5 times WWE ended storylines with dead ends

#2 An unknown WWE employee robs Stone Cold Steve Austin in a ladder match

Steve Austin had a victory at the tip of his fingers

1999 was definitely an interesting year in WWE/WWF, and the King of the Ring event was no exception. Heading into the event, Linda McMahon stepped down as CEO and hand-picked her successor...former WWE Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin, who had been screwed out of his championship thanks to Vince and Shane McMahon and the Corporate Ministry.

This didn't sit too well with Vince, obviously, seeing the Rattlesnake take everything he held dear. So, of course, Austin's control over the company was put on the line in a ladder match. It would be a handicap match, with Austin taking on both Shane and Vince.

Still, there was the Corporate Ministry to worry about, and Austin had the opportunity to ban them from the match when he faced Big Boss Man. After suffering a loss, Big Boss Man was outed from the Ministry.

Cut to WWE King of the Ring 1999, and Steve Austin is just inches away from the briefcase, it was raised high above the ladder, way out of Austin's reach. He was unable to get a hold of it, and would ultimately lose the match to Vince and Shane.

Now, according to several people involved, and context clues and all that, it seemed that the culprit would be Big Boss Man. Since he wasn't a part of the Ministry anymore, he could interfere in the match without any repercussions. The next night, he was even welcomed back to the group with open arms.

For some strange reason, WWE just didn't reveal the one responsible, leaving a pretty gaping plot hole in the story. Though, clearly, it's not the first or last time WWE would do something like that.