10 HUGE Tests Wrestlers Failed
2. Steve Austin Does Not, Strangely Enough, Do The Impossible
Steve Austin's 2001 heel turn was a disaster.
Often, because these things are complex, a convergence of factors leads to the decline of a pro wrestling company. In the case of the Attitude Era boom, the bust can be traced back to Austin shaking hands with Mr. McMahon at WrestleMania X-Seven.
Fans had no desire to boo Steve Austin, and over a tumultuous period marked by directionless creative, they had no idea if they were even meant to. The range of the new Austin act was appalling. The overcorrection was steep and desperate - Austin mauled defenceless women and ageing, non wrestlers in disturbing assaults - and undermined, too, by his comedic exploits alongside Kurt Angle and Mr. McMahon. Austin was once so dependable that fans tuned in with an effective guarantee that he'd make McMahon eat sh*t.
In 2001, he had great comedic timing, was also a psychopath, and he was a heel and a babyface and a heel and then a babyface again. Also, his new themes better belonged to the Ruthless Aggression butt-rock bargain bin. The whole thing was an omni-catastrophe.
The 2001 vintage extended Austin's famous 'Don't Trust Anybody' maxim to the man himself.