Long before John Cena's heel run left many fans scratching their heads, the go to example for a less than successful turn was Stone Cold Steve Austin's switch to the dark side in 2001. Still arguably the biggest star in the wrestling at the time, Austin decided to turn heel at WrestleMania 17, siding with Vince McMahon in order to defeat The Rock and win the WWE Championship. The move proved to be unpopular, including with Austin, who has called the move one of the biggest mistakes of his career. Others, meanwhile, have cited the turn, along with the failed WCW Invasion angle, as the turning point where the WWE's boom period during the Attitude Era came to an end.
Then WWE announcer Jim Ross had a front row seat to Austin's heel turn and also got to see it develop behind the scenes as WWE's head of talent relations and as, arguably, Austin's closest friend in the business at the time. On the latest edition of "Grilling JR," co-host Conrad Thompson was discussing recent comments Austin made about regretting the heel turn, prompting Ross to reveal that he had not only been against the idea, but had actively tried to persuade Austin, Vince McMahon, and others to change their minds about it.
"I thought it was a bad fit," Ross said. "I thought it was bad creative. I tried to talk everybody who would listen out of doing it. I think Steve probably...like you said, in his own words, if he had to do it all over again, he wouldn't have done it. And that would've been fine. That would've been fine. Nobody would've protested. Rock would not have said s**t."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Grilling JR" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
