The Many Faces Of Steve Austin - Ranked From Worst To Best
8. The Old Stone Cold
Steve Austin originally entered the Invasion angle as a lone wolf. Fresh off a rivalry with Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho, Stone Cold spent much of his time competing with Kurt Angle for Vince McMahon’s affections. He stayed away from the frontlines when Shane McMahon was revealed as WCW’s new owner and Alliance wrestlers started pouring into WWE territory, but Vince was desperate to recruit him to Team WWE.
Still playing heel, Austin was reticent to join his home side. He was WWE Champion at the time, and didn’t want to team with Angle - a man he saw as competition for his belt. Frustrated, Vince threw everything on the table. He cut a fired-up, impassioned promo demanding Austin shake-off his mopey heel character, and bring back “the old Stone Cold” to captain Team WWE at the Invasion PPV.
It birthed one of the biggest pops in Raw history. The following week, Austin returned to his old ways and ripped through the backstage area, destroying every Alliance member in sight, before hitting the ring and nailing almost every single invader with a Stunner. An electric moment, but one that didn’t last, as Austin again turned heel to join the Alliance at Invasion. As incredible as Austin's short face turn was, the whole mini-story lasted just a few weeks and cannot place higher as a result.