12 Stone Cold Steve Austin Moments That Were Genuinely Savage
6. Austin And Vince's Attack On The Rock
It's still difficult to decide what to make of the closing events of Wrestlemania 17. On one hand, the Austin-Vince pair-up was effectively shocking, but on the other, it was an unworthy ending to a brilliant main event. The Rock and Stone Cold gave everything they had in that match. Twist or no twist, it was classic-bound material.
The savagery of Austin's heel-turn came when The Rock made a repeated refusal to stay down and fall to a three count. Suddenly the legendary Stone Cold seemed incapable of defeating his opponent without the collaborative interference of Vince McMahon.
Instead, Austin grew visibly frustrated, audibly growled "motherf**ker", and proceeded to pummel The Great One senseless with a steel chair until all hope was lost. Within the space of ten minutes, the audience had witnessed two very different Steve Austins, and were still reeling from the shock of that prospect when the final bell rang.
If nothing else, Austin acted out the transition with consummate professionalism, which made the insanity of his behaviour truly compelling. Whether it was memorable for the right reasons or not is still open for debate.