The Bedpan Heard ‘Round the World: How Stone Cold Steve Austin Clanged His Way Into Wrestling History

Few occurrences in professional wrestling history have become such an integral part of legend as the “Bedpan Incident” between Vince McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin. On Monday, October 5, 1998, a memorable incident happened during a Monday Night Raw episode, and in its wake, one of the most famous and most rewatched segments in wrestling history took shape. Let’s follow through with an examination of events surrounding the incident, its immediate impact, and its lasting impact in the universe of sports entertainment.

The Setting: Setting the Stage: The Austin-McMahon

To appreciate and comprehend the significance of the Bedpan Incident, one must first have a background in the feud between WWF Chairman Vince McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin. That feud, begun in earnest following Austin’s WWF Championship at WrestleMania XIV in early 1998, had become the hottest in professional wrestling in a matter of mere months.

The rivalry between McMahon and Austin reached its height in the week leading up to the pay-per-view, Judgment Day: In Your House. In the previous pay-per-view, Breakdown: In Your House, McMahon planned a triple threat WWF Championship defeat for Austin at the hands of Undertaker and Kane.

The Hospital Angle

Following Breakdown, McMahon incurred a (kayfabe) broken ankle at the hands of Undertaker and Kane. That affliction helped stage a perfect premise for one of the most memorable segments in Raw history.

The 5th of October 1998 episode of Raw, in the Breslin Arena in East Lansing, Michigan, included a sequence of vignettes with a visibly frustrated Vince McMahon in a hospital bed. McMahon, in a foul mood, shouted at nurses and became increasingly paranoid about an impending visit at any time by his arch-enemy, Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Mank and Socko: The Prelude

Before Austin’s infamous run-in, the in-room hospital sequence, a legend in its own right, included Mick Foley, portraying a character, in a role-playing stint in character, in a move that became a legend in its own right, “entertaining” injured McMahon.

It was during this tour that wrestling enthusiasts first encountered “Mr. Socko,” a sock puppet that became one of Mankind’s most renowned props. McMahon’s grumpy, no-nonsense personality and silly actions of both Mankind and Mr. Socko contrasted perfectly and foreshadowed events to come.

The rattlesnake bites.

Lying in a hospital bed surrounded by medical machines such as a heart monitor and an oxygen tank, Vince McMahon heard a shattering sound resonate through the complex. That unmistakable sound, the sound of shattering glass, and a sound that everyone in the WWF universe could instantly recall, filled McMahon with a state of alarm.

Dressed in doctor scrubs, Austin entered the room and at once started attacking McMahon, who lay in bed. The Texas Rattlesnake started throwing a flurry of punches and then moved to McMahon’s injured leg.

The journey of a toilet seat

In a move that would become reenacted numerous times in the next two and a quarter decades, Austin hurled a metal bedpan high over his head. With perfect comedic timing, Austin smashed down onto McMahon’s head with a metal bedpan, producing a loud “clang” that would become one of the most satisfying sound bites in wrestling.

The impact of the bedpan onto McMahon’s head was executed with such perfection that it reached a virtual cartoon level. What it sounded like when it hit, in fact, sounded almost unrealistically sharp and crystalline. All in one, it captured why McMahon and Austin’s feud was so fascinating: it shocked, it amused, and it was enormously satisfying for a fan base that had become infuriated with McMahon’s heel character.

The Aftermath

The Bedpan Incident was only a warm-up for McMahon’s attack at the hands of Austin that evening. Having beaten McMahon, Austin then continued to taunt him, employing medical tools in ever-growing variety and degradation. Things reached a crescendo when Austin inserted an enema tube into McMahon’s posterior, to the amusement of both the live crowd and television viewers.

The room attack at this hospital room was one of a series of memorable segments between McMahon and Austin during September and October 1998. Fans had seen a week beforehand Austin drive a Zamboni into an arena. The following week, Austin filled McMahon’s cherished Corvette with concrete.

Impact and Legacy

The Bedpan Incident soon became one of the most discussed events in WWE history. It summed up perfectly the irreverent, over-the-top attitude of the Attitude Era, an era in WWE television characterized by its edginess and boundary-pushing plotlines.

This episode helped make Stone Cold Steve Austin is a full-fledged anti-hero. His willingness to stop at nothing in tormenting his boss appealed to many, many of whom fantasized about getting even with overbearing employers of their own. Vince McMahon’s acting in the role of an arrogant, cowardly heel helped make him one of the greatest in-ring villains in wrestling.

The success of this angle demonstrated the effectiveness of taking wrestling storylines outside of the traditional in-ring setting. By bringing the action to a hospital room, WWE was able to create a unique and memorable moment that stood out from typical wrestling fare.

The Wider Context

The Bedpan Incident represented a lot more than a one-off incident of humor. It represented a key part of the overall Austin-McMahon narrative that fueled WWF television at the time. That feud continued and reached its head at WWF pay-per-view, Judgment Day: In Your House, on October 18, 1998, when Austin was to act as a special referee for a WWF Championship bout between Undertaker and Kane.

The rivalry between McMahon and Austin continued to escalate in the days leading to Judgment Day. On Monday, 12th of October, during a Monday episode of Raw, Austin filled McMahon’s Corvette with concrete, escalating their private feud even further. McMahon retaliated, announcing that he would terminate Austin for failure to report for referee work at an upcoming pay-per-view.

The Judgment Day Fallout

The Austin-McMahon feud continued at Judgment Day with a new plot twist. As promised, Austin refused to fairly referee Undertaker and Kane’s bout and, in a shocking move, attacked both wrestlers and proclaimed himself the winner of the contest. In consequence, McMahon, who had been concealed in a position behind a colossal video monitor, appeared and, in a spontaneous move, fired Austin.

But that wasn’t the conclusion of their rivalry. On the next night’s episode of Raw, Austin appeared even in the face of termination, with McMahon in a hostage scenario at gunpoint. “The gun” consisted of a gag prop, firing a “BANG! 3:16” flag. Austin then produced a five-year contract with a title shot guaranteed, signed off in McMahon’s son Shane’s

Cultural Impact

The Bedpan Incident has lived long in wrestling legend and can regularly be seen in collections of greatest moments in Raw history. With its mix of shock value, humor, and payback for a reviled heel, it perfectly captured in one incident why and how everyone enjoyed the Attitude Era.

Both McMahon and Austin have, even years afterward, discussed and chuckled about this segment with a mix of amusement and pride. McMahon, in post-DVD releases and documentaries, spoke about the price one’s body pays for such segments but credited them with creating effective television.

The History of Narration in Wrestling

The success of segments such as the Bedpan Incident spurred WWE towards increasingly complex, plot-dependent segments. In-ring work continued to form the backbone of the product, but segments such as these could introduce character development and narrative that could not possibly occur in a match alone6

This model for wrestling television impacted not only WWE but the whole industry overall. Other companies such as WCW started to include more sophisticated storylines and out-of-ring segments in their programs, seeing an appetite for such a form of entertainment in the fan base.

Conclusion: Definitional Moment of an Epoch

The Bedpan Incident is one of the most memorable events of the Attitude Era, a period in which WWE attained record success. It is a perfect demonstration of the level of freedom in terms of creating new and untried avenues for professional wrestling.

Not only a laughable incident but a defining moment in one of the greatest feuds in wrestling history, the Bedpan Incident helped drive WWE television for years, contributing to record-setting television and firmly planting both Stone Cold Steve Austin and Vince McMahon as two of the largest stars in the career of the sport.

Retracing that episode two years down the line, it’s clear that the echo of that “clang” of the bedpan can still resonate through the universe of professional wrestling. The Bedpan Incident remains a witness to effective storytelling, memorable characters, and a timely prop in creating wrestling sorcery.