As a kid I didn't understand why I was supposed to hate any heel wrestler. It was just entertainment and fukkery at the end of the day and I didn't take it that seriously.
Looking back did you see Steve Austin's heel turn coming?
- Thread starter Dave24
- Start date
As a kid I didn't understand why I was supposed to hate any heel wrestler. It was just entertainment and fukkery at the end of the day and I didn't take it that seriously.
OmegaK2099
Gettin' It In
Saw it coming a mile away, at some point he had to turn heel. That shyt went south quick once he teamed up with triple h.
I loved Austin as a heel. BUT, it just happened too quickly for most fans to understand because he was naturally a heel anyway. WWE tried to be so sudden with the swerve that it didnt work. They should've dropped hints for weeks leading up to Mania.
But to me, his ring work was better overall as a pure heel.
His match with Kurt Angle at SummerSlam 01 is a classic everyone needs to see.
It's a shame he doesn't appreciate his heel run.
But to me, his ring work was better overall as a pure heel.
His match with Kurt Angle at SummerSlam 01 is a classic everyone needs to see.
It's a shame he doesn't appreciate his heel run.
A
Austin/Angle Summerslam 2001 is like...almost neck and neck with Austin/Rock for GOAT WWE main event
Austin/Angle Summerslam 2001 is like...almost neck and neck with Austin/Rock for GOAT WWE main event
Tres Leches
Empire Business
It didn’t make sense it should’ve happened in a rematch later on where he realizes he can’t beat the rock and does heel shyt on him instead of being forced at WM in Texas 
Plus the rock was in Hollywood the following year so what was the point
Plus the rock was in Hollywood the following year so what was the point
FunkDoc1112
Heavily Armed
Yeah the original plan was for Austin to turn heel, put Rock over at WM2000 and then shift to a part-time schedule afterwards.
JuvenileHell
Veteran
hm, funny that you say you were wierded out, I remember admiring the fact that he was so hungry for the title. That the both of them wanted the title so bad.
on a side note, that interview with Rock, Jr and Stone Cold in the same room is just legendary
3 gawds playing their roles perfectly To be honest I didn't hate Stone Cold until he teamed up with Triple H
What he did to Lita had me mortified as a kid 
Knew he was gonna win...didnt know how. Knew it wouldnt be a stunner clean in the ring
HipHopStan
Top 113 Poster
I'll just leave this here.
From a match story point of view, it doesn't get much better than X7.
Austin is already insecure from losing the 2 out of 3 falls match to HHH after being up 1 fall to none at the previous month's ppv. That isn't what's supposed to happen. He's supposed to come into WM strong. He also needs validation to himself that he can come back from serious neck surgery and again be top guy. Who's on top at the time? The Rock.
Austin's beat Rock before. However, the loss to HHH from the previous month coupled with a great dueling promo bit a week or two out where Austin states he NEEDS to win the title. Problem for him is, Rock isn't the same Rock from 1999. He's better and his popularity has skyrocketed in his absence. .
Which is why it isn't a surprise that Austin attacks Rock before the bell even rings. Odd behavior for a babyface. He bloodies Rock. Rock gives it all back. Things are evening up in a great brawl. You start to see Austin pulling things out from matches past and such to try to put Rock away. Stunner. Doesn't work. A second stunner, it worked in WMXV. Not this time. Austin tries to finish Rock with his own Rock Bottom. Still not good enough. Austin starts to even go back to old tricks like the Millon Dollar Dream and almost suffers defeat with it just like Survivor Series 96. Austin's facial expressions during this time of trying to finish off Rock are incredible. It's similar to Ultimate Warrior staring at his hands when he couldn't finish off Savage at WM7.
Austin goes to the final plan. Vince McMahon. The man he has hated for years. His greatest nemesis. Vince is the Ace up Austin's sleeve and Austin HAS to use it to put Rock away. Austin doesn't use any wrestling move or finisher to put Rock away. He uses pure barbarism with a chair to do it. Austin pretty much is gone in terms of this as a wrestling match and basically uses an assault with a weapon to get the job done. Even if he has to align himself with Vince to do it, Austin had to win this match or else him coming back would mean nothing. I didn't have as much of an issue with the chair and McMahon interference finish as others did because it fit within the story they were telling very nicely.
That is why it's their best match and it's the climax of the Attitude era for me. The other 2 matches can't even begin to scratch the surface of that kind of storytelling.
Rell84shots
Veteran
I didn't see it coming until they cut to Vince walking to the ring. The problem with Stone Cold's heel run was that they tried to make him funny. Stone Cold played the paranoid psycho heel perfectly, and that's how they should've kept him. This Judgement Day promo is exactly why he needed to be the desperate heel.
Grand Eeezus Maxwell
"Time is when, God....lounge!!"
I knew when he told Rocky he “needed” to have the title. I didn’t think he’d side with Vince that night, tho.
Last edited:
Broad Street Bully
Sick & Tide Sixers/Phillies/Cowboys fan smh
I need to beat you, Rock. I need it more than you could ever imagine. There can be only one world wrestling federation champion, Rock. And that will be Stone Cold Steve Austin. With all due respect.
I LOVED heel Austin and I even liked the Two Man Power Trip tag team with HHH. In my eyes both HHH tearing his quad ending the tag team and the wonky ass Invasion storyline ruined heel Austin.
ALTRUISM
"My enemy is a notion, not a nation."
I had a hunch when he briefly looked himself in the mirror before his entrance at 17. Mirrors are usually said to be a reflection of the soul; a man's knowledge of self. Austin saw himself desperate and in doubt on if he could be on top ever again. In retrospect, he was internalizing with himself one final time on even doing the unthinkable. Was the man he was willing to become worth the reward? We then later saw that yes, it was. Austin solidified his vanity as he went against everything he fought and stood against to obtain the gold- to once again be called "The Man".
Damn, they don't do storytelling like this anymore. :jordanwhew:
Damn, they don't do storytelling like this anymore. :jordanwhew: