2. Steve Austin Sells His Soul To The Devil (WWF, 2001)
The WWF would not have won the Monday Night Wars without Steve Austin. His role as the badass anti-hero made him the most popular star in company history, sold the most merchandise and generated the highest PPV buyrates in years. When he returned in late 2000, it took a few months to get his momentum back but by WrestleMania X-Seven, his popularity was off the charts and it seemed like he was at the start of another massive run on top as the lead babyface of the company. Then at the end of his WWE Title match with The Rock, he did the unthinkable and aligned himself with his nemesis Vince McMahon, turning heel for the first time in four years. It was a shocking end to WrestleMania, yes, but it killed Austins momentum and when Triple H remained a heel and the babyface side was left with no top tier contenders ready to take down the evil Two Man Power Trip, it tanked. Stone Cold would turn face again in November 2001, but he was never as popular as he had been before the turn. It seemed to be an angle done more for the shock factor, and WWE hadn't figured out what they were going to do after. It didn't help Austin at all. He was just on the cusp of another huge wave of popularity. The people didnt want to hate him, they wanted to embrace The Texas Rattlesnake, but instead it pretty much ruined him as a top draw.
Kenny is a successful podcast host with Inside The Ropes, promotes exciting Q&A events in the UK with the likes of Sting and DDP, has interviewed the big guns like Foley, Jericho, Bruno and Austin and enjoys cheese a great deal.
