10 Worst WWE Booking Decisions Of The 2000s (Year-By-Year)

Things would not get better for Steve Austin as his in-ring career winded down. After the debacle of an Invasion storyline, Austin once-again became a face, but with the world title picture now occupied by Triple H and Chris Jericho, the 'Rattlesnake' needed someone to feud with during WrestleMania season in 2002. Something tells me Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were not the people he had in mind.

Obviously, the best choice for Austin’s opponent at WrestleMania X8 was Hulk Hogan. Finally, the two biggest stars in wrestling history would square off. That still ended up happening in a different form, as the Hulkster and The Rock had their icon-versus-icon match. Austin, meanwhile, was saddled in the midcard with a clearly past-his-prime Scott Hall.

Austin has said in interviews that he was unhappy with the match, and felt it was beneath someone of his stature. A series of weak feuds in early-2002 would stoke the flames of his dissatisfaction, and by the time he was asked to job to Brock Lesnar on RAW, he had had enough, and walked out of the company, not returning until winter.

Even foregoing the obvious Hogan/Austin matchup, if WWE had gone with their initial plan of a Stone Cold/Triple H main event for WrestleMania, that might have satiated Austin, and convinced him to stick with the company.