“It’s Not About You Being Bigger Than the Business”- Stone Cold Opens up on WWE Making the Iconic “Smoking Skull” Championship for Him

Stone Cold Steve Austin enjoyed the honor of having his own custom made WWE Championship belt. The Smoking Skull WWE Title belt was an ode to his iconic look and legendary character.

During a session with Sam Roberts, Stone Cold revealed how he felt knowing that only John Cena and him have custom made WWE belts.

“It was special for Stone Cold and again it doesn’t matter. When you get that belt or a year in the business, it’s not about you being bigger than the business, because you’re not. But, it’s pretty special or pretty unique.”

Even though Stone Cold had his own belt, he wanted to make sure his colleagues did not think of him differently; hence, he had to balance between being proud of the honor yet being grounded about the same.

“It was accepted. I don’t think the rest of the guys in the locker room, because you care what they think. You don’t want that ‘hey man this guy has really turned into an a** now that he has his own belt’. You really don’t want that. I don’t think anybody thought that.”

Why did WWE give Stone Cold Steve Austin his custom belt?

Stone Cold complained that the eagle WWE belt design poked him in the neck. He wanted to get the designed changes that would provide comfort and style to his character. Vince McMahon agreed to the idea and belt maker Joe Marshall created two of those, one silver and the other golden.

He carried the golden version of the belt for on-screen purposes and kept the silver one for himself.

Stone Cole cherished the belt until The Rock threw it in the river on one fine day in 1999. He may have done that out of spite since he never got his own custom belt, even though WWE had planned a Brahma Bull belt for him.

Why did The Rock never receive his own custom belt?

Joe Marshall had made a custom belt for The Rock, but it never reached the Superstar because of a shipping issue. In an interview, Dan of Leather by Dan revealed the true story behind the belt.

“The actual belt did exist. Joe Marshall did make it for WWE. It featured a 3D Brahma Bull head. What happened was the belt was actually lost in the mail. He sent the belt via FedEx as the story goes, and it was magically lost. WWE decided to go a different direction, but a few weeks later it was found. This belt was a myth for years until WWE finally decided to display it at Axxess.”

The Rock claimed that it wasn’t lost in the mail. However, he did not want to use it for long as it wasn’t an original idea.