While Steve Austin made his initial splash as a heel in World Championship Wrestling and even debuted in WWE as a heel, his violently rebellious attitude eventually won over fans, resulting in Austin becoming a babyface -- albeit a violent, rebellious one. As Stone Cold Steve Austin, he was the top star in WWE, and one of the defining figures of the Attitude Era.
However, in 2001, that babyface run came to an end with a surprising heel turn that wasn’t exactly warmly received by fans to the point where it’s largely considered a failure. But it was an interesting time nevertheless, so let’s run through the history of Steve Austin’s heel run.
10 Background
As previously stated, Steve Austin’s debut gimmick in WWE isn’t exactly what Austin is known for today. In 1995, he was “The Ringmaster,” and managed by Ted DiBiase despite Austin having just proven in ECW that he could deliver a blistering promo. Eventually, however, The Ringmaster moniker was dropped, DiBiase moved on, and Austin evolved into Stone Cold. A feud with Bret “The Hitman” Hart led to the great Submission Match at WrestleMania 13 that also resulted in Austin’s face turn, setting the stage for Stone Cold to be WWE’s top babyface.
9 The Feud With McMahon
Aside from The Rock, Steve Austin’s biggest rival was his own employer, Vince McMahon. Austin’s demeanor rankled Vince, but the boss of the WWE couldn’t actually fire him, as Austin was basically WWE’s cash cow. As a result, their relationship became something in the vein of Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, as Steve Austin spent years terrorizing his boss, delivering countless Stone Cold Stunners, and even attacking him in a hospital.
8 WrestleMania X-7
The main event of the beloved WrestleMania X-7 featured the marquee rivalry of the Attitude Era, as Steve Austin challenged The Rock for the WWE Championship. The bout was a fun, No DQ affair, but things got strange once Vince McMahon came to the ring and started interfering on Austin’s behalf.
After putting away Rocky and winning the WWE Championship with McMahon’s help, Steve Austin shook hands with his former foe, signaling a very surprising heel turn. For this reason, many fans consider WrestleMania X-7 to be an endpoint of sorts for the Attitude Era.
7 The Love For McMahon
Given that much of Austin’s babyface persona was rooted in his feud with Vince McMahon, a heel Austin would need to have a different kind of relationship with McMahon. Hilariously, that would mean hitting a complete 180 and being absurdly nice and ingratiating rather than hostile -- starting with referring to the boss as “Mr. McMahon,” which the old Stone Cold would never do. Gone was his rebellious attitude, too -- instead, Austin would act like an egotistical diva.
6 The Two-Man Power Trip
On the Raw immediately after WrestleMania X-7, Steve Austin and The Rock would have a rematch for the WWE Championship, during which Triple H would interfere on Austin’s behalf. From there, Triple H and Austin would form an alliance called The Two-Man Power Trip, and at one point were so dominant that they held the WWE Championship, the Intercontinental Championship, and the Tag Team Title. This duo would be short-lived, however, as Triple H would tear one of his quads, forcing the Power Trip to break up.
5 A Brief Face Turn
In the months following WrestleMania X-7, WWE’s big concern was the Invasion storyline, where wrestlers from the now-defunct promotions of WCW and ECW formed an Alliance to oppose WWE. As the situation became dire, Vince McMahon begged Austin to return to his old Stone Cold ways and take part in the big Alliance vs. WWE InVasion pay-per-view. Despite his reservations about fighting alongside Kurt Angle, Austin actually turned face to lead the charge.
4 The Alliance
Austin’s face turn was short-lived. The main event of InVasion in July of 2001 was a five-on-five tag bout between the WWE (led by Austin and featuring Kurt Angle and more) and the WCW/ECW Alliance (with Diamond Dallas Page, The Dudley Boyz, and more).
It was during this match that Austin turned heel, but in a different way. He turned on Angle, delivering a stunner to help the Alliance get the win, and ended up becoming the leader of the group.
3 Feuding with Angle
Steve Austin’s reason for betraying WWE was jealousy regarding Vince McMahon’s favoring of Kurt Angle, and so Angle and Austin entered a feud for the WWE Championship. Over the following months, Austin would lose the title only to win it back and ultimately retain it at No Mercy in October. Before long, Angle himself would defect to the Alliance, seemingly putting an end to the Austin/Angle feud.
2 The End of the Alliance
The end of the Invasion storyline came at November 2001’s Survivor Series, where the main event was an elimination match between WWE and The Alliance with the highest stakes: the winner of the bout would take over the company, with the losing group dissolving. Kurt Angle and Steve Austin were on the same team, but the match came down to The Rock vs. Austin to determine the fate of WWE. Angle -- previously eliminated -- returned to cost Austin the match, ending The Alliance.
1 Turning Face Again
On the Raw following Survivor Series, Vince McMahon attempted to award Steve Austin’s WWE Championship to Kurt Angle for Angle’s role in saving WWE. However, that was interrupted by a returning Ric Flair, who announced that he was now a co-owner of the company. In overriding the ultimately villainous McMahon’s decision, Flair gave the title belt to Steve Austin, signaling Austin’s return to being a babyface. From there, Austin resumed his title feud with Kurt Angle, ultimately retaining.