WWE Legend Admits What Really Went Wrong With Steve Austin’s Infamous WrestleMania 17 Heel Turn
The night Steve Austin shook hands with Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 17 is still one of the most debated moments in wrestling history. And now, a fellow WWE legend is opening up about why he knew—before the match even ended—that the shocking turn was destined to fail.
On the latest episode of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, the TNA star didn’t hold back when discussing “Stone Cold’s” controversial alignment shift. Hardy revealed that his immediate reaction wasn’t excitement or shock. It was concern.
“I remember thinking, ‘Wow, this is going to be interesting. Kudos for attempting it,'” Hardy said. But then reality set in. The match took place in Texas—Austin’s home state. And that’s when Hardy realized the crowd was never going to play along.
“This dude is going to be swimming upstream, no doubt about it,” Hardy explained. “This is not going to be an easy turn. Because this is a guy that has reached a level of popularity where it almost becomes impossible to turn him into a heel. He’s so respected and he’s so legendary.”
As for the match itself between Austin and The Rock? Hardy praised their chemistry, calling them entertaining and aggressive together. But he was clear that even a great match couldn’t save what came next.
“As we learned, though, it just didn’t play out like they hoped it would,” Hardy said. He even compared it to another failed experiment—the long-rumored John Cena heel turn that never quite worked either.
“It’s just one of those things where you do something and you attempt to swim upstream to see if you can make something happen. But at the end of the day it doesn’t work, and you have to kind of hit the reset button.”
Nearly 25 years later, the lesson remains the same. Some superstars become so beloved that no amount of storytelling can make fans boo them. And as Matt Hardy saw firsthand, even in Texas, you can’t turn your back on Stone Cold.
