5 Times Vince McMahon fell out with top WWE Superstars (and the reasons why)

#4 Vince McMahon and Steve Austin

In 2002, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin walked out of WWE after Vince McMahon booked him to lose a King of the Ring qualifier against an up-and-coming Brock Lesnar on an episode of RAW.

Austin has said on numerous occasions that he would have been happy to lose to Lesnar, but he felt that a match between the two men needed to at least have a storyline build-up.

Speaking on NotSam Wrestling in 2017, the WWE Hall of Famer revealed that he did not have any contact with Vince McMahon for several months after his walkout. Jim Ross, a long-time friend of Austin, then encouraged him to talk with the WWE Chairman.

“He put me back in touch with Vince and me and Vince buried the hatchet. Had it not been for Jim Ross, I had already basically told the company to go f*** themselves without saying that. I was just not going to have anything to do with them.” [H/T Wrestling Inc.]

Austin received a $650,000 fine from Vince McMahon for his walkout, but he was able to lower the figure to $250,000.