Was there ever a reason...

[-Lithium-]

...why Austin went to the Alliance?

(In kayfabe, please no dumb responses like "It was all about WWF"...yes we all know...)

[The Reverend]

SWERVE!

[daxter15]

Cos he wanted to.

[Luca]

Well, he was always feuding with McMahon and wanted to take him down so what better way to do it than to destroy his company. (Before he went to the alliance) Austin was angry that Vince wanted to him to be the "old" Stone Cold, he thought they were friends (It was hillarios when he and Angle were hugging and fighting over the friendship of Vince's friendship ;D). Speaking out of kayfabe for a second, I found it amazing that austin turning on McMahon and joining the Alliance didn't turn him and the alliance face. Also, during that whole angle, it was interesting to see Vince cheered and Austin booed.

[Dave FCIC]

fanatic said:

Also, during that whole angle, it was interesting to see Vince cheered and Austin booed.

I will always remember that, then after the Alliance angle was finished, the next RAW everyone was cheering him again.

[Mark4HBK]

fanatic said:

Speaking out of kayfabe for a second, I found it amazing that austin turning on McMahon and joining the Alliance didn't turn him and the alliance face. Also, during that whole angle, it was interesting to see Vince cheered and Austin booed.

I've often wondered if that was the plan for putting Austin in the Alliance. I recall hearing at the time (I wish I could remember where or provide a link, but I can't) that the original plan for the inVasion angle was for the WWE to be the heels and WCW to be the faces.

That would have made sense, since Vince was one of the most over heels in the company at the time, and Shane got a huge pop when he was revealed as the "new owner" of WCW. In that light, Austin's switch to the Alliance would make sense in terms of, "Okay, the fans will follow Austin wherever he goes; if we send him to the Alliance it will instantly cause a double-switch between WWE and WCW/ECW." I don't believe Austin's switch was part of the original inVasion plan; I think it was hotshotted.

[Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby]

The plan to make WCW the face fell through after the first RAW with WCW matches. The crowd completely turned on Booker T during his atrocious match with Buff Bagwell (and popped when heels Stone Cold and Kurt Angle interrupted it).

Booker T himself thought the match was a disaster. I remember an insider mag at the time noting that Booker was a very likable and agreeable dude backstage, but after the match declared that he could have had a better match with a broomstick.

Reports of Booker being hot-headed are few and far between. I didn't hear any kind of report of him being nasty until the Batista incident this year, in which reports said Booker had the support of the entire locker room for being a helpful and friendly guy most of the time.

[vincemark]

I think they were trying to even up the sides, and Austin was pretty much as over as the rest of the roster combined.

['Sweet n' Sour' A. A. Estrada]

I always liked Austin as a full heel. I'm not sure why people hated that turn.

Both as the crazy, brutal Austin and the nutty, Vince-obsessed Austin. It was a refreshing change from his old character.

[WWHHHD]

And anything is better than all that "WHAT?" And that has finally gone away.

[Tyfo]

I loved Alliance Austin. Im one of the few, but hes stuff with Tazz was great. His stuff with RVD, even better. When he gave RVD his watch and then took it back after RVD accepted the spot in the 3 way match with Austin and Angle. When he made fun of Hugh Morrus' name, Shawn Stasiak trying to get Austin's approval and constanly screwing up, even the early days of the "WHAT" was great, until the fans got out of hand with it.

But paranoid, crazy heel Austin was awesome in my book. As the poster earlier said, I also loved the Austin, Angle, Vince, Debra stuff, where they would hug Vince, and try to one up each other for his freindship. The night after KOTR 2001 when this angle first started was magic! With Austin and Angle going to WWF New York to get Booker and Shane out of there, and their banter all night long in the office. Excellent stuff.

[OGBoardPoster2005]

It never seemed right to me

Face Vince vs Heel Austin