12 WWE Face & Heel Turns That IMMEDIATELY Backfired
2. Steve Austin Regrets Joining Mr. McMahon (2001)
Remember earlier when it was said that WWE fans didn't want to boo Eddie Guerrero, Matt Hardy or Becky Lynch. Well, stack that trio into the one package, crank up the frustration and then double it for one 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin. He'd turned anti-hero babyface at WrestleMania 13 in 1997, then Austin became the biggest star in the entire industry.
He was the everyman who called it like he saw it and never backed down in the face of sustained corporate pressure. So, imagine how weird it was for people to boo 'Stone Cold' once he turned on The Rock at 'Mania X-Seven to "shake hands with the devil himself" and become Vince McMahon's new puppet. That was a swerve, one possibly justifiable by Austin's 'I'll do anything to become WWF Champ' speech pre-show, but facts are facts: It was a swerve the fed audience didn't want, or at least weren't ready for.
They half-heartedly jeered Austin for brutally beating long-time pal Jim Ross on SmackDown shortly after 'Mania, but that's all it was. Half-hearted. Soon, Steve would regret not calling an audible to kick McMahon in the gut and haul him in for a huge Stunner in Houston's Reliant Astrodome. To this day, the legend believes he should've done just that.
Again, one could defend Austin's heel turn by saying he was a wounded/fallen hero desperately clawing his way back to the top, but that's merely playing devil's advocate for fun. The harsh reality is that changing anything about Steve's act in 2001 (especially considering he'd only just returned after a year away the previous October) was a mistake.
He'd never be the same again before retiring from a full time schedule in 2003.