Jim Ross addresses the rumored reason why Steve Austin left WWE

Jim Ross recently gave his thoughts on whether Stone Cold Steve Austin should have stayed in WWE after his in-ring career ended.

In 2003, injuries forced Austin to retire from wrestling after his WrestleMania 19 match against The Rock. The Texas Rattlesnake continued to appear on WWE television in on-screen authority figure roles before leaving the company in 2004.

It was widely reported that Austin left partly because then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon would not let him use the name Stone Cold outside the company. Ross, a WWE commentator and executive at the time, said on his Grilling JR podcast that McMahon should have given Austin what he wanted:

"I didn't agree with that, and I'm biased, so take that for what it's worth. I think it was overthought. Why wouldn't you keep your top guy? As long as Austin's walking around and shaking his head and being Stone Cold, he's gonna be your top guy. Why wouldn't you wanna do all you can that's feasible, and I perceive this to be a feasible option, why wouldn't you wanna keep him happy?" [39:21 – 39:52]

Although he became a free agent in 2004, Steve Austin still made sporadic part-time appearances on WWE programming over the next few years. He also returned to the ring for a one-off match against Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38 in 2022.

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Jim Ross compares The Rock and Steve Austin

In the early 2000s, The Rock slowed down his wrestling schedule to focus on his acting career. Vince McMahon allowed the popular star, real name Dwayne Johnson, to be known as The Rock away from WWE.

Two decades on, Jim Ross is still unsure why McMahon did not want Steve Austin to use the name Stone Cold for non-wrestling projects:

"The more exposure Stone Cold gets outside the WWE envelope, the bigger star he becomes. Proof in point, look at The Rock starting off with The Scorpion King and now look at him. He is a franchise, and he got it because he had use of his name. Dwayne Johnson's a nice name, but it doesn't have nearly the sizzle that The Rock has. It's all about marketing, and I don't think Austin was asking for anything unreasonable, quite frankly." [39:53 – 40:31]

Ross also gave a possible reason why Austin did not return to attack The Rock at WrestleMania XL.

Do you think Steve Austin should have been allowed to use Stone Cold outside WWE? Hit the discuss button and let us know.

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Please credit Grilling JR and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.