10 Most Shocking WWE Revelations Ever
2. Whatever It Takes
Even Stone Cold Steve Austin himself regrets his character's shift to the darkside at WrestleMania X-Seven, but context is everything in getting across how this was far more than just a turn for the sake of a turn.
His babyface schtick was staler than his beer-stained clobber by the end of the year 2000 - 'The Rattlesnake's actions actively damaged the product he returned to after a year on the shelf, and revenge feuds with Rikishi and Triple H didn't exactly promise popularity on par with his prior performances. Yet, for all it might have ultimately failed, the turn - foreshadowed by Austin himself - was as terrifying as it was inspired.
He might now wish he could go back in time and hit Vince McMahon with the Stone Cold Stunner to give the greatest WrestleMania of all time the happy ending, but the uneasy alliance formed provided a perfect imperfection.
Austin worked way out of his comfort zone alongside Vince McMahon, Kurt Angle and others over a summer heel stint but the traditional metrics of the company's success saw corporate line graphs plummeting. Buyrates were down. Ratings hit the skids. Merchandise sales were still reasonable for a heel, but the cheques weren't putting the finishing touches to his Broken Skull Ranch as quickly as they had done previously.