continue

5376-419: Is represented by Faarooq and The Rock . Three members of The Hart Foundation were featured: Bret Hart , Owen Hart and The British Bulldog . Both members of The Headbangers (Mosh and Thrasher) were included, as were three of the personas of Mick Foley : Mankind, Cactus Jack, and Dude Love. The latter two were not available at first and needed to be unlocked. Bret Hart and The British Bulldog had departed

5504-493: Is the "legal" (active) player, while the other is inactive on the apron. Players may switch team members at any time using the Tag function. The "illegal" (inactive) partner may assist in the match, but he is limited to 15 seconds of activity at a time. The match ends under normal win conditions involving both legal participants. Cage - Cage matches see the ring ropes replaced with cage walls. The match can only be won by climbing over

5632-419: The 1998 Royal Rumble , lastly eliminating The Rock. The next night on Raw , Austin interrupted Vince McMahon in his presentation of Mike Tyson , who was making a special appearance, over the objection of McMahon referring to Tyson as "the baddest man on the planet." Austin insulted Tyson by flipping him off , which led to Tyson shoving Austin much to McMahon's embarrassment, who began publicly to disapprove of

5760-538: The 1999 Royal Rumble . Austin's next appearance after this would be the January 4, 1999, edition of Raw , where he would come out to help Mankind defeat The Rock to become the WWF Champion by striking The Rock in the face with a steel chair and draping Mankind's body over him. Austin's next chance to exact revenge on Mr. McMahon came during the Royal Rumble match. On Raw , McMahon drew Austin's entry number with

5888-535: The European , Intercontinental and WWF championship titles. New match types were also added, including the First Blood and the I Quit Match . Features added since WWF War Zone include a Create-A- Stable mode and a Pay-Per-View mode, which allows players to set up their own wrestling event - a series of matches, the name of the event, and an arena. The game includes a customizable arena option, including

6016-499: The Game Boy Color . The game is named after the WWF's then-current "Attitude" marketing campaign , with the tagline "Get it" also being used on company programming during that period. The game is the sequel to WWF War Zone and is the last WWF game to be published by Acclaim. The WWF signed a deal with THQ later in 1999, ending a ten-year relationship with Acclaim that began with WWF WrestleMania . Acclaim then signed

6144-719: The Hollywood Blondes ). After a brief stint in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Austin signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1995. In the WWF, Austin was repackaged as a short-tempered, brash and brazen anti-establishment antihero named "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, becoming the most popular wrestler of the Attitude Era off the back of his feud with company chairman Mr. McMahon . He won

6272-675: The NWA World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of the "Battle Hold Arena" event at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama , losing by submission after Chono applied an STF . In September 1992, Austin formed a tag team known as the Hollywood Blonds with Brian Pillman , at the behest of lead booker Dusty Rhodes. Austin would later say that he was not excited about being placed into

6400-564: The Royal Rumble , he was scripted to be among the final four wrestlers in the ring, which could have given him an early push ; however, The Ringmaster failed to hang onto the ropes after Fatu clotheslined him over and slipped out of the ring early. Austin soon thought the Ringmaster gimmick was weak and asked for a change. Having battled thinning hair for a few years, he decided to shave his head in early 1996. He later said in

6528-618: The University of North Texas . He signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1991 and adopted the persona of " Stunning " Steve Austin , a villainous in-ring technician, and he won the WCW World Television Championship and the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship twice each, alongside one reign with a double crown of the WCW World Tag Team Championship and NWA World Tag Team Championship , with Brian Pillman (as

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6656-794: The Von Erich family , Dusty Rhodes , and Ric Flair . Initially working under his real name, he was renamed Steve Austin by Memphis booker Dutch Mantell during the merger of WCCW and the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) into the United States Wrestling Association (USWA). The name change occurred to avoid confusion with "Dr. Death" Steve Williams , a well-known wrestler during that time. Austin later returned to Dallas, managed by Percy Pringle and accompanied by Jeannie Adams (Adams's ex-girlfriend and Austin's girlfriend at

6784-542: The WWE Network and Peacock . He collaborates with El Segundo Brewing on Broken Skull IPA and Broken Skull American Lager . He also hosted the reality competition series Steve Austin's Broken Skull Challenge (2014–2017) and Straight Up Steve Austin (2019–2021). Austin was born Steven James Anderson in Austin, Texas , on December 18, 1964. His parents, Beverly (née Harrison) and James Anderson, divorced when he

6912-758: The WWF Championship six times , the WWF Intercontinental Championship twice , the Million Dollar Championship once, and the WWF Tag Team Championship four times , making him the fifth WWF Triple Crown Champion . He is also a record three-time Royal Rumble winner, won the 1996 King of the Ring , and headlined multiple WWF pay-per-view events, including its flagship event WrestleMania four times ( 14 , 15 , 17 and 38 ). He

7040-401: The WWF Tag Team Championship . Despite being champions, the two constantly argued and ultimately faced each other in a match at King of the Ring , which ended in a double disqualification after both men attacked the referee. Michaels was later forced to vacate his championship due to an injury. Hart and Bulldog won a tournament to face Austin and a partner of his choice, but he refused to pick

7168-572: The "Super Power Group Declaration VI" event in the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Austin, Anderson, and Mike Enos lost to J-J-Jacks ( Akira Nogami and Takayuki Iizuka ) and Junji Hirata in a six-man tag team match . During the NJPW tour, Austin suffered a torn triceps . While rehabilitating, Austin was fired by WCW President Eric Bischoff on September 15, 1995. Bischoff did not see Austin as

7296-412: The 'Taker , defeating him in a match to determine the next contender to The Undertaker's WWF Championship. Austin won when Hart was disqualified due to assistance from The British Bulldog . Austin faced Hart once again in a street fight on April 21 episode of Raw , injuring his opponent's leg with a steel chair during the bout. The match was ruled a no contest , but Austin proceeded to beat Hart while he

7424-436: The 2000 release ECW Anarchy Rulz . A Game Boy version of War Zone developed by Probe Entertainment was released on June 10, 1998. Modes of play include singles, tag team and WWF Challenge. There is also an option to set the difficulty level and length of matches. The game includes some of the wrestlers from the other versions, including Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker and Kane. All wrestlers share

7552-792: The Champions XXIX , Austin was inactive while rehabilitating a knee injury, returning in February 1995. In April 1995, Austin took part in a tournament for the vacant United States Championship, defeating Jim Duggan via countout in the first round but losing to Randy Savage in the quarter-final. He wrestled what would be his final match with WCW on May 21, 1995, defeating Eddie Jackie in a bout that aired on WCW Main Event . In late May and June 1995, Austin again appeared with New Japan Pro-Wrestling as part of its "Fighting Spirit Legend" series, primarily teaming with Arn Anderson and Ron Simmons . At

7680-511: The Create-A-Wrestler mode. In addition, the game's original release date was meant to be March 1999 before getting delayed until June, and then again until its ultimate release in August. Its first planned release date was the time on WWF television when "Dr. Death" Steve Williams was getting a midcard push, where he was managed by a heel Jim Ross . The official strategy guide of WWF Attitude makes mention of this, and "JR's boy"

7808-538: The Dreamcast - Attitude goes flat on you." (The Dreamcast version of WWF SmackDown! , however, was later cancelled.) The PlayStation version was also a bestseller in the UK. Stone Cold Steve Austin Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Steve Austin (born Steven James Williams ; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name " Stone Cold " Steve Austin ,

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7936-514: The Dreamcast version due to a wrongful death lawsuit being filed against the WWF by the Hart family. However, Owen is still a playable character in this version. The Dreamcast version was released several months after the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 games, around the same time as THQ's first WWF game WWF WrestleMania 2000 and features improved graphics compared to its PlayStation and Nintendo 64 counterparts, with higher-resolution texture maps and

8064-456: The McMahons won. The next night on Raw , Austin challenged and defeated The Undertaker to win his fourth WWF Championship. The two would compete in a "First Blood" match at Fully Loaded , with the stipulation that if Austin lost he would never compete for the WWF Championship again, but if Austin won, Vince would depart the company; Austin won after interference from X-Pac. Austin held on to

8192-535: The Nintendo 64's z-buffering support and the faster speed in creating cartridges over burning CDs to be advantageous during the development process. The game took roughly a year and a half to develop. Parts of the War Zone game engine were taken from another Acclaim Sports title, NHL Breakaway . One of the developers who worked on Breakaway , John Lund developed the "soft skin" technology that allowed characters to be rendered using models without seam lines. For

8320-521: The PlayStation version specifically sold over 2.2 million copies. WWF Attitude WWF Attitude is a professional wrestling video game based on the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) released by Acclaim Entertainment in 1999 for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 . A slightly enhanced port of the game was later released for the Dreamcast , as well as a handheld version for

8448-472: The PlayStation version was "not only the best wrestling game on the PlayStation, it's one of the most fun fighting games[,] period. As D-Generation X might say, 'Two words: Buy it!'" However, Scary Larry said that the Nintendo 64 version "provides the thrills and spills of an all-out street fight, but with much better scripting." Next Generation said that the former console version was "largely idiotic fun and especially great in multiplayer mode (up to four with

8576-478: The PlayStation version, "If you're a WWF fan, you'll want this game. Its expanded roster of features and wealth of kick-ass wretling superstars will have you slobber-knockin' and trash-talkin' with your buddies all night long. You smell what The Rock is cookin'?" The Freshman, however, said in another review that the N64 version's "massive array of options and its long roster of superstars will keep wrestling fans busy for

8704-425: The PlayStation version, they used 3D models with more polygons and larger textures . Reduced polygon models and smaller textures were used during four wrestler matches in the PlayStation versions, while the Nintendo 64 used the same models for all matches. Developers found they were able to run the game at up to 640x240 resolution and maintain a constant 30 frames per second . The development team aimed to create

8832-527: The Ring 1996 Austin's rise to stardom began at the 1996 King of the Ring , where he won the tournament by defeating Jake "The Snake" Roberts . At the time, Roberts was portraying a born-again Christian , which inspired Austin to ad-lib a famous promo during his coronation, mocking Roberts' religious faith and proclaiming the now-iconic catchphrase "Austin 3:16" as derision of the Bible verse John 3:16 . At

8960-647: The WCW World Television Championship to Barry Windham in a two-out-of-three-falls match on April 27, 1992, but regained the championship from Windham the following month. He enjoyed a second lengthy reign as champion, before losing the championship to Ricky Steamboat at Clash of the Champions XX in September 1992, while the Dangerous Alliance disbanded shortly thereafter. In August and September 1992, as part of

9088-603: The WWF Championship (Austin) and the Intercontinental Championship (Triple H) all at once. On the May 21 episode of Raw is War , Austin and Triple H defended their tag team championship against Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit ; during the match, Triple H tore his quadriceps , and the team lost the match and the tag team championship in a highly acclaimed bout, with Jim Ross saying the quartet created "magic", while wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer awarded

9216-415: The WWF Championship until SummerSlam on August 22 when he lost it to Mankind in a triple threat match also featuring Triple H . in the two months that followed, Triple H would gain possession of the title. Austin would get his rematch at No Mercy on October 17 against Triple H, but Austin lost after The Rock accidentally struck him with a sledgehammer shot meant for Triple H. The three were advertised for

9344-407: The WWF Championship. After Austin's official return at Unforgiven on September 24, Commissioner Mick Foley led an investigation to find out who ran Austin over, with the culprit revealed to be Rikishi . At No Mercy on October 22, Austin faced Rikishi in a No Holds Barred match, during which Austin attempted to run Rikishi down in a truck, but was prevented from doing so by officials, and the match

9472-472: The WWF at the end of 1995 after Diesel and Jim Ross helped convince WWF's owner Vince McMahon to hire him. He debuted in WWF on December 18, 1995, which was broadcast on the January 8, 1996, episode of Raw . His debut saw him awarded the Million Dollar Championship by his manager, Ted DiBiase . Wrestling in his debut match on Raw he defeated Matt Hardy using the moniker "The Ringmaster". While making his first pay-per-view (PPV) appearance at

9600-795: The WWF in November 1997, following the Montreal Screwjob (Hart and Bulldog would both appear in WCW/nWo Revenge released the same year). Ahmed Johnson left the company in February 1998 and Shawn Michaels temporarily retired in March 1998 after WrestleMania XIV , although he was still contracted with the promotion. In addition to 'Create-A-Wrestler' mode, which allows players to design their own character, there are 3 pre-made characters which can be unlocked. Trainer, who appears in Training Mode, has British Bulldog's moves set. Sue,

9728-452: The ability to edit the color of lights, ring ropes, turnbuckles, and logo on the side of the ring. WWF Attitude also features the audio commentary, provided by Shane McMahon and Jerry Lawler . Create-A-Wrestler mode was expanded with original entrance music, as well as superstar nicknames with unique commentary and crowd chants for each name. Vocals for the original entrance themes were provided by Road Dogg of The New Age Outlaws ,

9856-478: The arena. Some larger objects can inflict extra damage if moves are performed on top of them. Pins and submission attempts can also be used outside of the ring. There is no ring-out count. These sometimes feature as Grudge Matches in Career Mode. Tornado - A tag team match in which all players are "legal" and can participate at the same time. Meeting the win conditions will only eliminate one opponent. To win,

9984-550: The belt girl who appears in Season Mode when a championship has been won, has a moves set identical to Bret Hart. Rattlesnake is essentially a fifth attire for Steve Austin, but had maxed out attributes. There had been rumours of two additional characters; including a second ring-girl 'Pamela', and one based on Turok, the titular character from the Turok: Dinosaur Hunter series. However, these characters could only be made playable via cheat device. In addition to

10112-466: The belt. As Austin had used his pickup truck to aid his victory, McMahon ordered him to defend the championship against The Rock the next night on Raw . In an act of defiance, Austin forfeited the championship to The Rock before tossing the belt into the Piscataqua River . After Bret Hart's controversial departure for WCW, Austin and Michaels were the top stars in the company. Austin won

10240-448: The best wrestling game on the system. He called the PlayStation version the "best wrestling package ever released and shouldn't be missed by anyone with even a passing interest in wrestling." IGN ' s Douglass C. Perry complimented said version's presentation, speed of the gameplay and the in-depth create-a-wrestler mode in his review of the PlayStation version. Perry wrote that the game encompassed everything gamers were looking for in

10368-517: The chair before pinning him to win the WWF Championship for the fifth time. After the match, Austin shook hands with McMahon, turning heel for the first time since 1997. During a steel cage match with The Rock in a rematch for the WWF Championship the following night on Raw is War , Triple H came down to the ring with a sledgehammer. After teasing siding with The Rock, Triple H instead aligned himself with Austin and McMahon, attacking The Rock and put him out of action. Austin further cemented his heel turn

10496-541: The championship ended just five minutes later when he lost to Steamboat's replacement, Jim Duggan , in a match that lasted 35 seconds. Austin unsuccessfully challenged Duggan for the championship at both Halloween Havoc in October 1994 and Clash of the Champions XXIX in November 1994. The influence of Hulk Hogan and the Hulkamania era was beginning to take hold in WCW, with vice president Eric Bischoff saying this

10624-769: The championship for five months. In the main event of Clash of the Champions XXIII in June 1993, the Blondes defended their championship against Ric Flair and Arn Anderson in a two-out-of-three-falls, where despite losing the first two falls, retained the championship as the second fall had been determined by a disqualification caused by Barry Windham . At Clash of the Champions XXIV In August 1993, Austin and Pillman were scheduled to defend their championship against Anderson and Paul Roma but

10752-404: The commentators talking about each of the wrestlers before the match like on War Zone , each wrestler now has a set of pre-match taunts. Originally, the game was to include fictional jobbers that players would face early on in the Career Mode. For unknown reasons, the fictional jobbers were removed from the game; however, their voices, ring attires, and entrance theme songs remain accessible in

10880-440: The conclusion of this same promo, he further ad-libbed the line, "And that’s the bottom line, cuz Stone Cold said so." This, too, went on to become an iconic catchphrase, as Austin would conclude almost all of his future promos with it. Years later, Austin would say of this moment, "It’s like I got two at-bats and hit two grand slams." Austin's win and rise to stardom proved to be an unexpected stroke of luck. Hunter Hearst Helmsley

11008-449: The first-ever Raw to be broadcast from Madison Square Garden , McMahon told Austin he wasn't physically cleared to compete, and after several weeks of build-up, Austin delivered his Stone Cold Stunner to McMahon, causing the fans in attendance to go ballistic. Austin was then arrested as part of the storyline, and was sidelined until Survivor Series . However, in the interim, he made several appearances, one being at Badd Blood where he

11136-416: The following Thursday on SmackDown! , when, during an interview with Jim Ross about his actions at WrestleMania, he thought Ross was denouncing their friendship and then assaulted Ross. Austin and Triple H became a team known as The Two-Man Power Trip . Austin altered his character considerably over the next few months by becoming a whiny, temperamental prima donna who complained incessantly when he felt he

11264-581: The former "a pathetic port – the only reason this game gets one star is that the jewel case was reusable" (#62, February 2000). The Rookie of GamePro said of the Nintendo 64 version in one review, "If you loved War Zone , you're going to want to grab WWF Attitude . The combination of the huge lineup of wrestlers and excellent gameplay features like the Career mode and create-your-own-pay-per-view event will satisfy any wrestling fan's hunger for topnotch [ sic ] top-rope action." He also said of

11392-435: The game and anticipated the release of a sequel. Tim Hsu of GameRevolution also offered praised for the N64 version's presentation, multiplayer options and create-a-wrestler mode. However, he expressed disappointment with its limited single-player mode. Nevertheless, he wrote that the game was good enough that it might even appeal to gamers who were not fans of professional wrestling. Johnny Ballgame of GamePro said that

11520-530: The game's existing wrestlers. Matches are won when one player meets any of the win conditions within the time limit. They must use a combination of strikes, grapple moves and holds to wear down their opponent's health, thus weakening their resistance to win attempts. Matches can be won by: Versus - A regular match which pits 2 players against one another for a preset time limit. Most matches in Career Mode are Versus matches. Tag Team - These matches feature 2 teams of 2 players facing off. One member of each team

11648-539: The game's match commentary. Acclaim stated in early 1998 that the PlayStation version would only support up to two players, reasoning that the installed base for the PlayStation Multitap was too small to justify the additional month of development time needed to put in four-player support. However, by the time of release the PlayStation version did support four players. The same engine from War Zone would be reused for three follow-up games, ending with

11776-415: The intention of screwing him over. Austin drew entry number one, while McMahon drew number two thanks to Commissioner Shawn Michaels. During the Royal Rumble match, Austin followed McMahon out of the ring and into the backstage area, only to be ambushed by members of The Corporation , and an injured Austin was taken to the hospital. Austin, however, returned in an ambulance and re-entered the match, delivering

11904-406: The main roster and unlockable characters, there are also different attires for each superstar, with some such as Goldust and Stone Cold Steve Austin having more than others. Early in development, the game was called WWF '98 and featured a different ring and arena. The development team for War Zone consisted of 20 people, 10 each working on the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation versions. Development

12032-400: The match four-and-a-three-quarter stars out of a possible five in his Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Austin officially broke up The Power Trip on that week's SmackDown! , criticizing Triple H for his injury and for hitting him with the sledgehammer. He continued to align himself with McMahon and began feuding with Jericho and Benoit by himself, leading to a triple-threat match at King of

12160-453: The match when another referee made the count. Austin would lose the championship to The Undertaker at Over the Edge . Due to events revolving around Vince, Stephanie and Linda McMahon made Austin the chief executive officer (CEO) of the company as part of the storyline. Vince and Shane challenged Austin to a handicap ladder match at King of the Ring with the title of CEO on the line, which

12288-490: The match. After the match, Hart continued to hold the Sharpshooter on Austin, who, despite his wounds, refused any assistance back to the locker room, thus turning Hart heel and Austin babyface in a rare double-turn . Austin portrayed an anti-hero instead of a traditional babyface, and he didn't embrace the fans at first either. Austin eventually got his revenge on Hart in the main event of In Your House 14: Revenge of

12416-421: The new contract Austin had signed two weeks earlier with Shane. The Undertaker interfered and hit Austin with a shovel, earning Austin a disqualification victory, meaning The Rock remained champion. At Rock Bottom: In Your House , Austin defeated The Undertaker in a Buried Alive match after Kane performed a Tombstone Piledriver on The Undertaker which sent him into the grave. With this victory, Austin qualified for

12544-419: The next night on Raw to Sycho Sid due to Austin's interference, continuing their feud. At WrestleMania 13 , Hart defeated Austin in a highly acclaimed submission match with Ken Shamrock as a special referee. During the match, Austin had been cut, and was bleeding profusely from his face, but he refused to tap out when Hart locked in his Sharpshooter, and finally passed out from excessive blood loss, losing

12672-639: The other and Royal Rumble , in which the player must eliminate numerous wrestlers by throwing them over the top rope. Exhibition matches against the computer can also be played, but the computer opponent is always chosen at random. War Zone also has a create-a-player feature. It allows for players to create a custom wrestler, entering a name, customizing various attributes and choosing theme music. Wrestlers of both genders can be created, with various options for skin and muscle tone, as well as body type and in-ring apparel. Individual maneuvers cannot be chosen though and an entire set of moves must be copied from one of

12800-617: The place where Austin developed his microphone skills. Austin has credited Heyman as the man who taught him how to cut a promo. Whipwreck, who was the ECW World Heavyweight Champion at the time, defeated Austin in an upset to retain the championship at November to Remember . The Sandman defeated Austin and Whipwreck in a triple threat match at December to Dismember for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. Austin joined

12928-457: The platform to develop his future "Stone Cold" persona as well as a series of vignettes running down WCW in general and Bischoff in particular, most memorably in several promos that mocked his then-status as Nitro host by introducing Monday NyQuil , where he was joined by "Bongo" (a set of drums, meant to represent Steve "Mongo" McMichael ) in promoting the show "where the big boys play with each other." Several wrestlers have credited ECW as

13056-436: The prospect of Austin as his champion. Tyson was later announced as "the special enforcer" for the main event at WrestleMania XIV , and aligned himself with Michaels's stable D-Generation X (DX). This led to Austin's WWF Championship match against Michaels at WrestleMania XIV, which he won with help from Tyson, who turned on DX by making the deciding three-count against Michaels and later hit him with his knock-out punch. This

13184-408: The ropes, winning the match. This led to the first-ever PPV main event of Austin's WWF career at In Your House 13: Final Four , where he competed in a four corners elimination match against Hart, The Undertaker , and Vader for the vacant WWF Championship . Austin was eliminated early from the match after injuring his knee; Hart would win the match and the championship. Hart lost the championship

13312-538: The same moves except for their finishing moves. The Game Boy version of WWF War Zone also omits Bret Hart and the Headbangers. The Nintendo 64 and PlayStation versions received "favorable" reviews, while the Game Boy version received "mixed" reviews, according to video game review aggregator GameRankings . Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot complimented the gameplay and graphics and called the Nintendo 64 version

13440-440: The success Austin would have, and had advised him to ignore the advice given to him by producers and continue what he was doing as success required patience. "You sit there and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere! Talk about your Psalms, talk about John 3:16 ... Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!" Austin addressing Jake "The Snake" Roberts in his coronation promo at King of

13568-541: The ten-man Tag Team match main event of In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede , where Austin was partnered with Ken Shamrock, Goldust , and The Legion of Doom . At SummerSlam , Austin and Owen faced each other with the Intercontinental Championship on the line, with Owen adding a stipulation that Austin would have to kiss his buttocks if he lost. During the match, Owen botched a Tombstone Piledriver and dropped Austin on his head, resulting in

13696-564: The time) and feuded with Adams and his wife Toni . I was by no means an overnight success. What success I eventually did attain was the result of hard work. I always had a competitive nature. I learned the mechanics of wrestling really well and really fast. I learned how to have a good match, but I didn't have the right gimmick. —Austin discussing the lack of success he attained early in his career Austin debuted in World Championship Wrestling in May 1991. He

13824-515: The way for WWF's shift to more mature programming. At Survivor Series, in a match to determine the number-one contender for the WWF Championship , Hart defeated Austin by using a turnbuckle to push himself backward while locked in the Million Dollar Dream. During the 1997 Royal Rumble match, Austin was originally eliminated by Hart but the officials did not see it; he snuck back into the ring and eliminated Hart by throwing him over

13952-420: The way, Austin set his sights on The Rock , who stole Austin's championship belt after Austin suffered a beating by his Nation of Domination stablemates. In the weeks to come, The Rock began declaring himself to be "the best damn Intercontinental Champion ever." The Rock kept possession of the championship belt until D-Generation X: In Your House , when Austin defeated him to retain the championship and regain

14080-426: The weeks leading up to WrestleMania, animosity grew between Austin and The Rock, stemming from Austin's wife, Debra , being assigned to be The Rock's manager by Mr. McMahon. The match at WrestleMania was made a no disqualification match. During the match, McMahon came to the ring, preventing The Rock from pinning Austin on two separate occasions and giving Austin a steel chair. Austin then hit The Rock several times with

14208-401: The win conditions must be met against both rivals. Battle Royal - A singles match featuring 3 or 4 players. The first player to meet the win conditions over any opponent wins the match. Royal Rumble (Nintendo 64 only) - Opponents enter in intervals, and must be thrown over the top rope to be eliminated. All 16 main characters compete. The last player standing wins. The game's main roster

14336-464: The wrestling game genre. Anthony Baize of AllGame wrote that said version was "able to set itself aside from other games in the genre and offer players some newer, innovative options." Matt Casamassina also praised the game's graphics in his review of the Nintendo 64 version, calling it "the best looking wrestling game ever made." While he faulted the game for its collision detection , static cutscenes and small selection of wrestlers, he recommended

14464-498: Was Michaels's last match until 2002 as he had suffered two legitimate herniated discs and another completely crushed at the hands of The Undertaker in a casket match at the Royal Rumble . With Michaels's absence and Austin winning the WWF Championship, the "Austin Era" was ushered in. On Raw the following night, McMahon presented him with a new championship belt and warned Austin that he did not approve of his rebellious nature, desiring

14592-406: Was a "heel" prior to his death, his playable character is a "face", which meant that the crowd would cheer for him instead of booing. His death delayed the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 versions from its initial release of June 1999, likely to remove his Blue Blazer alternative costume as seen in early screenshots from an April 1999 prototype version of the game. The dedication to Owen was removed from

14720-404: Was also nominated for Best Nintendo 64 Game at the 1998 CNET Gamecenter Awards, which went to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time . The game gained favor with gamers and was a popular rental title in the U.S. for months after its release. The game was also a bestseller in the UK. War Zone initially sold more than 1 million copies within a year of its release. By 2004, it was reported that

14848-437: Was around a year old. His mother moved to Edna, Texas , where Austin would spend most of his childhood, and she married Ken Williams in 1968. Austin adopted his stepfather's surname and legally changed his name to Steven James Williams, after he was legally adopted, though he would legally change it again to Steve Austin later in life. He has a younger sister named Jennifer and three brothers named Scott, Kevin, and Jeff. Kevin

14976-549: Was begun on the PlayStation as developers waited to receive Nintendo 64 development kits. Space considerations of Nintendo 64 cartridges prevented developers from including the CD-quality audio and full motion video of wrestlers from the PlayStation version. Despite the limited cartridge space, lead programmer Justin Towns (who had previously worked on WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game and WWF In Your House for Acclaim) found

15104-435: Was deemed a no contest; Austin was subsequently arrested. During a handicap match against Rikishi and Kurt Angle , Triple H came down with the apparent intention of teaming with Austin, only to hit Austin with a sledgehammer and reveal he had instructed Rikishi to run him over. At Survivor Series on November 19, Triple H aimed to run Austin down again during their match but his plot failed when Austin lifted Triple H's car with

15232-675: Was forced to retire from in-ring competition in 2003 after multiple knee injuries and a serious neck injury at the 1997 SummerSlam event, making sporadic appearances ever since. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009 , and returned for a one-off match against Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38 in April 2022. Austin hosts the podcast The Steve Austin Show (2013–present), and the video podcast Broken Skull Sessions (2019–present) available on

15360-468: Was involved in the finish of a match between Owen and Faarooq for the vacant Intercontinental Championship. Austin hit Faarooq with the Intercontinental Championship belt while the referee's back was turned, causing Hart to win the match and the title. Austin's motive was to keep Owen as champion, as demonstrated when he interfered in Hart's matches on Raw . Austin regained the Intercontinental Championship from Hart at Survivor Series . With Hart out of

15488-413: Was likely the reason Austin lost to Duggan, who had been a popular figure during that period of time. Around this time, Austin pitched a storyline idea to Bischoff in which it would be revealed that Austin was a family member of Hogan. The proposal was quickly turned down on account of Bischoff's belief that Hogan would not work with somebody such as Austin, who was not a proven name. Following Clash of

15616-542: Was living approximately 30 miles from the Dallas Sportatorium , a building he later described fondly as a "magnificent shithole of a building". It was here that World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) ran shows on a Friday night. Deciding to become a wrestler, Austin joined "Gentleman" Chris Adams ' school in the Dallas Sportatorium , where Adams also wrestled for WCCW. The first seminar cost Austin $ 45 (equivalent to $ 111 in 2023). Adams' training

15744-447: Was nicknamed "Stunning" Steve Austin, a name and gimmick he later said he could not commit to. Austin was originally paired with a valet named Vivacious Veronica but was later joined by Jeannie Adams, known as " Lady Blossom ". Just weeks after his debut, Austin defeated Bobby Eaton for his first WCW World Television Championship on June 3, 1991, and later that year joined Paul E. Dangerously 's Dangerous Alliance . Austin lost

15872-399: Was not getting respect. He also developed a strange infatuation with McMahon, going to great lengths to impress him, even going so far as to hug him and bring him presents. Austin and Triple H ran roughshod over all their opponents, until coming up against The Undertaker and Kane. After defeating them for the WWF Tag Team Championship at Backlash on April 29, they held the tag team titles,

16000-606: Was on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance. At In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell , Austin had The Undertaker down with the Stone Cold Stunner but was distracted by Pillman, allowing The Undertaker to recover and perform a Tombstone Piledriver for the victory. On Raw , Austin partnered with the returning Shawn Michaels, as they both had a mutual enemy in the Harts. They defeated Owen Hart and The British Bulldog for

16128-628: Was originally scheduled to win the tournament, but plans changed as he was punished for taking part in the Curtain Call incident . "Austin 3:16" ultimately became one of the most popular catchphrases in wrestling history, and one of the best-selling T-shirts in WWE merchandise history. After defeating Yokozuna at SummerSlam , throughout August and September Austin spoke about Bret Hart , challenging him constantly and taunting him relentlessly, before Hart finally returned on Raw to challenge Austin to

16256-480: Was purely technical, teaching Austin the moves, but nothing relating to kayfabe . Austin would later describe Adams as a "conman" who "didn't try to smarten [him] up or teach [him] the real deal when it came to wrestling". His first lesson in that came from Tony Falk , the referee in his 1989 televised WCCW debut against Frogman LeBlanc, who called the spots to lead him to a pinfall and a $ 40 (equivalent to $ 98 in 2023) payday. Early influences on his career were

16384-641: Was the basis for everything that Stone Cold was to become. —Austin discussing his time in ECW Austin was contacted by Paul Heyman of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), who had previously managed him in WCW. Heyman hired him to do promos and in-ring interviews as he had not adequately recovered from his injury, paying Austin $ 500 (equivalent to $ 1,000 in 2023) a night. Changing his nickname to "Superstar", Austin debuted in ECW at Gangstas Paradise on September 18, 1995. While in ECW, Austin used

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