LORDS OF THE RING

“STONE COLD” STEVE AUSTIN

PREMIERES Sunday, April 18, 8/7c

This tough-as-nails Texan kicks off A&E’s eight-week Biography event, recounting his journey from high school football star and fledgling regional wrestler surviving on tuna fish and raw potatoes to the WWE’s biggest, baddest star of the ’90s.

WHAT’S IN A NAME? Everything: It dictates the persona. As the Ringmaster, this future pop-culture icon was deemed unmarketable by WWE mastermind Vince McMahon. So in 1996 Austin rebranded to embrace his natural intensity, wisely nixing names like Chilly McFreeze and Fang McFrost before then-wife Jeanie Clarke told him, “Drink your tea before it gets .”