Austin's rise to stardom began at the 1996 King of the Ring, where he won the King of the Ring tournament by defeating Jake "The Snake" Roberts in the finals. At the time, Roberts was portraying a born-again Christian, so after the match, Austin cut a famous promo during his coronation, mocking Roberts' religious faith and proclaiming the now-iconic catchphrase "Austin 3:16" as derision of the Bible verse . Austin's win and rise to stardom proved to be an untelegraphed stroke of luck. Hunter Hearst Helmsley was originally scheduled to win the tournament, but plans changed as he was punished for taking part in the infamous Curtain Call incident that had transpired earlier that year. "Austin 3:16" ultimately became one of the most popular catchphrases in wrestling history and subsequently the slogan became one of the best-selling T-shirts in WWE merchandise history.