19 Nastiest WWE Breakups

In wrestling, it's hard to give up your spot, especially when that spot is "biggest star in the industry." By 2002, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin could feel the cracks forming on his run. His heel turn as well as the Invasion angle were complete flops, and Austin had lost a lot of his cache. With The Rock and Triple H taking up the huge storylines at WrestleMania X-8, the Texas Rattlesnake was left saddled with Scott Hall. The two had a match that Austin frankly hated, and he said adios to WWE for the first time that year, not showing up the next night on RAW.

He soon came back, however, but the troubles wouldn't end there. After some lackluster programs with Undertaker and Big Show, Austin began to get more irate and disdainful toward creative, feeling his treatment was ill-befitting his stature. Finally, he had enough when in June, Vince McMahon asked him to put over the young upstart Brock Lesnar in a King of the Ring qualifier on RAW.

Instead of complying Stone Cold walked out, and WWE took it... not well. On TV, everyone buried Steve Austin, with longtime friend Jim Ross accusing him as "taking his ball and going home." It was, frankly, a rather petty way to treat the departure of your biggest-ever star.

Regardless, Austin's head cooled down, and he was back in the company by the end of the year.