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#4 Steve Austin defied Vince McMahon
In June 2002, Vince McMahon wanted “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to lose against Brock Lesnar in a King of the Ring qualifier on WWE RAW.
At the time, Austin was not happy with the creative direction of his character and, while he had no problem with losing a match to the up-and-coming Lesnar, he felt that their first one-on-one meeting needed a storyline build-up.
As a result, he chose not to show up for work and he did not speak to Vince McMahon for several months.
How did Vince McMahon react?
Shane McMahon said on The Steve Austin Show in 2017 that Vince McMahon was “hurt professionally and personally” when his top Superstar walked out on him.
While that might have been Vince McMahon’s true feelings on Austin’s exit, that did not stop the WWE Chairman from going on television to tell fans that the former WWE Champion “took his ball and went home”.
It was revealed during Vince McMahon’s appearance on The Stone Cold Podcast on the WWE Network in 2014 that Austin, who returned to the company in early 2003, was fined $650,000 for his actions, but the amount was decreased to $250,000.
