10 Major Stars Who Questioned Bad WWE Booking

2. Steve Austin

By mid-2002, Steve Austin was burned the f*ck out.

Years of running hard as WWE's main man had taken their toll, and he was mindful that the machine would eventually roll over the top of him and favour someone else. Privately, Austin told good friend Jim Ross (who recanted this story in his stellar 'Under The Black Hat' book) that he didn't have a problem with putting others over, but he wanted to do it properly.

Austin knew he only had a few money-making matches left in him by the summer of '02. So, when writers told him he'd be losing to newcomer Brock Lesnar in a throwaway King Of The Ring qualifier on Raw, 'Stone Cold' flipped and walked out. He couldn't wrap his head around why the company would want to throw that match on free TV without any build.

This is something Steve still defends to this day. He regrets "handling business the wrong way" and walking out, but he doesn't think there was any logic to having the biggest draw in WWE history go down to a newcomer without any hype.