Stone Cold Steve Austin is the first name that would come to our minds when we talk about the WWE’s Attitude Era. Such is the impact The Rattlesnake has made among all the wrestling fans. Despite getting his career cut short after sustaining various injuries, Austin 3:16 still lives inside the hearts of his hardcore fans.

Throughout his years in the business, Stone Cold Steve Austin has made many friends for whom he has the utmost respect, but some ended up on the bad side of The Rattlesnake. Without further ado, let’s take a look at which names are on the friends & foes list of Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Here are six wrestlers Austin always got along with as a friend, and four whom he had some real-life tension with.

Loved: Shawn Michaels

Two fellow Texans, Austin and Michaels found common ground despite major personality differences.

It appears Shawn Michaels was a living embodiment of his cocky on-screen character and had rubbed people backstage the wrong way on multiple occasions. When he had to take some time to rehab some injuries, he had his last match at WrestleMania 14, where he dropped the WWE Championship to Austin.

However, he had a change of heart after his return in 2002 and looked to mend relationships with the other superstars backstage, and in the process, HBK became good friends with Steve Austin. Both superstars have nothing but good things to say about each other these days, and there’s mutual respect between the two legends.

Didn’t Love: Jeff Jarrett

Austin reportedly refused to work a program with Jarrett in 1999.

Jeff Jarrett and Stone Cold Steve Austin never saw eye-to-eye even before their time together in WWE, and the Rattlesnake had that in mind when he refused to work with Jarrett when the creative team pitched a feud between them in 1999.

The main reason behind Austin’s refusal is Jarret cutting a promo on Austin’s infamous Austin 3:16 moniker. Jarrett claimed that it was blasphemous and a money grab in front of the audience. Vince Russo even claimed that Austin even had a physical altercation with Jarrett and was about ready to kill Jarrett and anyone who came in their way.

Loved: Goldberg

While the two never faced each other in the ring, mutual respect remains.

Those who saw the interaction between Goldberg and Stone Cold Steve Austin on the Broken Skull Sessions would realize that there was a high level of respect on display between the two legends.

The superstars with similar looks were the main attractions of their respective promotions during their prime and had mutual respect towards each other’s works. The two are still close with each other and have shared stories of their friendship.

It was quite a bummer that the fans never got to witness an actual match between the two legends as Austin had already retired by the time Goldberg debuted in WWE.

Didn’t Love: Ahmed Johnson

Johnson has laid some serious allegations against Austin, which have been denied.

Despite only spending a short time in WWE, Ahmed Johnson made sure to leave an everlasting impact by becoming the first African-American to win a singles championship in WWE when he won the Intercontinental Championship from Goldust.

He only had a short interaction with Stone Cold Steve Austin, and he didn’t leave a positive impression with the Rattlesnake. Ahmed Johnson alleged that he found Austin to be a little racist during their backstage interactions. He even accused Austin of writing racial slurs on his car and that some fans even caught him in the act. However, both Stone Cold and Mark Henry deny the claims of Austin being a racist, with Austin also denying vandalizing Johnson’s car.

Loved – The Rock

Despite competing for the company’s top spot, both grew a fond respect for each other.

The Rock was one of Stone Cold Steve Austin’s greatest rivals during his in-ring career with WWE. But apart from their on-screen relationship, The Rattlesnake and The Great One shared a beautiful real-life friendship.

Their friendship also reflected during their matches as we all know how The Rock enjoys selling the Stone Cold stunners. The final moments of their match at WrestleMania 19, where Austin put over The Rock in the former’s final match saw The Rock embrace and thank Austin for everything he’s done for the business, showing their relationship transcends beyond the ring.

Hated: Hulk Hogan

Austin turned down a match with Hogan at WrestleMania 18.

After Stone Cold signed with ECW after getting fired from WCW, he cut a promo imitating Hulk Hogan to take a shot at his former employers. That might be the beginning of the tainted relationship between the two legends.

WWE originally planned the icon vs. icon match between The Rock and Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 18 to be between Hogan and Austin. But both refused to lose to each other, thus forcing WWE to go ahead with The Rock as Austin’s replacement in the Hogan match.

After that, Hogan claimed Austin was a coward on multiple occasions, but a match between the two never materialized. However, everything appears to be alright between the two legends as they shared the ring during the opening segment of WrestleMania 30 at the Silverdome.

Loved: Bret Hart

Austin has said he owes much of his career to The Hitman

Bret Hart and Stone Cold Austin had many iconic matches throughout their careers, and the Hitman holds a special place in catapulting Austin into superstardom. Their most memorable match came at WrestleMania 13, where Hart defeated Austin in a submission match, which saw a rare double-turn when Hart refused to release Austin from the Sharpshooter while the latter refused to submit.

Austin and Hart have heaped praise on each other whenever they had the opportunity, with Hart claiming that the matches he had against Austin were some of his favorites in his career.

Didn’t Love: Owen Hart

Tensions remained following Owen’s botched piledriver on Austin.

While Stone Cold Steve Austin had the utmost respect for Bret Hart, he might not have felt the same way about his brother, the late Owen Hart. Austin and Owen Hart collided at SummerSlam 1997, with the latter defending his Intercontinental Championship with the added stipulation that if Austin lost, he had to kiss Owen Hart’s behind.

However, things took a nasty turn when Owen Hart botched a piledriver, resulting in Austin breaking his neck and suffering temporary paralysis. That injury became the cause of Austin’s early retirement at the age of 38, and to make things worse, Austin claimed that Owen Hart didn’t even apologize after the incident.

It led to Austin having legitimate heat with Owen Hart, and after the latter’s unfortunate passing, Austin even allegedly refused to attend the funeral.

Loved: Mick Foley

Austin and Foley became travel buddies on the road in WCW.

Mick Foley and Stone Cold Steve Austin had similar paths in their careers after getting fired from WCW. They also had a stint with ECW before they made it big in WWE, where they would get back at their former employers by becoming the biggest draws in WWE, helping them win the Monday Night Wars against WCW.

They were allies, tag team champions, and rivals throughout their time in WWE, but despite their on-screen booking, they remained friends in real life. They remain the best of friends, and it probably will stay that way for a long time.

Loved: Jim Ross

Austin and Jim Ross’ real-life friendship was regularly acknowleged on screen.

It’s not very often that a talent and someone from the office become close friends in wrestling, but Austin and Jim Ross are both synonymous with the Attitude Era; Austin for his character work, and Ross for immortalizing Austin’s biggest moments with legendary calls.

Austin and Ross have been very open about the fact that they were close friends in real life, with the friendship even being acknowledged on screen in an era where kayfabe was still somewhat kept intact.

Speaking about his rise to the top on his old podcast, the Steve Austin Show, Austin acknowledged that Ross’ commentary played a huge part in his success.