10 Matches That Nearly Made Wrestlers Quit For Good
2. Steve Austin Vs. Brock Lesnar (WWE Raw - June 2002)
This bout didn't actually happen, but it was the proposed booking decision that prompted Steve Austin's WWE walk-out back in 2002, and was very much on the cards prior to 'Stone Cold's' fateful decision.
Austin was scheduled to lose 'The Next Big Thing' on a June episode of Raw. He disagreed with the decision, claiming that straight up jobbing to Lesnar didn't make sense for either man at that stage in their respective careers. WWE didn't budge, though. 'Stone Cold' told Vince McMahon that he wasn't willing to lose without leaving the company, and thus ended up no-showing an episode of Raw, taking a lengthy hiatus from the business.
This was only a small part of his growing dissatisfaction with his general creative direction within WWE, but still the catalyst for his latest WWE walk-out. It was a messy split. Vince McMahon and real-life friend Jim Ross both buried 'Stone Cold' on-air, criticising him for "taking his ball and going home," and eventually, the company stopped marketing his character, merchandise, and removed him from WWE.com outright.
Austin eventually returned to WWE the following year, but not before paying a hefty $250,000 fine.