A ring-worn knee brace for former Million Dollar Champion “Stone Cold” Steve Austin recently went for a pretty penny.
Darren Rovell, founder of collectible media site Cllct, posted on X that Austin’s knee brace, used from 1998 to 2001, sold for $115,900 Saturday at Heritage Auctions. The brace also includes “Stone Cold’s” autograph, signed in 2012, as well as a lot of scrapes and dings.
Stone Cold Is Born
Austin debuted in WWE in 1996 initially as “The Ringmaster.” He was paired with Ted DiBiase and awarded DiBiase’s old Million Dollar Championship. Austin eventually changed his nickname to “Stone Cold” and struck it big after losing DiBiase and winning the 1996 King of the Ring, where he cut one of the most famous promos in wrestling history.
The trash-talking Texan first began wearing a brace on his left leg after suffering a knee injury just before WrestleMania 13 in 1997. Following another knee injury in 1999, this time to his right leg, he wrestled the rest of his career wearing two braces.
Between 1998 and 2001, Austin won the WWE Championship six times, with three of his title wins coming at WrestleMania, defeating Shawn Michaels (1998) and The Rock (1999, 2001). He won his final world title on Raw in October of 2001, beating Kurt Angle.
In 2003, Austin retired due to neck issues and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009. He returned for one more match in 2022, defeating Kevin Owens in the main event of WrestleMania Saturday. Just as he had done to so many opponents throughout his career, Austin stomped a mudhole in KO while wearing a brace on each leg.
Memories Equal Money
Wrestling memorabilia has become big business on auction sites. In March, boots worn by the late Hulk Hogan at the first WrestleMania sold for over $1 million, a record for a pro wrestling item, according to Sports Collectors Digest.
