10 Most Shocking WrestleMania Turns

1. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WrestleMania X-Seven)

trish kiss
WWE.com

It took guts to make the switch, and Steve Austin regrets it to this day, but 'The Rattlesnake' siding with the evil Vince McMahon at the conclusion of the biggest WWE pay-per-view of all time symbolically closed the door on the 'Attitude Era' and commenced the most creatively stimulating period Stone Cold had had in years.

Double teaming WWE Champion The Rock alongside Vince before pulverising 'The Great One' with a chair to score the victory, Austin memorably played off a line he'd delivered in a sit-down interview with the pair weeks earlier, in which he'd enforced how much he needed to beat Rock in subtle show of weakness hitherto unseen.

Joining forces with McMahon was previously unthinkable, but the only safe way to get the job done.

Truthfully, the heel turn drew mixed response from the mammoth live crowd in Houston, with Austin's strong Texas support struggling to come to terms with what they'd seen and/or overlooking the misdemeanour to enjoy his return to the top of the tree.

Over a decade on from the moment, the turn itself hasn't lost any impact and ages well as a bookend with Austin's first title win three years earlier at WrestleMania 14.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett