10 Wrestling Heel Turns That Never Should Have Happened
2. Steve Austin (WWF, 2001)
Even Steve Austin himself has outright claimed he should have booted Vince McMahon in the gut and hit his old enemy with a Stone Cold Stunner at WrestleMania X-Seven. Retrospect is a funny thing, but Austin chose to shake McMahon's hand instead and turn himself from beloved babyface into awkward heel overnight.
There was no need for Stone Cold to become a villain at 'Mania X-Seven. Watch the 2001 Royal Rumble match on the WWE Network and it's clear to see that there was still mileage in an ass-kicking, anti-hero machine. That was the Austin people wanted after all.
It's true that some of the comedy segments Austin produced with McMahon and Kurt Angle in the summer of '01 were worthwhile, but those aside, there wasn't much to cheer about for anyone. Steve Austin as a heel lacked the killer instinct that had made him so incredibly valuable as a babyface, causing the turn to struggle rather than reinvent.
Looking back, it's rather obvious that Austin should have hit that Stunner on McMahon and remained his mortal enemy. Turning a star like Stone Cold for the sake of it was never going to end well.