WWE: Top 25 Stone Cold Steve Austin Moments

21. "Austin Just Stunned Kurt Angle!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPw89iSIkRo A superstar that turns heel, to me, was always a game changer in most regards. Depending on the popularity of the superstar at the time, it was often met with exciting responses from the audience. During one of the most exciting periods in wrestling history was when the WWF and WCW brands collided, both Vince and Shane McMahon choosing sides and fighting for supremacy, and with it the most surprising heel turn ever: Stone Cold Steve Austin joining WCW (otherwise known as the Alliance). The Invasion of WCW back in 2001 put the WWF in a state of emergency. When Shane and Stephanie McMahon rose to crumble the WWF empire, and their father with it, the action was nonstop and totally epic. But it all came to a head at Invasion on July 22nd of 2001 when Vince, after invigorating and begging Stone Cold Steve Austin to return to his old ways, assembled a team of five WWF superstars captained by the Rattlesnake to take on the notorious team that was WCW. After a grueling war between all ten contestants it came down to the wire; Kurt Angle (part of the WWF team) and Booker T (part of the WCW team) went at it, Angle having the early advantage and energetic momentum to put the WCW team in their place. Just when the audience thought Angle had it won when Austin pushed a referee into the ring, Austin attacked Angle and hit him with a Stone Cold Stunner, giving the victory over to the WCW team. Stone Cold Steve Austin double-crossed Vince McMahon, the WWF, and the fans. An irrefutable heel turn indeed, Steve Austin came out and explained why he betrayed the WWF the night after. Announcing that he felt "unappreciated" about Vince asking for Austin to return to the "old Austin", and seeing Kurt Angle as Vince McMahon's lapdog to herald the WWF Championship, he had enough of the WWF and saw promise in the WCW/ECW union, which was therefore known as the Alliance. This moment marked a dark time for the Texas Rattlesnake, for fans would forever remember the day when their idol betrayed the cause to side with Vince's oldest rival, the WCW. Shrouded in controversy and animosity, it's without question one of Austin's most diabolical impacts in the business.