The Many Faces Of Steve Austin - Ranked From Worst To Best
5. The Last Run
2001 closed with Austin once again flip-flopping between alignments, and turning face in the wake of Ric Flair’s WWE return. Aligning himself with the company’s new half-owner, Austin attacked Angle and McMahon, and as WWE Champion, entered a mini-tournament to determine the first Undisputed WWE Champion. Defeating Angle at the first stage, Austin fell to Chris Jericho in the decisive unification match thanks to interferences from Vince and Booker T, who he’d feud with in the aftermath.
As good as it was to have babyface Stone Cold back, the magic was gone. Other acts had captured the fans’ imagination during Austin’s damaging heel run, and he was gradually becoming just another face in the crowd. Age and injuries were catching up with him, and things took a sour turn after defeating Scott Hall in a hastily thrown-together match at WrestleMania X8.
Austin launched a scathing attack on WWE’s direction during an episode of Byte This, and buried the creative him for how he’d been booked. The company were forced to apologise a week later, but it was the beginning of the end: Austin literally walked out on WWE in June, and sat out for the rest of the year. The rift was mended the following year, but after losing to The Rock at WrestleMania XIX, Austin’s long-standing neck problems forced him into retirement.