The April 27, 2000, episode of SmackDown is legendary for one of the most iconic and destructive moments of the Attitude Era: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin blowing up the DX Express. This segment was the perfect chaotic climax to the go-home show before the Backlash pay-per-view and sent a massive message to his rivals .
The Setup: A Night of Mind Games
The entire episode was built around the return of Stone Cold Steve Austin, who had been off television since being “run over” at Survivor Series 1999 . The Rock guaranteed that Austin would appear, which sent the McMahon-Helmsley Regime (Triple H, Vince & Shane McMahon, and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) into a paranoid frenzy throughout the night .
The faction spent the show falling for a series of pranks that hinted at Austin’s presence:
- The Foam Fingers: Two “Stone Cold” foam fingers were placed on the windshield wipers of the DX Express bus .
- The Pager: The numbers “316” appeared on Triple H’s pager .
- The Cardboard Cutout: Vince and Shane found a cardboard cutout of Austin, thinking they had cornered him .
- The Boombox: The group was led to a mop sink where Austin’s theme song was blasting from a boombox .
- The Cement: A deliveryman arrived with cement, seemingly for Vince’s Corvette, but it was just another tease .
The Explosive Climax
Frustrated by the games, Triple H, Vince, and Shane took to the ring to call out both The Rock and Austin . The Rock came out and, true to his word, pointed to the TitanTron.
The screen showed Stone Cold live in the parking lot, sitting in a crane labeled “Austin Deconstruction” . He delivered a simple, chilling message, stating that he has always been on his own side and was there to demonstrate what he does best: “tearing shit up” .
With that, Austin used the crane to drop a concrete barrier onto the DX Express bus. The impact caused the bus to erupt into a massive fireball, destroying it completely as Triple H and Vince McMahon watched in horror from the ring .
Aftermath and Legacy
This moment cemented Stone Cold’s return and showed his allegiance lay with The Rock in his fight against Triple H. Three days later at Backlash, Austin helped The Rock win the WWE Championship . In a final, defiant gesture, Austin later towed the wrecked remains of the DX Express to the ring behind his pickup truck .
The segment is widely considered one of the greatest moments in SmackDown history and is a perfect representation of the over-the-top, chaotic nature of the Attitude Era