10 Wrestlers Who Refused To Work Together

2002 wasn’t a great year for Stone Cold Steve Austin. Years of carrying the business on his tired shoulders had taken its toll and the injury list was overflowing. Throw in creative issues with the company and the impending inevitability of retirement and you have yourself a salty Rattlesnake, and nobody needs a salty rattlesnake. ‘Difficult to work with’ is a kind way of putting it.

At the other end of the proverbial escalator was Brock Lesnar, the next big thing in professional wrestling. New on the scene, Lesnar was getting the monster push to end all monster pushes, with the Undisputed Championship scheduled to be his before the end of the year. Lesnar was going to run through anyone and everyone first, smashing heroes and villains alike on his way to the top. The King of the Ring tournament came around, and Lesnar was scheduled to beat Austin on his way to the crown.

Austin wasn’t so enthused. Stone Cold failed to see the merits of putting over a brand new star in an unannounced TV match, a booking move that had run WCW into the ground not long before. Sure, losing to Lesnar didn't fill him with joy, but why not build to a big pay-per-view bout, where Lesnar's win would mean more and the company might make a bit of money in the process? Alas, his disapproval fell on deaf ears and Austin was miffed to such a degree that he walked out of the company, staying away from professional wrestling until 2003.