@@GorditoCrunch343 I guess they forgot the part where JR said "AUSTIN WAS DOING A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL!" But then again, I think announcers aren't heard quite loud during live shows.
That is the cheapest way to cold muscle therapy I used to do that instead of filling a bathtub full of ice just fill the kiddie pool with water in the fall
@aDg 2k18 unless you live in the north part of USA but I get your point but in my area it has been winter weather advisories during November most people who are people who watched WWE since before the name change to WWE mostly were northern areas until they hit their stride in the early to mid 90's even then most of the fan base was still comprised of mostly northern pro wrestling fans in comparison to wcw that was mostly southern fan base until the wackiness
The heel turn was great. One of the thing that turned cynics into marks so bad they're still being marks about it now. It made 100% sense in storyline and 100% sense out of storyline. He had basically acted like a heel since his return and the "I've gotta win, Rock" promo made it abundantly clear. Out of storyline you can't make an ace out of a guy who might be stepping into the ring for the last time every time he has a match, and had a shelf life of 2 years or so at best. The main issue with the dynamic is they weren't brave enough to pull the plug on Jericho (the most obvious choice), Angle, Benoit and Eddie or, later, RVD, Edge or Jeff Hardy (all of whom could have done it with the right positioning) as the next top guy until the 2002 OVW batch came along.
Austin being his own biggest critic is what lead to the heel turn. He did it because HE himself felt he was getting stale as a character. He also still beats himself up over the 2002 walk out as well as not taking the match with Hogan.
9:38 Seeing Scott Hall's sell for Austin's stunner left an emotional tear from my eye (in more ways than one). I can't wait to see Brian Zane make a Top 8 on your career, chico. RIP Scott Hall.
Not gonna lie, but Pillman 9mm was awesome especially that look Brian has. I love Jim Cornette's facial expression during an episode of Dark Side of the Ring when the segment is brought up. It was refreshing to see Stone Cold Steve Austin beat up the NWO too. RIP Scott Hall
The Pillman incident made Austin in my eyes. How many times do you see a heel do the “I’ll take on anybody, anywhere” deal, only to turn out that he’s BS’ing? Austin not only did it, but he beat up Pillman’s friends, and to top it off he really didn’t run from that gun. It was controversial, but that was the first time he really came off like a bad ass to me.
@@Thecallmemisterajp I liked the segment; considering how Austin had announced his plans to invade Brian's home it made perfect sense for him to have a gun (it's just a shame Kevin Kelly referred to the gun shots as "explosions").
brian zane is completely off his head including this in a worst list, the pillman thing was the 1st thing scsa is ever remembered for . brian is just another do gooder soy boy loser lol
Austin's few years in the business was just insane. WWF, Celebrity Deathmatch, Nash Bridges (yes, I watched those eps), so much going on at the time. It was insane.
Its crazy that Stone Cold was really only with the company, full time, for 6 years and 3 of them at the top. I've often thought 2002 was the worst for him because his booking was all over the place and never consistent. It makes me wonder if Vince ever actually got Austin in the long run with how badly he was booked then and once everything with WCW ended, that is why Austin was booked like he was being in the mid card like he was.
Things moved faster in the Attitude era than any other time in wrestling history. That's why more seemed to happen in Austin's few years on top than Cena's more than a decade on top. TBH, I don't think Vince really 'got' anyone. I really feel like he may be the luckiest man in wrestling.
A lot of it was that switch over to the Hollywood writers. Part of the reason I think that Steve had to turn in the first place is that cookie cutter, skit based, comedy heavy style that can get so frustrating now had begun to set in during his time off for injury, and he started to look out of place when he returned. That kind of booking suited the Rock really well, but Steve was an ass kicker, and at least on surface level that gimmicky stuff didn’t work for him. He actually made the most out of that heel turn, and IMO he was the MVP in 2001 for all the versatility he showed, but WWE just seemed unable to recapture a lot of the menace that made him popular, and he basically had to become a caricature to thrive in that environment.
5:42 Fang McFrost still sounds like a character in the Count Chocula universe. I'd imagine his cereal would be mint chocolate flavored. Frosted chocolate pieces with mint marshmallows
So if there's a best Austin moments list, pretty sure the supermarket brawl with Booker T (or just the whole angle of them fighting in random places altogether) will be in that, right?
This list is supposed to be his "WORST" moments. That segment and program was awesome so i will be surprised if it is. Now a list that features Austins "BEST" moments and the store with Booker T may very well be number 1.
I was at that Fall Brawl! I seem to remember the Duggan announcement getting a pop, but the short match was kind of rough. I'm also still disappointed I never got to see Steamboat wrestle in person, but that part isn't anyone's fault.
My dad had it recorded on a vhs tape I remember being pissed that Duggan won mainly because I was a wcw guy at the time (became a wwf fan in 97) and hated Hogan and his friends it was a horrible squash match especially after Austin faced one of my all time favorites Ricky Steamboat
The heel turn is old enough now to drink a steve-weiser lol. That was a great line! When he turned heel, it was one of the most disruptive and shocking moments for me as an 11 year old kid. I remember going to school the next day feeling confused and depressed. They should of never did that.
I was watching the Pillman segment live as a teen. I just stared at the tv in shock, one that The King was being a voice of reason screaming to call the cops, second thinking that Austin had been shot because they "lost the feed." It was enough that I didn't watch Monday Night Raw for a few months. But I was also the type to float back and forth during the War, I'd spend a few months watching Nitro then a few months watching Raw.
I actually remember that segment making it to my local news the next morning as if Stone Cold was shot fr 😂😂😂 Me and my dad both were eating breakfast laughing and calling the anchor a mark 🤣🤣🤣
The problem with Austin’s heel turn isn’t that it was Vince or in his hometown, on paper those would guarantee the proper heat, the problem was that the fans weren’t receptive to it. Austin kept getting cheered. When that happens, you know the heel turn has failed.
Austin himself has said if he could do it over again....he'd have called an audible at the end and stunned Vince (even teased it the next night on Raw in his big promo affirming the turn, before opting not to do it). Fans just didn't wanna see him ally with the enemy like that.
*19:20* Say whatever about Austin's untimely heel turn/run but those heel entrances of him maniacally laughing and grinning coming down the ramp were fucking awesome/iconic.
@@vikinghammer87 I don't mean it in a serious or harsh way, don't worry. It's still funny due to how precarious the situation is: you got no crowd, early pandemic WWE performing in the PC; you got Stone Cold, who is guaranteed to get a pop, coming to absolute silence, commentary dude tries to make his best and make it a celebration and gets kicked in the nuts before the Stunner (both for no reason, I think? He's no Michael Cole), again to no reaction at all.
Watching that heel turn live as a 5 year old Stone Cold fanatic was such a mind blowing experience. I’ll never forget how monumental that match and that ending truly was regardless on how much I feel like the heel turn shouldn’t have happened. Happy 3:16 Day and R.I.P. Scott Hall 🍻🙏🏻
Honestly I would have switched the positions of 2 and 1 cause ya Austin’s heel turn was a bad booking decision but there was atleast some good things that came out of it, the same can’t be said about the botched pile driver because literally nothing good came out of it. It drastically altered both Owen and Austin’s careers for the worst and is a hell of a lot worse then a bad booking decision
Agreed, there's really no comparison between a botched creative decision and a life-altering botched move that arguably shortened the career of Austin and the life of Owen. Our boy BZ has to take the L on this one
2002 might very well be the worst professional and personal year in Austin's life. From his sliding down the card, ultimately leading to him leaving, and of course the serious domestic abuse allegations from Debra.
@@persistentlypathetic6820 The reasons he left are as follows: 1. He was sliding down the card (and didn’t like the booking) 2. His body was breaking down irl (along with him going through everything with both his ex-wife & Debra) 3. They wanted Brock to beat him on RAW, with no build up.
Yeah, but history has shown Debra to be...less than an optimal/honest marriage partner putting it politely. Doesn't excuse any sort of domestic abuse if it happened, but she is not one to throw stones over bad behavior morally.
Okay, probably the lone dissenter here. I like the Austin Heel turn in 2001. Austin was never meant to be a hero. He wasn’t the people’s champion, he wasn’t a crusader, he was a guy who always looked out for number 1. His take no bs attitude and win by any means might have endeared him to the crowd, but at his core, Stone Cold has always been about Stone Cold. He can’t beat the Rock. He can’t become champion. He needs it. He needs that title to justify his existence. So he approaches Vince and says “I don’t like you. Matter of fact, I have purposely tried to ruin your life on multiple occasions. You have made my life a living hell and cheated me out of what’s mine for years. However…the Rock is walking around with my belt. He is calling himself WWF champion. Nuh uh! Not gonna happen. So, you’ve seen you cannot control me. You know what it’s like to have me as an enemy. Imagine…imagine what we could do, what we could accomplish if we were friends.” I think if Austin gave this kind of promo the night after mania, I think it could have worked out. Make it clear that Austin wasn’t working for Vince, it was Vince that worked for Austin. But, maybe I’m crazy.
Your right. People always talk about Austin’s heel “turn”, not so much his heel “run”. Yes his heel turn was terrible mainly cause of the shitty timing of it. Rock leaving for Hollywood, the fact there wasn’t a big babyface on the roster that was as popular as Rock and Austin, (maybe aside from Taker). But if u look past that, and solely focus on his heel run. That shit was pure gold.
@@stfi7566 exactly lol Jim Cornette said once if you can actually see someone's name as the main event at Wrestlemaia or Starrcade then they are a legit main eventer. The Rock vs Chilly McFreeze isn't going to sell any tickets lol
What's really unfortunate about #3 is that there was a really easy way to fix it: just rebook the tournament to make Austin vs. Lesnar the KOTR Finals at the PPV. Everyone would've gotten what they wanted: Lesnar would've still gotten over huge, perhaps even more than he did, the WWE would still have gotten their big future champion, and Austin would've gotten to make a new star at a money show like he wanted to.
I'll still take the heel turn over the abrupt face turn that happened the day after Survivor Series 2001. Even with regards to the timing and how there wasn't a big enough face to take over, there was the plan for Triple H to turn face and feud with Austin sometime after they lost the tag titles on Raw, and seeds were planted for that split between the two. But then Triple H tore his quad.
LOL! I had JUST gone back to watch your older content, so that BRILLIANT call back at the end would've made little to no sense if I hadn't. Nice one! 🙂
I think Austin's walk out wound up being massively beneficial for the WWE, once he was gone Vince was suddenly more focused on fixing the direction of the company which had drifted over the previous few months - he ended the tired nWo reboot, ended the storyline with him and Ric Flair being co-owners of the company, reshuffled the brand extension, brought in Eric Bischoff as GM etc.
Man, imagine how that wrestle mania heel turn would’ve gone if Austin has called a stunner on McMahon like he mentioned having considered iirc on his podcast. Might’ve gone from the worst moment to like. Probably not one of the best, but definitely would’ve been better
“Austin and Owen should’ve had careers that went at least till the late 2000s” The same can be said for any legend that died, retire, or suffered a career ending injury way before their time 😑
Wanna know something funny? From what I've heard, RAW cut to a shaving commercial after Pillman pointed at Austin. "He's probably dead. Fancy a shave?"
I appreciate you finding positives to take out of Steve Austin's post heel turn during the Alliance storyline, but the paranoid psycho character he came up with was still very dissonant from the type of character he was before, and particularly the abruptness of his character change made it less entertaining to me, and I think a lot of people felt the same way. But you know, I had been watching some of Steve Austin's heel work in WWF again, and you can tell he had a great talent for playing that type of entertaining bad guy, who could sometimes make you laugh and sometimes seemed absolutely ruthless. And of course he already did successful work as a heel with a hot wife manager before Debra, with Lady Blossom. So maybe the heel turn could have worked? IMO the real problem with it was that the WWE didn't do enough work on the storyline in the weeks leading to the turn, or the weeks after, to sell us on the idea that Steve would not only be willing to sell his soul to Vince, but become a completely different person in the process. Because if that turn happened without a personality change, people might have still hated it, but it would at least seem credible, and fans would keep tuned in to see what Steve was going to happen next. The fact that Steve was just so different a person just made the fans think about how the whole storyline was written poorly, which then brings attention to the fact that this was a wrestling storyline. The dissonance of Steve Austin becoming a cookie addicted corporate ass kisser, with no real good explanation of what happened, well it was like the transition between Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. It was just now what you expected, and not what you paid for, and that's why I do agree in the end that it's the worst thing in Austin's career. A sad but quick retirement from injuries would have been more dignified an exit than what actually played out for Steve
Idk I feel like his heel turn did make sense. He just lost to Triple H in that amazing 3 Stages of Hell Match before wrestlemania. Him losing that blood feud can explain why he was so desperate to win the title by any means necessary.
I would have loved to be in the room when they got the all clear in Pillmans house. Like they just have to awkwardly be like "alright everyone, shoots over. Good home invasion!" I imagine pillman just sitting there with the gun still trained on austin and he just makes a silly face to get a chuckle out of him.
Fun fact: the first time I ever watched any raw was when Austin attacked pillmans house at the end! I didn't know who anyone was or why they were filling this crazy dude in a house with a shaking camera but I was hooked.
How good is Stone Cold? There is at least a 99% chance the he beat the crap out of Debra irl and we ignored and forgot about it because we just love him that much. Oh I'm not shaming anyone for it. I'm just admitting it out loud.
Another great video from the z-man. I really hope you become all elite my friend. Your work with roh and everywhere else has shown you're such a great personality. I'd love to see you commentating or managing. You're worth the contract.
What is boggling about censorship is how violence is perfectly fine, but saying shit is crossing the line. You can have someone beat the bloody shot outta someone with captain America’s shield, but the moment you say “shit” all of a sudden you crossed the line
What if… The Two Man Power Trip vs The Two Chrises (Jericho and Benoit) ended just like in real life but Stone Cold, getting POed that Triple H got injured and that led them to losing the tag team titles, beats up Triple H and that beating would cause the fans to show sympathy towards Triple H and after he returned in 2002, he focuses on Stone Cold Steve Austin and the two of them will have a grudge match that will lead to a Triple H win against his former tag team partner
I think the real biggest oak stake with Austin’s 2001 heel turn is when he and Triple H hit Lita with that steel chair on RAW. Fans tuning out because of a lackluster turn is one thing, but I believe a large majority of casual fans were very put off by watching Steve beat a defenseless woman on National tv. Someone could fact check this, but I remember Bryan Alvarez reading the Nelson Ratings for RAW at the time and discovered that the RAW after that angle happened, the show suffered a months worth of viewership drop-off in that one week and they never really recovered those numbers.
That wasnt the reason....... Hell in ECW women were getting put through tables and the cans cheered. In the Attitude Era Austin stunned men and women and always a cheer. I think ppl was like wtf are they doin? They're ruining Austin.....
@@coreyhall1150 There's a bit of a difference between a man hitting a woman with a wrestling move than attacking her with fists or a weapon, it's the reason why The Rock giving Stephanie the Rock Bottom was just something that happened occasionally, while Jericho punching Shawn Michael's wife was an entire angle. Steve Austin and Triple H didn't just hit Lita once, they hit her several times to no consequence. To end your show with the biggest star in the company and one of the other top 5 guys celebrating after beating up a defenseless woman for a few minutes needless to say is just gross and weird and not good when your audience was as broad and large as WWF's was at the time. I certainly would not want my young kids to watch that moment and risk tuning into RAW next week to see if they'd do it again.
I remember that episode of Raw with the gunplay. It was very "I guess you guys aren't ready for that, but your kids are gonna love it." I didn't know what to make of it and neither did any of my friends, but when the Attitude Era went into full swing it started to make more sense.
I remember watching Pillman shoot the gun when it happened, and I remember sitting on my gramma's living room carpet with my jaw on the floor and then the screen went to black and I was yelling" You can't just go to a commercial now!?"
Brian, I'm curious if you ever watch any other wrestling review shows like OSW Review? I have to say W3 and OSW are two of my favorite channels on TH-cam!
I remember me and my cousin crying when Austin went heel. We were 10 years old and huge Austin marks. We experienced one of the two (not serious) worst things that can happen to child - their favorite wrestler goes bad. The other worst thing being your console breaking.
I think the walkout was by far the worse. Looking at it from being 20 I was on Austin side. Being almost 40 now, both are a little right, both are wrong. But the WHAT chant should have been #1
STEVE IS A LEADING FIGURE IN THE INDUSTRY...his politicking has been scrutinised but it wasn't quite as bad as Leveque or Bollea .. but it happened... his work rate was impeccable even though he had to brawl up his previous style of ring work.. No real worries there with his career.. I thank him for his work .. Thank you Mr Zane for your erudite video... Go wash up and gimmie a hell yeah 😎 🤪
Fun fact: Pillman's "9mm Glock" wasn't even a Glock. It was Fake Glock, played by none other than Glenn Jacobs!
That's gotta be Glock!
Damn they were shamelessly ripping arm Anderson's glock😓😓
@@kylemcgill2966 Martin Brundle makes an appearance! love it
"it's a stunt Glock"
At least Alec Baldwin wasn't on the set.
In regards to the heel turn: The crowd did go home happy. They had no idea Austin turned heel. Everyone there literally thought McMahon turned face.
100%. I remember talking to people after the show and they were convinced that Vince was now a good guy.
I was there live, and you speak the truth. As a Rock fan, the only one mad... was me, lol
It's me Austin!
@@robchuk4136 i wasn't there my man but i was mad right there with you lol
@@GorditoCrunch343 I guess they forgot the part where JR said "AUSTIN WAS DOING A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL!"
But then again, I think announcers aren't heard quite loud during live shows.
“Why was there a kiddie pool out in November?”
Brian Zane asking the REAL questions on this channel.
Brian Pillman Jr isn't affected by cold I guess
That is the cheapest way to cold muscle therapy I used to do that instead of filling a bathtub full of ice just fill the kiddie pool with water in the fall
In Cincinnati no less lol
@aDg 2k18 Idk, but I would guess (even if it wasn't in 1996), that November in Cincy is cold.
@aDg 2k18 unless you live in the north part of USA but I get your point but in my area it has been winter weather advisories during November most people who are people who watched WWE since before the name change to WWE mostly were northern areas until they hit their stride in the early to mid 90's even then most of the fan base was still comprised of mostly northern pro wrestling fans in comparison to wcw that was mostly southern fan base until the wackiness
Without the heel turn we wouldn't have gotten Kurt Angle in that cowboy hat or SCSA singing kambaya. Two classic scenes that still make me laugh.
Vince himself corpsed with the segment, which seemed quite rare lol
The heel turn was great. One of the thing that turned cynics into marks so bad they're still being marks about it now. It made 100% sense in storyline and 100% sense out of storyline. He had basically acted like a heel since his return and the "I've gotta win, Rock" promo made it abundantly clear. Out of storyline you can't make an ace out of a guy who might be stepping into the ring for the last time every time he has a match, and had a shelf life of 2 years or so at best.
The main issue with the dynamic is they weren't brave enough to pull the plug on Jericho (the most obvious choice), Angle, Benoit and Eddie or, later, RVD, Edge or Jeff Hardy (all of whom could have done it with the right positioning) as the next top guy until the 2002 OVW batch came along.
Austin being his own biggest critic is what lead to the heel turn. He did it because HE himself felt he was getting stale as a character. He also still beats himself up over the 2002 walk out as well as not taking the match with Hogan.
He says those are his 2 biggest regrets of his career.
What about regrets outside the ring?
@@closethockeyfan5284 who cares!
@@mentalphilanthropist35 you don't know that she didn't hit him first I know I have
@@wayneking9997 You wanna try that one again champ?
9:38 Seeing Scott Hall's sell for Austin's stunner left an emotional tear from my eye (in more ways than one).
I can't wait to see Brian Zane make a Top 8 on your career, chico.
RIP Scott Hall.
If Scott liked you, he'd make sure you look like a diamond
@@robertwoods3871 Fortunately, DDP made Scott looked like a diamond (more often than not).
R.I.P Scott Hall😥😥😥
It was a stupid sell.
Why do people talk so much about Hall's addiction issues (mostly harming himself) but forget Stone Cold's domestic violence and roid rages?
pretty sure the worst career moment of Steve Austin's life was beating Debra
I was going to comment the same thing. Maybe it's not a fun thing to end with, but it's real.
That was not apart of his career
@@aadilharoon1807 unfortunately you're right. The wwe black listed Debra and pretended it never happened
Yeah, but WWE doesn't acknowledge that, and he still got to show up in Wrestlemania, so, it's not exactly a bad career moment.
@@AdianoTMO69 the problem is, the abuse of Debra should have been his last career moment. Should have been fired.
Not gonna lie, but Pillman 9mm was awesome especially that look Brian has. I love Jim Cornette's facial expression during an episode of Dark Side of the Ring when the segment is brought up. It was refreshing to see Stone Cold Steve Austin beat up the NWO too.
RIP Scott Hall
The Pillman incident made Austin in my eyes. How many times do you see a heel do the “I’ll take on anybody, anywhere” deal, only to turn out that he’s BS’ing? Austin not only did it, but he beat up Pillman’s friends, and to top it off he really didn’t run from that gun. It was controversial, but that was the first time he really came off like a bad ass to me.
@@Thecallmemisterajp I liked the segment; considering how Austin had announced his plans to invade Brian's home it made perfect sense for him to have a gun (it's just a shame Kevin Kelly referred to the gun shots as "explosions").
brian zane is completely off his head including this in a worst list, the pillman thing was the 1st thing scsa is ever remembered for . brian is just another do gooder soy boy loser lol
No, ZZane, no... That segment with Stone Cold at the empty Performance Center was peak David Lynch.
That gum you like is going to come back in style
@@psuley1977 the owls are NOT what they seem 🦉
Austin's few years in the business was just insane. WWF, Celebrity Deathmatch, Nash Bridges (yes, I watched those eps), so much going on at the time. It was insane.
Celebrity Deathmatch is awesome
Jake Cage bro!!!
He was also in the final episode of the Dilbert cartoon as a judge...what a strange cameo
I loved Celebrity Deathmatch as a kid
Why do you have to defend? I loved Nash Bridges. I watched it every week with my My Parents.
Its crazy that Stone Cold was really only with the company, full time, for 6 years and 3 of them at the top. I've often thought 2002 was the worst for him because his booking was all over the place and never consistent. It makes me wonder if Vince ever actually got Austin in the long run with how badly he was booked then and once everything with WCW ended, that is why Austin was booked like he was being in the mid card like he was.
Things moved faster in the Attitude era than any other time in wrestling history. That's why more seemed to happen in Austin's few years on top than Cena's more than a decade on top.
TBH, I don't think Vince really 'got' anyone. I really feel like he may be the luckiest man in wrestling.
A lot of it was that switch over to the Hollywood writers. Part of the reason I think that Steve had to turn in the first place is that cookie cutter, skit based, comedy heavy style that can get so frustrating now had begun to set in during his time off for injury, and he started to look out of place when he returned. That kind of booking suited the Rock really well, but Steve was an ass kicker, and at least on surface level that gimmicky stuff didn’t work for him. He actually made the most out of that heel turn, and IMO he was the MVP in 2001 for all the versatility he showed, but WWE just seemed unable to recapture a lot of the menace that made him popular, and he basically had to become a caricature to thrive in that environment.
Lol that is crazy, just 3 years on top and hes regarded as one of the greatest pro wrestlers ever. That's how much impact he's had!
Austin was a mid card talent who accidentally tapped into hillbilly rage and imbecility with a throwaway line about a Bible verse
5:42 Fang McFrost still sounds like a character in the Count Chocula universe. I'd imagine his cereal would be mint chocolate flavored. Frosted chocolate pieces with mint marshmallows
It could be an abomnabol snowman as its monster. Id buy it in october!
Blade vs Fang McFrost for Wrestlemania.
So if there's a best Austin moments list, pretty sure the supermarket brawl with Booker T (or just the whole angle of them fighting in random places altogether) will be in that, right?
This list is supposed to be his "WORST" moments. That segment and program was awesome so i will be surprised if it is. Now a list that features Austins "BEST" moments and the store with Booker T may very well be number 1.
PRICE CHECK ON JACKASS!
I don't know.... Austin beating up Vince in the hospital is definitely up there....
@@jarrodhen8063 That's kinda what they said.
Him beating up Booker T in the supermarket was kinda funny. The time he chased Booker through a church was pretty funny too.
That ending bit with the Stone Cold soap had me in stitches. I totally forgot about that.
Me too, great callback lol. I wondered what was being teased before the punchline. Good stuff.
"The heel turn is legally old enough to drink a Steveweiser."
Hahahahahaha.
I was at that Fall Brawl! I seem to remember the Duggan announcement getting a pop, but the short match was kind of rough. I'm also still disappointed I never got to see Steamboat wrestle in person, but that part isn't anyone's fault.
My dad had it recorded on a vhs tape I remember being pissed that Duggan won mainly because I was a wcw guy at the time (became a wwf fan in 97) and hated Hogan and his friends it was a horrible squash match especially after Austin faced one of my all time favorites Ricky Steamboat
The heel turn is old enough now to drink a steve-weiser lol. That was a great line! When he turned heel, it was one of the most disruptive and shocking moments for me as an 11 year old kid. I remember going to school the next day feeling confused and depressed. They should of never did that.
Apparently Austin's Heel Turn was so bad that people in the arena thought that McMahon was turning face.
Trying to turn Austin heel in his own home state was always gonna be a disaster. How did they expect fans to boo their hero?
Lmao You smoking Parmesan cheese again?
I was watching the Pillman segment live as a teen. I just stared at the tv in shock, one that The King was being a voice of reason screaming to call the cops, second thinking that Austin had been shot because they "lost the feed." It was enough that I didn't watch Monday Night Raw for a few months. But I was also the type to float back and forth during the War, I'd spend a few months watching Nitro then a few months watching Raw.
I actually remember that segment making it to my local news the next morning as if Stone Cold was shot fr 😂😂😂 Me and my dad both were eating breakfast laughing and calling the anchor a mark 🤣🤣🤣
Why would you not watch after that? It was by far the most interesting thing the WWF had done in a long, long time.
I watched it live….it did it’s job. An “actual” gun on a wrestling show was funny. The screen going to static was hysterical.
The problem with Austin’s heel turn isn’t that it was Vince or in his hometown, on paper those would guarantee the proper heat, the problem was that the fans weren’t receptive to it. Austin kept getting cheered. When that happens, you know the heel turn has failed.
Austin himself has said if he could do it over again....he'd have called an audible at the end and stunned Vince (even teased it the next night on Raw in his big promo affirming the turn, before opting not to do it). Fans just didn't wanna see him ally with the enemy like that.
I will forever love the line "when Austin 3:16 meets 9mm glock!"
*19:20* Say whatever about Austin's untimely heel turn/run but those heel entrances of him maniacally laughing and grinning coming down the ramp were fucking awesome/iconic.
"We are just coming down of the rumors that he gonna have a Match at wrestlemania (..)" 😆 that aged pretty good hehe
Yeah thankfully that went well
The Pillman with a gun Raw happened literally the second week I started watching pro wrestling. I was instantly hooked lol
That Steve Austin empty arena segment was honestly hilarious to me, not gonna lie. I laugh every time I see it, maybe I have an awful sense of humor.
The Byron Saxton Rating System is tried and true
It's so sad and pathetic that it turns to the point of hilarity.
@@elneco4654 Sad and pathetic? Relax bro it’s pro wrestling. It’s not that serious
@@vikinghammer87 I don't mean it in a serious or harsh way, don't worry.
It's still funny due to how precarious the situation is: you got no crowd, early pandemic WWE performing in the PC; you got Stone Cold, who is guaranteed to get a pop, coming to absolute silence, commentary dude tries to make his best and make it a celebration and gets kicked in the nuts before the Stunner (both for no reason, I think? He's no Michael Cole), again to no reaction at all.
@@elneco4654 Lol yes I see what you're saying now.
3/14-pi day
3/15-ides of March
3/16-Austin day
3/17-St Patrick’s Day
I've decided that heel austin was some of his best character work as you describe. 2001 was a crazy good year for WWF that I've ignored for too long
Plus some of his best wrestling with Angle, Benoit, Jericho, HHH.
Lmao
Watching that heel turn live as a 5 year old Stone Cold fanatic was such a mind blowing experience. I’ll never forget how monumental that match and that ending truly was regardless on how much I feel like the heel turn shouldn’t have happened. Happy 3:16 Day and R.I.P. Scott Hall 🍻🙏🏻
Same here I was also 5 at the time and those two shaking hands is something that I couldn’t believe it was like if Batman shook jokers hand
"Here is your winner and NEEWWWWWWW WWE Champion......Chilly McFreeeeeeze!"
Honestly I would have switched the positions of 2 and 1 cause ya Austin’s heel turn was a bad booking decision but there was atleast some good things that came out of it, the same can’t be said about the botched pile driver because literally nothing good came out of it. It drastically altered both Owen and Austin’s careers for the worst and is a hell of a lot worse then a bad booking decision
Agreed, there's really no comparison between a botched creative decision and a life-altering botched move that arguably shortened the career of Austin and the life of Owen. Our boy BZ has to take the L on this one
Happy 3.16 day, Bri-guy, thanks for getting me back into wrestling after a 20 year hiatus
2002 might very well be the worst professional and personal year in Austin's life. From his sliding down the card, ultimately leading to him leaving, and of course the serious domestic abuse allegations from Debra.
I thought he left because his body was falling apart.
@@persistentlypathetic6820 The reasons he left are as follows:
1. He was sliding down the card (and didn’t like the booking)
2. His body was breaking down irl (along with him going through everything with both his ex-wife & Debra)
3. They wanted Brock to beat him on RAW, with no build up.
@@LimaKiloRomeo yeah I knew about the Brock thing, didn't he comeback after that?
Yeah, but history has shown Debra to be...less than an optimal/honest marriage partner putting it politely. Doesn't excuse any sort of domestic abuse if it happened, but she is not one to throw stones over bad behavior morally.
@@mattm7798 Not like its the only time Austin has been in hot water over domestic violence
The stupid WHAT chant is Austin's no.1 worst career move!!
But for real, turnng heel just to become HHH's errand boy lol
I was gonna say the same thing
What?
(Sorry, couldn't resist)
What?
Okay, probably the lone dissenter here. I like the Austin Heel turn in 2001. Austin was never meant to be a hero. He wasn’t the people’s champion, he wasn’t a crusader, he was a guy who always looked out for number 1. His take no bs attitude and win by any means might have endeared him to the crowd, but at his core, Stone Cold has always been about Stone Cold.
He can’t beat the Rock. He can’t become champion. He needs it. He needs that title to justify his existence. So he approaches Vince and says “I don’t like you. Matter of fact, I have purposely tried to ruin your life on multiple occasions. You have made my life a living hell and cheated me out of what’s mine for years. However…the Rock is walking around with my belt. He is calling himself WWF champion. Nuh uh! Not gonna happen. So, you’ve seen you cannot control me. You know what it’s like to have me as an enemy. Imagine…imagine what we could do, what we could accomplish if we were friends.”
I think if Austin gave this kind of promo the night after mania, I think it could have worked out. Make it clear that Austin wasn’t working for Vince, it was Vince that worked for Austin.
But, maybe I’m crazy.
Your right. People always talk about Austin’s heel “turn”, not so much his heel “run”. Yes his heel turn was terrible mainly cause of the shitty timing of it. Rock leaving for Hollywood, the fact there wasn’t a big babyface on the roster that was as popular as Rock and Austin, (maybe aside from Taker). But if u look past that, and solely focus on his heel run. That shit was pure gold.
Yeah the ringmaster name was dumb but at least it wasn’t Chilly Mcfreeze
I'm picturing JR being like "MCFREEZE, McFREEZE, McFREEZE....... IS GOING TO WRESTLEMANIA!!!!!"
@@heisensaul5538 THE MCFREEZE ERA HAS BEGUN!!!
@@stfi7566 exactly lol Jim Cornette said once if you can actually see someone's name as the main event at Wrestlemaia or Starrcade then they are a legit main eventer. The Rock vs Chilly McFreeze isn't going to sell any tickets lol
"Gimme a hell yeah!"
(silence)
"...Tough crowd."
What's really unfortunate about #3 is that there was a really easy way to fix it: just rebook the tournament to make Austin vs. Lesnar the KOTR Finals at the PPV. Everyone would've gotten what they wanted: Lesnar would've still gotten over huge, perhaps even more than he did, the WWE would still have gotten their big future champion, and Austin would've gotten to make a new star at a money show like he wanted to.
I'll still take the heel turn over the abrupt face turn that happened the day after Survivor Series 2001.
Even with regards to the timing and how there wasn't a big enough face to take over, there was the plan for Triple H to turn face and feud with Austin sometime after they lost the tag titles on Raw, and seeds were planted for that split between the two. But then Triple H tore his quad.
That full length MegaRan intro goes so hard
LOL! I had JUST gone back to watch your older content, so that BRILLIANT call back at the end would've made little to no sense if I hadn't. Nice one! 🙂
I KNEW YOU WERE GONNA DO THE BYRON SAXTON CLIP!!!!!!! 😂
Dolph Ziggler NXT Season 4 Rookie
For me, the end for Steve Austin in WCW was when he did the 30 second job to Jim Duggan at Fall Brawl 1994. What a travesty that was.
I'm sure this was filmed a while ago, good thing he didn't beat up Scott Hall too much. But then again Brian is ever the professional.
I think Austin's walk out wound up being massively beneficial for the WWE, once he was gone Vince was suddenly more focused on fixing the direction of the company which had drifted over the previous few months - he ended the tired nWo reboot, ended the storyline with him and Ric Flair being co-owners of the company, reshuffled the brand extension, brought in Eric Bischoff as GM etc.
The heel turn was absolutely catastrophic!... Steve Austin was too globally loved to ever be hated.
He was doing the most heelish things and people still cheered.. Steve Austin should have stayed face or least a tweener..
I knew exactly who was going to show up when your walked outside at the end 😆
unrelated but RIP Big Scott Hall😔
Man, imagine how that wrestle mania heel turn would’ve gone if Austin has called a stunner on McMahon like he mentioned having considered iirc on his podcast. Might’ve gone from the worst moment to like. Probably not one of the best, but definitely would’ve been better
Austin giving Vince a stunner For the thousandth time would’ve been boring as fuck.
Bro, the Pillman gun segment is legendary.
“Why was there a kiddie pool out in November” good point. Lol never thought of that when I’ve watched that segment multiple times
“Austin and Owen should’ve had careers that went at least till the late 2000s”
The same can be said for any legend that died, retire, or suffered a career ending injury way before their time 😑
What better way to celebrate my 29th birthday than with a new episode of Wrestling with Wregret.
Happy 3:16 Day... many more 🎂
Happy Birthday
The Pillman Austin house was an amazing segment
That’s right JCW’s Great Muta
Wanna know something funny? From what I've heard, RAW cut to a shaving commercial after Pillman pointed at Austin. "He's probably dead. Fancy a shave?"
I appreciate you finding positives to take out of Steve Austin's post heel turn during the Alliance storyline, but the paranoid psycho character he came up with was still very dissonant from the type of character he was before, and particularly the abruptness of his character change made it less entertaining to me, and I think a lot of people felt the same way.
But you know, I had been watching some of Steve Austin's heel work in WWF again, and you can tell he had a great talent for playing that type of entertaining bad guy, who could sometimes make you laugh and sometimes seemed absolutely ruthless. And of course he already did successful work as a heel with a hot wife manager before Debra, with Lady Blossom.
So maybe the heel turn could have worked? IMO the real problem with it was that the WWE didn't do enough work on the storyline in the weeks leading to the turn, or the weeks after, to sell us on the idea that Steve would not only be willing to sell his soul to Vince, but become a completely different person in the process.
Because if that turn happened without a personality change, people might have still hated it, but it would at least seem credible, and fans would keep tuned in to see what Steve was going to happen next. The fact that Steve was just so different a person just made the fans think about how the whole storyline was written poorly, which then brings attention to the fact that this was a wrestling storyline.
The dissonance of Steve Austin becoming a cookie addicted corporate ass kisser, with no real good explanation of what happened, well it was like the transition between Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. It was just now what you expected, and not what you paid for, and that's why I do agree in the end that it's the worst thing in Austin's career. A sad but quick retirement from injuries would have been more dignified an exit than what actually played out for Steve
Idk I feel like his heel turn did make sense. He just lost to Triple H in that amazing 3 Stages of Hell Match before wrestlemania. Him losing that blood feud can explain why he was so desperate to win the title by any means necessary.
This makes me wanna sign on to patreon so I can request that CSI episode where they duplicate the brusier Brody incident.
Even after watching, I still can't fathom how a broken neck can come second to a heel turn.
I would have loved to be in the room when they got the all clear in Pillmans house. Like they just have to awkwardly be like "alright everyone, shoots over. Good home invasion!"
I imagine pillman just sitting there with the gun still trained on austin and he just makes a silly face to get a chuckle out of him.
Definitely when he sang on the guitar after joining Vince.
"Open a can of whoop ass in the comments below" is way funnier than it should be
HELLLLL YEAHHHH! - Byron Saxton 2020
V1 from OSW: That was fucking depressing.
A runner up would be the Sheriff Austin character. Or as Triple H called him, "Barney Fife" or "Deputy Dog"...
Roscoe P Coltrane!
@@jrcarter9175 I forgot about that one... 😆👍
Fun fact: the first time I ever watched any raw was when Austin attacked pillmans house at the end! I didn't know who anyone was or why they were filling this crazy dude in a house with a shaking camera but I was hooked.
That Austin singing bit at the end was awful. Lmaooo, love it.
17:10 "Rattle off a few" see what you did there
A few weeks later, that stunner on Vince at Mania might need to be added to the list.
My favorite Stone cold wrestle Shawn Michael win the wrestling champion at wrestlemania 14 on March 29, 1998 From Boston
I wouldn't have put the heel turn at #1 for the simple fact that there were a lot of great entertaining moments between Austin and Angle during it
Ooh, a new Wregret video! Lemme grab a beer... a cerveza... a brewski... a cerveza...
I just want to say the timing of you putting a Scott Hall moment on this list
R.I.P Scott Hall
How good is Stone Cold? There is at least a 99% chance the he beat the crap out of Debra irl and we ignored and forgot about it because we just love him that much.
Oh I'm not shaming anyone for it. I'm just admitting it out loud.
Pillmans got a gum, blew my 11 y.o. mind up. I kept asking "dad, I'd that real" hahahaha
I can't believe Mr Ooh La La is still around. I remember that dude from Jerry Springer.
Pillman 9mm was one of the best segments of wrestling history
Another great video from the z-man. I really hope you become all elite my friend. Your work with roh and everywhere else has shown you're such a great personality. I'd love to see you commentating or managing. You're worth the contract.
What is boggling about censorship is how violence is perfectly fine, but saying shit is crossing the line. You can have someone beat the bloody shot outta someone with captain America’s shield, but the moment you say “shit” all of a sudden you crossed the line
I watched the Pillman segment live. I went to school the next day FREAKED THE HELL OUT
Triple H tearing his quad hampered Austin's heel turn. The Two Man Power Trip never really got going.
What if…
The Two Man Power Trip vs The Two Chrises (Jericho and Benoit) ended just like in real life but Stone Cold, getting POed that Triple H got injured and that led them to losing the tag team titles, beats up Triple H and that beating would cause the fans to show sympathy towards Triple H and after he returned in 2002, he focuses on Stone Cold Steve Austin and the two of them will have a grudge match that will lead to a Triple H win against his former tag team partner
The fact that the What chant still goes on to this day
I find hysterical zane hates the what chant. Cause i love it 😂
"Why was there a kiddy pool out in November?" Said no one who's ever lived in Louisiana.
I think the real biggest oak stake with Austin’s 2001 heel turn is when he and Triple H hit Lita with that steel chair on RAW.
Fans tuning out because of a lackluster turn is one thing, but I believe a large majority of casual fans were very put off by watching Steve beat a defenseless woman on National tv. Someone could fact check this, but I remember Bryan Alvarez reading the Nelson Ratings for RAW at the time and discovered that the RAW after that angle happened, the show suffered a months worth of viewership drop-off in that one week and they never really recovered those numbers.
That wasnt the reason....... Hell in ECW women were getting put through tables and the cans cheered. In the Attitude Era Austin stunned men and women and always a cheer. I think ppl was like wtf are they doin? They're ruining Austin.....
@@coreyhall1150 There's a bit of a difference between a man hitting a woman with a wrestling move than attacking her with fists or a weapon, it's the reason why The Rock giving Stephanie the Rock Bottom was just something that happened occasionally, while Jericho punching Shawn Michael's wife was an entire angle. Steve Austin and Triple H didn't just hit Lita once, they hit her several times to no consequence. To end your show with the biggest star in the company and one of the other top 5 guys celebrating after beating up a defenseless woman for a few minutes needless to say is just gross and weird and not good when your audience was as broad and large as WWF's was at the time. I certainly would not want my young kids to watch that moment and risk tuning into RAW next week to see if they'd do it again.
Wow I never really thought about how quick Austin's run was (especially compared to Hogan or even Cena's runs at the top). Absolutely insane.
I remember that episode of Raw with the gunplay.
It was very "I guess you guys aren't ready for that, but your kids are gonna love it." I didn't know what to make of it and neither did any of my friends, but when the Attitude Era went into full swing it started to make more sense.
1:12 That segment was incredible.
I remember watching Pillman shoot the gun when it happened, and I remember sitting on my gramma's living room carpet with my jaw on the floor and then the screen went to black and I was yelling" You can't just go to a commercial now!?"
R.I.P. Scott Hall
“Pillman’s Got a Gun” was one of the greatest segments of the attitude era and I will die on this hill.
Brian, I'm curious if you ever watch any other wrestling review shows like OSW Review? I have to say W3 and OSW are two of my favorite channels on TH-cam!
You should watch markyd123
That Pillman gun segment was a highlight in Austin's career.
His worst moment was convincing Kane to put his mask on the line for a title shot.
Always look forward to a new video every Wednesday
I remember me and my cousin crying when Austin went heel. We were 10 years old and huge Austin marks. We experienced one of the two (not serious) worst things that can happen to child - their favorite wrestler goes bad. The other worst thing being your console breaking.
I'm definitely there with the 2nd one
I think the walkout was by far the worse. Looking at it from being 20 I was on Austin side. Being almost 40 now, both are a little right, both are wrong. But the WHAT chant should have been #1
@@Sky_Blaze 😂😂😂😂😂 We must Blame Heel Steve Austin for this..
Pillman's got a gun was genius and a year later couldda been a best moment in wrestling history moment
I love this video, as always quality stuff and...wait. 10:37. Is that the long haired person that's at every show?
How do you have Pillman gun worst moments this was raw gold and is legendary with Pillmans escapades lol
I remember the Pillman gun scene when it happened. I was like, "what the hell just happened?"
STEVE IS A LEADING FIGURE IN THE INDUSTRY...his politicking has been scrutinised but it wasn't quite as bad as Leveque or Bollea .. but it happened... his work rate was impeccable even though he had to brawl up his previous style of ring work..
No real worries there with his career..
I thank him for his work ..
Thank you Mr Zane for your erudite video...
Go wash up and gimmie a hell yeah 😎 🤪
Don't leave
Hickenbottom out of the backstage politic game..
@@kenrickeason goes without saying man....after all he wore his knee pads 24/7 because he was always on them in front of Vincent..