10 Best Stone Cold Steve Austin Matches Ever
8. Vs. Kurt Angle (SummerSlam 2001)
Certainly it was a jarring sight for legions of Stone Cold fans to see Austin morph into the role of paranoid, insecure heel champion that needed his fragile mind coddled by the very boss he'd once made life hell for. It wasn't "classic" Stone Cold, but it was artistically effective, as Austin's 2001 heel turn yielded some truly inspired work.
The title defense against babyface Angle at SummerSlam had a set-up that was an unusual role-reversal: Austin as the underhanded, thin-skinned sneak, and Angle as the valiant machine. Freaky Friday it wasn't, as Austin summoned much of his old ass-kicker self for the match, working feverishly to put Angle away early. The Olympian refused to stay down after several Stunners, becoming some sort of milk-drinking Jason Voorhees.
The screwy DQ finish enraged the 15,000 on hand, drawing heat that even Roman Reigns' music can't conjure up. It's a testament to both men's abilities that they could work the crowd up to that level of emotional investment, and subsequent visceral response.