25 Shocking Events That Rocked WWE To Its Foundations

24. Steve Austin Takes His Ball And Goes Home (2002)

Furious that he was asked to do a job for Brock Lesnar in a throwaway match on Raw and generally annoyed with WWE’s wishy-washy creative direction for him at the time, Steve Austin walked out on the promotion in May 2002.

The biggest star in the history of the industry felt he had been overlooked since his 2000 return from injury. The Rock was now ahead of him in the pecking order, as was Triple H. The arrival of nWo trio Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Hulk Hogan – all of whom Austin was working with – also irked him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CZX_xHros8

A misguided 2001 heel turn had blunted his popularity and by WrestleMania X8 he was demoted to the midcard. The proposed defeat to Lesnar was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Austin boarded a flight and went home, no-showing Raw. WWE then proceeded to bury him on television, with Vince McMahon infamously stating that Austin had “took his ball and went home”. Some gratitude for the man who almost single-handedly turned the ailing company’s fortunes around in the mid-to-late-90s.

5 years ago by Wrestle Talk

Trending

Get the latest wrestling news straight to your inbox

By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from WrestleTalk