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While WWE Superstars and employees usually leave the company when they are released or when their contracts come to an end, some people have taken the bold approach of walking out of their job while they are still under contract.
For example, one night after the 2014 WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view, CM Punk was involved in a heated argument with Triple H and Vince McMahon backstage, leading him to walk out and never compete in a WWE match again.
Similarly, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin refused to show up for work in 2002 after being told that he was being booked to lose a King of the Ring qualifier against Brock Lesnar on RAW. Although he went on to return in 2003, the WWE legend received a $650,000 fine that was later decreased to $250,000.
Now, while those Superstars went through with their decision to quit on the spot, did you know that plenty of others have threatened to leave but ultimately decided to remain in WWE?
In this article, let’s take a look at five WWE Superstars/employees who opted to stay with the company after considering their futures.
#5 Mark Henry threatened to leave WWE
Mark Henry has spoken very positively about his relationship with Vince McMahon over the years, but one particular moment involving the WWE Chairman infuriated “The World’s Strongest Man” so much that he threatened to leave his job.
In June 2011, Henry thought he was going to face Sin Cara in a dark match before a SmackDown taping. However, McMahon actually played a prank on the two-time Olympian by sending him out to the ring in front of a live crowd, even though a match was not scheduled to take place.
Speaking on WWE Network show Broken Skull Sessions, Henry told Steve Austin that he tore down part of the set backstage and immediately tried to find McMahon.
“I go down the hallways and I kick Vince's door open and he's gone. Started calling Vince, 'Man, I quit, this is the last time. Nobody ribs me, I'm a grown man.' ... Vince calls, 'Man, why did you get so bent out of shape about that? We just playing around.'” [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
Henry accepted an apology from McMahon, who replayed footage of the incident and said he wanted his Superstar to show that much anger when he appears on WWE television.
This prompted the creation of the “Hall of Pain” persona, which led to Henry winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Randy Orton at Night of Champions 2011.
Henry remained an in-ring competitor in WWE until 2017, while he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018.
#4 Dolph Ziggler threatened to leave WWE
Dolph Ziggler has never been one to shy away from giving his opinion backstage in WWE.
Shortly before his match against Goldberg at SummerSlam 2019, the two-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion was told that he would lose within seconds after being hit with a single spear from the WCW legend.
This, needless to say, was not the match that Ziggler, who is widely regarded as one of WWE’s best in-ring performers, had in mind.
He revealed to talkSPORT’s Alex McCarthy in November 2019 that he did everything he could, including threatening to quit WWE, in order to have a longer match that day.
“I fought all day long, threatened to leave, threatened to quit, did everything I had to – ‘Give me two damn minutes!’ And I got a minute, whatever, what you going to do?”
As Ziggler said, even though the first-time-ever encounter lasted longer than just one spear, it was still a squash match, with Goldberg picking up the victory in 1 minute and 50 seconds.
#3 Pat McAfee threatened to leave WWE
Usually, when two WWE Superstars or employees have an argument, it takes several months or years for the full details to emerge in media interviews or during podcast appearances.
Fortunately for us, WWE personality Pat McAfee is a big name in the podcasting world, and he took to The Pat McAfee Show (video above) just days after WrestleMania 35 to explain what happened when he had a major disagreement with Michael Cole.
McAfee, who worked on the WrestleMania kickoff show alongside Charly Caruso, had been told not to wear jorts to the event, so he compromised by wearing tuxedo shorts instead. This angered Cole, who began yelling at the former football player in front of people backstage.
“He was like yelling. Real. This wasn’t like a rib, or like a gimmick, you could tell there was actual panic.” [H/T Pro Wrestling Sheet]
McAfee collected his belongings from the WrestleMania watch-a-long room and told a member of the digital team that he was leaving WWE.
“You can tell Michael Cole to go f*** himself, I am leaving. I am not getting punked and yelled at like a child in front of everybody like that.”
Cole ended up getting McAfee’s shorts approved by Vince McMahon by showing the WWE Chairman a picture of Lebron James wearing a similar outfit. He then apologized to McAfee and explained that he did not want him to ruin his chances of impressing McMahon by wearing something that was not suitable.
#2 Alberto Del Rio threatened to leave WWE
Alberto Del Rio’s initial five-year WWE run came to an end in August 2014 when he was fired following an altercation with a WWE employee backstage, but did you know that he reportedly considered quitting two years prior to that incident?
According to the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer (via Wrestling Inc.), one source claimed that Del Rio was frustrated with his position in WWE in June 2012. He reportedly had a disagreement with upper-level management, leading to him threatening to quit, while another source said that the issue revolved around a contract matter.
Del Rio, who held the WWE Championship just seven months earlier, was among the top heel Superstars on the WWE roster at the time. However, even though he had recovered from a groin injury in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania 28, he was not booked in a match on the show.
As it turned out, Del Rio remained with WWE and he soon found himself back in the title picture, winning the World Heavyweight Championship from The Big Show in a Last Man Standing match on a January 2013 episode of SmackDown.
#1 Brock Lesnar threatened to leave WWE
Brock Lesnar burst onto the WWE scene in March 2002 when he interrupted a Hardcore Championship match on RAW by taking out Al Snow, Maven and Spike Dudley.
What WWE fans did not know at the time, however, was that “The Next Big Thing” had issued an ultimatum to the company after spending 18 months in the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) developmental system.
Speaking on WWE Network show Ruthless Aggression, Paul Heyman revealed that Lesnar threatened to quit if WWE’s higher-ups planned to keep him in developmental for much longer.
“Brock Lesnar had learned all he was going to learn in developmental and he was tired of developmental money. Brock Lesnar knew that he was the biggest box-office attraction that WWE was going to have, and Brock Lesnar was tired of waiting. So, Brock made a decision: move me up to the main roster or kiss my a** goodbye. It was a no-brainer of a decision [for WWE].”
Within five months of being a main-roster Superstar, Lesnar defeated The Rock in the main event of SummerSlam 2002 to win the WWE Undisputed Championship.
