10 WWE Stars Who Didn’t See Their Own Downfall Coming

2. Steve Austin

Steve Austin isn't stupid. Back in 2002, he could see that WWE might one day want to build new stars and focus on somebody else. The key words there are "one day". In 2002, Austin still regarded himself as the main man, and he found it hard to comprehend sliding down the card away from the sweet main event spotlight.

He'd carried the company as an unlikely heel in 2001, and had returned to his babyface glory by early-2002. That, Austin surely thought, would bag him sustainability on top and maintain his status as the promotion's go-to option. The truth was somewhat different; WWE booked Austin in secondary feuds against Scott Hall, rehashed his anti-authority origins with Ric Flair and wanted him to lose a quick match to Brock Lesnar.

None of it satisfied him. Burned out, he walked away.

Friends like Jim Ross have said on podcasts that Steve struggled to come to terms with his mortality. He desperately wanted to be the guy for as long as he could be, and he felt like there was more gas in the tank in 2002. Creative frustrations boiled over big time, and led to an exit few saw coming.