10 Wrestlers You Can’t Believe WWE Ruined

3. Steve Austin

alexa bliss bayley
WWE.com

The WWF made a critical error turning 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin heel at the infamous climax of WrestleMania X-Seven. House show business; merchandise; ratings; everything suffered in its wake. Austin was running out of steam, but he wasn't limping out back - besides which, The Rock was temporarily bound for Hollywood. What sense did removing the two biggest stars from the picture make?

Unlike The Rock, who veered so effortlessly from loveable pr*ck to pr*ck, and could thus veer from face to heel with an effortless, organic fluidity, fans simply could not accept Austin in the heel role. The power of the character lay in its authenticity. Austin was the antiestablishment - take that away from him, and you take him away from himself. As entertaining as his sycophantic singer act was, it paled in comparison to his renegade anarchist - and there was really no going back for Austin as a top-level draw. He remained immensely popular - the fans didn't want him to turn for that reason - but his armour had been dented.

After a capricious 2001 and a turbulent 2002, Austin reverted to his Bionic Redneck persona in 2003 in time for his Show of Shows trilogy blowout with The Rock. The WrestleMania XIX buy rate of just 550,000 fell well short of projections.

The heavily hyped Hulk Hogan Vs. Vince McMahon showdown was blamed in most quarters - but Austin still couldn't save the day.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!