Stone Cold Steve Austin Reveals Why He Can't Give Heel Turn Advice To John Cena [Exclusive]

Zack Heydorn | Mar 14, 2025

WWE.com

Stone Cold Steve Austin knows a thing or two about turning heel in WWE as the company's top babyface.

At WrestleMania 17, at the peak of the WWE Attitude Era, Austin aligned himself with the evil Vince McMahon to defeat The Rock and win the WWE Championship. For the next eight months, Austin was a bad guy, but with mixed results.

The mixed results are why Austin told The Takedown on SI that he's in no position to offer newly minted heel John Cena advice on working as a bad guy.

"No. No, I wouldn't," Austin said regarding what advice he'd give to John Cena on being a new heel in WWE. "I loved working heel when I was in WCW. I loved working heel when I first came into WWE, because that was a true heel. When I turned heel at what WrestleMania 17, the people didn't want me to turn heel. It was a force to turn. It was my idea. Vince always likes to do something big on a WrestleMania. So, I suggested that. And he said, okay, but it was a s**t move. People weren't ready for it. People didn't want it.

"I just figured it go over like gangbusters. The heel I was trying to be was so hated, so so much, so fast. I think I tried too hard. When I look back at it, sure, I got to push the creative envelope and do a lot of things that were cool or whatever, and, you know, push the envelope in a different direction and go out on a limb. But, people didn't want me to turn heel, and so I should have never done that. So, I don't think that I'm in a position that I need to offer John Cena any advice from Steve Austin."

MORE: Exclusive: Stone Cold Steve Austin Reveals Untold Regret Of WWE WrestleMania 38 Return

Austin hasn't made any WWE appearances since his impromptu, but critically acclaimed match against Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38.

The full, nearly one-hour, no holds barred interview with Austin will drop on 3/16 Day this Sunday on the site and YouTube. Other topics in the interview include, his early beginnings in pro wrestling, what it felt like to ride the Attitude Era wave that he helped cultivate, the Austin legacy in pro wrestling, and more.

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