5. Stone Cold Merchandise Would Not Be As Valuable
When he was an active wrestler, a large proportion of merchandise sales could be attributed to Stone Cold Steve Austin. The king of the catchphrase and the master of badassery, Austin was the most quotable, marketable commodity since Hulk Hogan with the added bonus that Austin existed in an even more brand-conscious era. People were 3:16-ing everything in sight because Stone Cold said so. Shirts, hats, bumper stickers and teddy bears... the beauty of Steve Austin's marketability was this: he was much more than a one-trick pony. He didn't have just one quote; he didn't string all his quotes together when he'd run out of ideas. He was a naturally charismatic guy who was given free reign on the microphone, while Vince reaped the rewards. They didn't just have "Austin 3:16" shirts. They had shirts that said "F*CK FEAR" and shirts that said, "HELL YEAH" and shirts that said "Whoop-Ass". And whatever they were selling, people bought with abandon. Stone Cold was forever cool, and remained as such because he was a rare treat. He was an emblem of the treasured Attitude Era that so many fans reminisce about with longing. He didn't become a tragic story of the has-been who should have hung up his boots; he lived a cleaner life post-WWE than during, and became a reliable, continued source of income because he was no longer wrestling every day of the year. If he hadn't retired, the Stone Cold mystique would likely have faded in terms of merchandise.