Why Steve Austin Wore Knee Braces Throughout His Wrestling Career, Explained
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Unlike the majority of superstars, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, arguably the most popular of them all, had a simple look. Hogan had his red and blue color scheme. The Rock had the Brahma bull tattoo and the expensive hardware. John Cena was a walking merchandise stand. But Austin wore a simple wrestling outfit of just black boots and trunks. The only extra accessories were the knee braces he wore later on in his career.
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Of course, the knee braces became a part of his character. For some reason, that extra hardware made him look even more of a badass and added to his anti-hero persona. The knee braces definitely looked cool, but Austin didn’t get those purely for the sake of looking cool.
Steve Austin Had A Number of Knee Injuries Well Before His Wrestling Career
In actuality, Austin started wearing knee braces because his body was breaking down from years of wear and tear. During his matches, Austin often had to stop to buckle them in place. During a match against the Undertaker, Austin threw a knee to the side of the head and the braces ended up busting his opponent’s ear, so they weren’t really practical in a wrestling ring, but Austin could not wrestle without some form of support to his knees.
Steve Austin had the greatest peak of any superstar ever but during his rise and walk through fame, he was constantly under a tremendous amount of pain. His neck issues are well documented, but Austin had struggled with knee issues that predated his pro wrestling career. Before WWE and pro wrestling, Steve Austin was a talented football player in high school and college. During this, Austin had a series of knee injuries.
When asked a question about how many knee surgeries he had gone through over the years, Steve Austin recounted tearing his ACL and left knee during a football game in college. The doctors decided not to fix his knee, so Austin went through rehab and actually played the next season. When he started in the wrestling business, Austin tore the ACL and PCL of the other knee and had to go through a lot of procedures and surgeries to get his knees good enough to wrestle.
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These knee issues started soon after he started in the big companies, and it is a testament to his toughness that he was able to wrestle a number of years without any sort of hardware to help him. The first time Austin came to the ring wearing knee braces was SummerSlam 1999 and from that point on, the knee braces became a part of his attire.
Steve Austin Wore Different Color Knee Braces During His Heel Run In 2001
During an episode of his podcast, Austin stated that the braces were not for looks, but because he really needed them for stability. He also mentioned that the nickname of “Bionic Redneck” reflected his need for additional hardware to keep his body from breaking apart, but over time it became a part of his character and accented his persona.
During his run as the anti-hero, the braces were black, but following his heel turn at WrestleMania 17, Austin came out with different colored braces from time to time, swapping out the black with red, gold and white. Austin’s knees were messed up well before his Stone Cold days, and he wore braces to keep his joints from falling apart, but knee braces eventually became a part of his iconic character.
