10 Wrestling Stipulations WWE Never Followed Through
9. Stone Cold Steve Austin Is Fired Again (Survivor Series 2003)
Never the most earnest in his love of the audience at the peak of his run, Steve Austin let his guard down a bit at the Survivor Series in 2003 when he supposedly bid a fond farewell to his career in the same place he started.
In a goodbye speech doubling as a love letter to Dallas, he noted the significance of strolling out of that town specifically. Because this was all by force - Austin's Survivor Series team had lost to Eric Bischoff's, and the troublemaking babyface co-General Manager was on his way thanks to WWE actually making good on one of the biggest selling points of that year's pay-per-view.
lol-but-we-didn't-say-he-couldn't-be-SHERIFF
To circle back, the aforementioned win-or-be-fired stipulation came about because Austin ran roughshod on Raw making generous use of a "hit-if-you're-provoked" rule that saw most midcard heels given Stunners without recourse. His return with the plastic badge a few weeks later gave him more power with none of the worries he'd had to assemble a team to fight for back in November. His quad bike got a pop too, sigh.