Inside WWE legend Stone Cold Steve Austin’s transformation from beer-swilling heavyweight champ to mellow ‘cat dad’

WWE legend Stone Cold Steve Austin is considered by many as the toughest professional wrestler of all time.

Austin, 59, defined the famous Attitude Era alongside Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Stone Cold Steve Austin used to raise hell in the WWE ringGetty - Contributor

Austin used to chug beers after brutalising his WWE rivalsGetty - Contributor

Austin has now been dubbed a ‘cat dad’ on Instagram

The Texas Rattlesnake performed as a rebellious Texan who brutalised his rivals, flipped his boss Vince McMahon off before taking him out with a Stunner and then celebrated by chugging beers.

That led to six world title reigns and a number of classic matches against the likes of The Rock, Triple H, The Undertaker, Bret Hart and many more throughout his 14-year career before retiring in 2003.

But the ex-WWE Champion has left his hellraising and beer-swilling days behind him as he now enjoys retirement.

Instead, the American bruiser prefers to dedicate himself to his Broken Skull Ranch in Nevada with his land that he has filled with animals.

Austin‘s favourite pets are his two cats Pancho and Macho, whose pictures often appear on his Instagram page with many fans dubbing him a “cat dad”.

The former Intercontinental Champion has drastically mellowed, but the same doesn’t go for his two feline friends who are no strangers to raising hell themselves.

The pro wrestling great has previously shared videos of the cats running away when he tries to put them to bed.

Austin used to compete with the famous DTA [Don’t Trust Anyone] motto, but when it comes to his “handsome f*****g cats” he always forgives them and even spoils them with an annual pampering.

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The Hall of Famer spends a lot of time with his pets but also finds time for another newfound passion.

And that is none other than side-by-side racing (SXS), which led to him being named the Valley Off Road Racing Association’s “rookie of the year” soon after making his debut.

Austin also makes sporadic WWE appearances and even came out of retirement in 2022 at WrestleMania 38 where he defeated Kevin Owens in an impromptu No Holds Barred Match.