Long before crossover trailers and gaming cameos became routine, WWE pulled off one of its most unexpected pairings: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin versus Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator.

Austin fired the first shot. The Texas Rattlesnake posted a video welcoming Schwarzenegger's Terminator character to the WWE 2K16 roster, but the welcome came with an edge. Austin made clear he believed he could dispose of the Terminator, especially once the fight moved inside the squared circle. Schwarzenegger wasn't about to let that slide.

“You have actually issued a challenge to me, to Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator,” said Schwarzenegger via his YouTube channel. “I mean, what's the matter with you?" Schwarzenegger said before formally accepting the challenge.

The rivalry wasn't born in a wrestling ring. It started as a marketing showdown between two Hall of Fame-level icons ahead of the release of WWE 2K16 back in October 2015.

What followed was Schwarzenegger leaning fully into his own legend. He rattled off a resume built from decades of on-screen dominance: T-1000s, Predators, global criminal networks, caped superheroes, even politicians — framing Austin as just the latest name on a long list of threats he'd already handled.

"But what do you see? I'm still standing, you see," Schwarzenegger continued via his YouTube channel.

The proposal was simple. One-on-one, Stone Cold vs the Terminator, with the outcome left entirely in the hands of the fans who would eventually play the game themselves. Schwarzenegger closed with the kind of confidence that defined his career. 

"I eat challenges for breakfast. And right now, I'm very hungry," he said, before dropping his signature line straight from the Terminator franchise: "Hasta la vista, baby."

But Arnold’s appearance in WWE 2K16 was not out of the ordinary. It came with a significant achievement from his side.

Hall of Fame Induction becomes the catalyst for WWE 2K16

Schwarzenegger's ties to WWE go back decades, and they helped set the stage for his eventual video game showdown with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

In January 2015, WWE announced Schwarzenegger as the Celebrity Inductee for that year's Hall of Fame class. The honor recognized a career that already spanned bodybuilding, Hollywood and politics. Schwarzenegger became the youngest-ever Mr. Universe champion at just 20 years old, a bodybuilding milestone, before winning seven Mr. Olympia titles.

His WWE connections ran deep long before the induction. He built friendships with Hall of Famers like "Superstar" Billy Graham, Bruno Sammartino and Jesse "The Body" Ventura, the latter a co-star in both "Predator" and "The Running Man."

Schwarzenegger also made memorable in-ring appearances, including a 1999 SmackDown segment where he helped Stone Cold and The Rock's team defeat D-Generation X.

That long relationship with WWE laid the groundwork for what came next. Later in 2015, Schwarzenegger's Terminator character was added to the WWE 2K16 roster, setting up his viral back-and-forth with Austin.

Do you remember this Schwarzenegger-Austin showdown from 2015? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Zaid Quraishi

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi