The Many Faces Of Steve Austin - Ranked From Worst To Best

There was never anything wrong with Austin’s performances as a heel in WWE, but there’s a good reason Austin himself calls his WrestleMania X-7 turn one of the worst decisions he’s ever made. Him shaking hands with “Satan himself” (as Jim Ross’ legendary call went) at the end of his epic match with The Rock was a shocking sight, and one that preceded a huge downturn in business.

In aligning himself with Vince McMahon, Austin became the antithesis of all he once stood for. He was at the absolute peak of his babyface popularity at the time, but went from a beer-swilling rebel to a whiney, attention-starved child overnight. After spending years warring with with Vince, Austin suddenly became his corporate stooge. Nobody wanted to boo him, and it always felt as though Austin’s heel persona was being forced on the audience rather than growing naturally.

Still, this run produced a couple of highlights. The brief Jim Ross feud was horrendous, but as the Two Man Power Trip, Austin and Triple H had some good moments together. They became WWE Tag Team Champions, but lost the belts to Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho in one of the best tag matches WWE have ever produced. Kurt Angle aligned with Austin when Triple H tore his quad, and the partnership produced some hilarious goofball comedy segments, but none of this supplants the long-term damage of Austin’s turn.