
Steve Austin’s heel turn at WrestleMania 17 was a huge moment in wrestling. It was a big surprise when Austin, who was a beloved hero, joined forces with his enemy, Vince McMahon, to beat The Rock for the WWE Championship. This was supposed to be a big change, but many fans didn’t like it.
People thought Austin’s bad guy act didn’t work because the wrestling business got worse when he turned. He went back to being a good guy after only eight months. But there were some interesting things that happened during his time as a bad guy that people often forget.
5. Heel Turn Made Sense
The story leading up to WrestleMania 17 showed that Austin was so desperate to win that he would do anything, even become a bad guy. This was a big shock, but if you paid attention, you could see that he was becoming obsessed with winning.
4. Setting Up Kurt Angle As Babyface
At the same time, Kurt Angle, who was a really good bad guy, became Austin’s friend. But when Austin chose to side with the WCW and ECW Alliance, they became enemies. Angle then became a good guy and had great matches with Austin.
3. First Feud With The Undertaker
After Austin turned bad, The Rock took a break, so The Undertaker became Austin’s new rival. Austin and Triple H formed a powerful team, and their story became the main focus, but The Undertaker kept trying to stop Austin’s title reign.

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More news: WWE News: Steve Austin Reveals Real-Life Vince McMahon Confrontation
2. Longest WWE Title Reign Of His Career
Austin’s main reason for turning bad was to keep the WWE Championship. As a good guy, his longest title reign was only 91 days. But as a heel, he held the title for 175 days, which was the longest of his career.
1. Never Got Triple H Match
Austin’s team with Triple H was doing really well until Triple H got injured. Austin then blamed Triple H for getting hurt and called him weak. This was supposed to set up a big match when Triple H returned, but WWE changed their plans and Austin turned babyface before that happened. Luckily, these two wrestlers worked plenty of times before then.
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