Steve Austin's genuine rise to superstardom began on June 23, 1996, when he won the WWF's annual King of the Ring single-elimination tournament on PPV. After toppling Marc Mero in the semi-finals, he defeated the veteran Jake "The Snake" Roberts in the final, who was then incorporating a moral, Christian message in his gimmick. After the match, Austin cut a promo during his coronation which viciously mocked Jake's reformed lifestyle.

Stone Cold Steve Austin's Coronation Video [1]

"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 3:16 ultimately became one of the most popular catchphrases in wrestling history. Austin would later turn face, as spontaneous fan support for him grew larger by the week.

Austin was not originally intended to win the tournament. The WWF originally booked Triple H to win. However, the WWF changed its plans a few weeks before the PPV because of the MSG Incident.

Austin, still a heel, was somewhat underused by the WWF for the next few months, and was mired in midcard feuds with the likes of Yokozuna and Triple H. One thing drove Austin on, however: the in-exile and unhappy Bret Hart. Austin spoke about Hart constantly and taunted him relentlessly on TV (one memorable quote had Austin saying "If you put the letter 'S' in front of 'Hitman', you have my exact opinion of Bret Hart"), before Hart finally accepted Austin's challenge and returned to the WWF in October 1996. At the Survivor Series that November, Hart cleanly pinned Austin in a match which helped create the foundations for the eventual intense year-long feud between the two. In spite of his loss, Austin's ever-growing popularity and notoriety multiplied after his strong showing. The match came hot on the heels of a highly controversial incident broadcast live on RAW, which saw Austin "break into" Brian Pillman's house, with Pillman allegedly brandishing a gun.