10 WWE Wrestlers Who Were Too Entertaining For Their Own Good
3. Stone Cold Steve Austin
Some things in wrestling simply shouldn't have happened. Brock Lesnar breaking the streak, Katie Vick, Ryback discovering Twitter... and Steve Austin turning heel at WrestleMania XVII.
Heel Austin didn't work for one major reason, and that was Stone Cold Steve Austin himself. The goodwill the Texas Rattlesnake had built up over the years simply couldn't be washed away no matter how nefarious he became. He tried to get heat, beating up good ol' J.R. and teaming with the then-loathsome Triple H, but fans simply couldn't bring themselves to hate him.
WWE themselves seemed to realise this by turning Austin into a comedy heel. The naturally charismatic Austin excelled at this, but it's hard to hate someone when they are making you bust a gut every time they appear onscreen.
Nearly 20 years on from his last match, The Rattlesnake is still guaranteed the biggest pop of the night whenever he swaggers to the ring. Steve Austin is loved by wrestling fans everywhere, and that simple fact killed any chance of him ever getting over as a heel.