Steve Austin makes shocking admission on infamous WWE swerve with Vince McMahon and The Rock

The WWE history books are full of entries for memorable occasions with Steve Austin, Vince McMahon, and The Rock. Three of wrestling's biggest names influenced the industry on their own, but the trio's interactions during the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression eras help cement their legacies and World Wrestling Entertainment's spot as the best. Austin has now revealed a surprising scoop from a controversial incident.

WrestleMania X-Seven drew 68,000 fans to Houston's Astrodome, plus over a million watching on pay-per-view. The No DQ main event saw Stone Cold dethrone The Great One of the WWE Championship, not long after Vince McMahon lost a Street Fight to Shane McMahon. The then-Chairman later came out and helped his nemesis win the main event. Austin's shocking turn included 16 steel chair shots before the 17th annual Show of shows ended with Mr. McMahon and The Texas Rattlesnake shaking hands and drinking beers.

Stunning Steve just opened up on his WWE heel turn while speaking to The Takedown on SI and made a shocking admission. He noted how he liked working as a villainous character in WCW and early on in WWE as those were the true bad guys, but his WrestleMania 17 turn was forced and unwanted by fans.

"It was a s**t move, people weren't ready and didn't want it. I figured it'd go over. I was trying to be so hated, so much, so fast, I think I tried too hard. It was just too soon, too out of the blue, for no reason. Going into that WrestleMania I felt like I was kind of flat-lining a bit as a baby[face], and in my mind I was still the #1 baby. Working with the other hottest guy in the territory, The Rock, we had real great chemistry, loved working with each other. It was a killer match and we had to follow a lot of great matches, that was one of the best cards of all-time. So, going back to... I just... it just wasn't a great idea," Austin said. [From 19:16 to 19:59]

Stone Cold admitted the heel turn was his idea, and that he tried too hard, stating that he never should have turned. He also revealed how he would have ended the match if he could go back in time.

"If I could go back in time, when I shook Vince's hand at the end of that match I wish I would have just called an audible, and said, 'Hey man, calling an audible, watch the Stunner!,' And just dropped his a*s in the middle of the ring. In that build-up, one of the best WrestleMania builds that really kind of cooked me back up, so I had the confidence I had before. I wish I had never turned heel, but to come up with a perfect scenario? There isn't a perfect scenario, man. People didn't... people weren't interested in me being a heel in any way, shape, or fashion," he added. [From 20:00 to 20:42]

Watch the video below to check out Austin's comments:

Austin retained the WWE Championship via No Contest a night later on RAW, inside of a Steel Cage, due to Triple H turning on The Rock. Stone Cold remained a heel until that July, after The Invasion began.

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Steve Austin confirmed for WWE WrestleMania 41 weekend

Fanatics has announced that Steve Austin will be appearing at WWE World during WrestleMania 41 weekend in late April. He will be at the convention on April 19 and 20, the days of the big event.

Austin last worked a match at WrestleMania 38 in 2022. He won a surprise No Holds Barred Match over Kevin Owens to close Night One.