10 Times You Almost Quit Watching Wrestling

2. When Steve Austin Quit In 2002 And Retired In 2003

There were two different Austin moments that would qualify for something like this, so rather than separate them it's best to pair them up because they happened relatively close to each other. Let's go back to 2002 at a time when Austin was still one of the biggest names in the wrestling that had been a top guy in WWE for about five years at that point. He was running really hard with a bad neck that saw him miss nearly a year of action in 2000 and he was the best performer alive once again in 2001, proving that nothing could keep him down. In the spring of 2002, after he was asked to lose to Brock Lesnar on Raw with no build, he quit. He came back in early 2003 after apologizing for leaving and the fans seemed happy about it because he was back home in the WWE ring. His 2003 return was short lived because his injuries were piling up. We had no idea at the time, but his WrestleMania 19 loss to The Rock was the last match he would ever wrestle. There was no retirement ceremony or goodbye speech. He was just done as a wrestler and we had to accept it whether we wanted to or not. Austin represented the Attitude Era more than any one person. It's no surprise that less people were watching WWE after he retired. He was the biggest reason that so many tuned into the show in the first place. That's what it means to be a top draw. While his return as a non-wrestler likely kept some fans watching, it wasn't the same thing as seeing Austin having matches. There's no question that Austin's 2002 departure and his retirement in 2003 were two reasons why fans almost quit watching wrestling. Some of them never came back. This is why, 11 years after his last match, it's still a big deal that WWE is going to be selling more Austin merchandise. Fans loved him then and they still do. If he ever did have one more match, maybe it would bring some of those fans back. It wouldn't be a surprise if it did because he has the drawing power unlike any other.