When WWE Ruined Stone Cold Steve Austin | Cornette Side of the Ring

Stone Cold Steve Austin was the biggest star in professional wrestling. So why did WWE turn its most popular hero into a villain? Jim Cornette breaks down one of the most controversial booking decisions in WWE history: Stone Cold Steve Austin's shocking heel turn at WrestleMania X-Seven in 2001, when the Texas Rattlesnake joined forces with his longtime enemy, Vince McMahon, to defeat The Rock. From his early days in WCW and his transformation from The Ringmaster into Stone Cold Steve Austin to the legendary Austin 3:16 promo, Cornette revisits the rise of the superstar who helped define WWE's Attitude Era. He explains how Austin's rebellious persona, iconic rivalry with Mr. McMahon, and connection with wrestling fans helped WWF defeat WCW in the Monday Night Wars. But after years of record-breaking success, WWE made a decision Cornette believes destroyed the very character that made Austin a phenomenon. Why turn wrestling's biggest hero into a bad guy? And what happened when fans were suddenly expected to boo the man they'd spent years cheering? Cornette shares his unfiltered perspective on Austin's heel turn, the fallout for WWE, and the booking mistake he believes professional wrestling never fully recovered from. About Cornette Side of the Ring: Legendary wrestling manager and historian Jim Cornette pulls back the curtain on outrageous, infamous, and unforgettable moments in pro wrestling, offering his unfiltered perspective and opinions in a companion series to Dark Side of the Ring. #Sports #Wrestling #WWE 00:00 How WWE ruined Stone Cold Steve Austin 00:27 The rise of Steve Austin 01:03 Eric Bischoff fires Austin from WCW 01:33 Austin arrives in the WWF as The Ringmaster 02:07 The birth of Stone Cold Steve Austin 02:40 Austin finds his voice 02:52 The legendary Austin 3:16 promo 03:20 Stone Cold becomes wrestling's biggest hero 04:11 The iconic Stone Cold vs. Mr. McMahon rivalry 05:02 Why fans connected with Austin 05:31 Stone Cold helps WWF win the Monday Night Wars 06:11 The decision to turn Austin heel 06:36 WrestleMania 17: Austin joins Vince McMahon 07:07 Why the heel turn betrayed the fans 07:43 The moment wrestling fans lost faith 08:06 Cornette on the damage to Austin's character 08:44 WWE struggles without its biggest attraction 08:59 Why Austin's villain persona didn't work 09:39 Why WWE never needed to change Stone Cold 10:07 The fallout from Austin's heel turn 10:25 Cornette's warning about taking fans for granted Subscribe to Jim Cornette here:    / @officialjimcornette   Listen to Jim Cornette's podcasts here: https://www.jimcornette.com/podcasts.... https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... https://open.spotify.com/show/0az4PZG... https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/af2... Follow Jim Cornette on X: https://x.com/thejimcornette Subscribe to VICE Sports here: http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE-Sports Follow VICE Sports here: Facebook:   / vicesports   Twitter:   / vicesports   Instagram:   / vicesports   TikTok:   / vicesports   Follow VICE TV: Website | https://www.vicetv.com Channel Finder | https://www.vicetv.com/en_us/channel-... Facebook |   / vicetv   Twitter | https://x.com/vicetv Instagram |   / vicetv