10 Wrestlers Who Turned During Championship Reigns

5. Stone Cold Steve Austin (2001)

CM Punk
WWE.com

Vince McMahon was up against it when he looked into the eyes of his former enemy-turned-best friend and begged for the "Old Stone Cold" just weeks before his WWE squad went to war with his kids' WCW/ECW crews at the one and only Invasion pay-per-view.

It was on the penultimate SmackDown where McMahon screamed for the return of the real 'Rattlesnake', leading to a go-home Raw angle that's still fondly remembered over 20 years after it blew the roof off the building and several million homes at the time.

Austin's one-night babyface turn was absolutely electrifying, powered as it was by a fanbase that hadn't really wanted to boo him since his WrestleMania X-Seven heel turn. This was extremely telling for all the wrong reasons of course, not least because of what was to follow in the angle.

The Chairman had seemingly gotten everything he'd needed from his Champion at exactly the right time. But his over-confidence proved catastrophic...

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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