10 Seedy WWE Stories Vince McMahon Wants You To Forget

5. Stone Cold Steve Austin's Worst Week

vince mcmahon torrie wilson
WWE.com

WWE buried Steve Austin after he exited the company under a cloud of controversy in 2002, but were only to happy to let bygones be bygone when he returned less than a year later. Though only isolated to a tumultuous seven day tenure, the explosion between the two sides had been bubbling under the surface for months before Austin detonated himself at the expense of everybody shortly before a controversial June edition of Monday Night Raw.

Incensed with the booking of his character on the June 10 Raw after months of creative dissatisfaction, Austin deciding not to stick around when informed he'd be putting over Brock Lesnar in a King Of The Ring qualifying match. Having first decided to head home immediately after WrestleMania X8, Stone Cold made this latest walkout his last.

He's since admitted to his physical and mental health hitting the wall at the time, but that couldn't excuse his out-of-the-ring behaviour following his tempestuous breakdown with the company. Then-wife Debra called the San Antonio police to report him for assault and battery, and Austin was arrested in August and charged with domestic abuse. His fine and community service order was an unpleasant yet deserved blot on his copybook.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett