Stone Cold runnin' the fade on JR& Michael Cole in '01 Appreciation

[Playaz Eyez]

Some of the greatest character work I had seen from Austin that year and provided viciousness that Austin hasn’t had in years. Just sucks that he never should’ve been heel in the first place.

it was a mistake not having a face to be his equal

the heel turn would've gone down better if the Rock stuck around, or they brought in Sting or Goldberg like they should've & not waited

Yep. The only other top faces were Taker and Kane, and to a lesser extent Benoit and Jericho, but they hadn’t been elevated yet

 

[OmegaK2099]

Rock was leaving to Hollywood and Austins only other nemesis at that time was triple h. I didn't see them turning trips face either and judging on his face run the following year, it would have stunk if they did.

 

[R=G]

 

[Mike the Executioner]

"That's your best friend out there, and you're taking it easy on your very best friend! DAMMIT, STEVE, COME ON! OPEN HIM UP! OPEN HIM UP! "

 

[HipHopStan]

I felt like the JR and Michael Cole beatdowns were apples and oranges. When Austin beat up JR, I got heated and was actually taking Austin serious as a heel. By the time he beat up Cole, I laughed my ass off and saw Austin as more of a comedic crazy heel.

 

[OmegaK2099]

I felt like the JR and Michael Cole beatdowns were apples and oranges. When Austin beat up JR, I got heated and was actually taking Austin serious as a heel. By the time he beat up Cole, I laughed my ass off and saw Austin as more of a comedic crazy heel.

That white woman: "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

 

[DaHNIC82]

He beat the dog shyt out of Cole.. It was beautiful

 

[Bob-omb]

That white woman: "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

LEAVE HIM ALONE

That always had me weak

 

[FunkDoc1112]

I felt like the JR and Michael Cole beatdowns were apples and oranges. When Austin beat up JR, I got heated and was actually taking Austin serious as a heel. By the time he beat up Cole, I laughed my ass off and saw Austin as more of a comedic crazy heel.

Even his reason for beating up Cole is comical in comparison. He beat him up...for saying something mean about Papa Vince

 

[Black Noise]

He killed JR before he threw the first punch. Had homeboy tearing up and shyt. Tossed his damn hat in the dirt

 

[OmegaK2099]

The crowd popped big for triple h when they thought he came out to face Austin.

 

[Rell84shots]

Even though it led to some entertaining segments and the 2 Man Power Trip, it was a mistake to turn him heel.

Nah, it really wasn't because people were legitimately booing him. The reason why it failed was because HHH got injured and they put him in The Alliance. People forget that they were getting booed out the building and wanted them to get their ass whooped every week.

 

[OmegaK2099]

Nah, it really wasn't because people were legitimately booing him. The reason why it failed was because HHH got injured and they put him in The Alliance. People forget that they were getting booed out the building and wanted them to get their ass whooped every week.

The crowd cheered when Austin shook hands with Vince, because they were in Texas. The two man power trip was a bust from the get go. Sure its entertaining as hell watching it today But things worked differently in 2001. That's why even their "bad" shows look a thousand times better than what we have now. Austin never differentiated his style from his babyface style and the crowd really didnt know what to make of Austin the heel add to the fact Stone Cold should never need triple H to get him over. Ever. They then stuck him with the alliance and again people responded like wtf. Following that they made him and vince best friends scary heel Austin was now a whiny little bytch. They they took unnecessary risks with their biggest money maker and it bit them in the ass.

 

[Rell84shots]

The crowd cheered when Austin shook hands with Vince, because they were in Texas. The two man power trip was a bust from the get go. Sure its entertaining as hell watching it today But things worked differently in 2001. That's why even their "bad" shows look a thousand times better than what we have now. Austin never differentiated his style from his babyface style and the crowd really didnt know what to make of Austin the heel add to the fact Stone Cold should never need triple H to get him over. Ever. They then stuck him with the alliance and again people responded like wtf. Following that they made him and vince best friends scary heel Austin was now a whiny little bytch. They they took unnecessary risks with their biggest money maker and it bit them in the ass.

That is revisionist as fukk, because there were plenty of times where Stone Cold was booed out of the building. Let's not pretend like he was treated like Hollywood Rock during his heel run. Fans wanted to see Taker, Kane, and the Hardy Boyz beat them up. The heel run lost steam shortly after joining the Alliance.

 

[Lost His Smile]

I remember being kinda Steve turned heel but it was funny as fukk to see JR and Cole get a mudhole stomped into their chest.