Stone Cold Steve Austin was the biggest star in the Attitude Era, being the flagship face alongside Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The Texas Rattlesnake was the epitome of a true influential figure in the world of professional wrestling during the mid 1990s and until the early 2000s.
Towards the end of Austin’s in-ring career, WWE saw an influx of many top prospects in the company. The global juggernaut was in the process of building the next top stars and had identified one rookie perfect for that role. He was none other than Brock Lesnar.
Lesnar was called ‘The Next Big Thing.’ He was dominant, wrestled at the highest level, and already delivered captivating in-ring performances. During his rise as a top WWE superstar, he was slated to face Stone Cold Steve Austin on RAW. However, Austin famously refused to do so and had his own reasons for doing so.
Why did Steve Austin refuse to battle Brock Lesnar?
In 2002, WWE hosted a King of the Ring tournament that would go on for weeks on both RAW and SmackDown. The winner of the tournament would earn a WWE Championship match at that year’s SummerSlam. Brock Lesnar and Stone Cold Steve Austin were slated to be a part of the tournament.
During the tournament, then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon had the idea to have them compete in a match on Monday Night RAW, which debuted on Netflix in 2025, with a huge show featuring stars and celebrities. This RAW was on free TV, and McMahon wanted Austin to put over the rookie Lesnar.
When Austin’s friend and WWE executive Jim Ross informed him about McMahon’s decision, he bluntly refused. Austin envisioned this match to take place at a later date when Lesnar was more over as a superstar. Moreover, Steve also believed that the match should have taken place at a major pay-per-view show and not on a RAW on free TV. Austin told his side in an interview with Sports Bible.
Because it wasn’t time for me to do the favours yet for Brock in an unadvertised match in a tournament-style TV match whereas hey, man, I love Brock Lesnar, I’d lose to him any day of the week, but build it up so we can all make money off of it and it’s going to mean something.
June 10th 2002, RAW. Steve Austin walked out of the WWE after he was scheduled to lose to Brock Lesnar. #WWE pic.twitter.com/drdWVe5lrm
— WWE Today In History 🌐 (@WWE__History) June 10, 2016
This led to the infamous walkout by Steve Austin in 2002, and he did not return for the next seven months. On the other hand, Brock Lesnar won the King of the Ring tournament and went on to defeat The Rock at SummerSlam to become the youngest WWE Champion in history.
Are Brock Lesnar & Steve Austin still a part of WWE?
Brock Lesnar left the company in 2004 and made his return in 2012. Since then, he had been a box-office attraction for the promotion, working a part time schedule. However, Lesnar has been off WWE TV, since his name came up in the highly controversial Vince McMahon Janel Grant lawsuit.
Moreover, Lesnar’s return is looking even more unlikely. At the start of 2025, The Beast Incarnate’s name officially came up in the lawsuit, diminishing his chances of returning to WWE even further.
As for Steve Austin, it is rumored that he will make an appearance at this year’s WrestleMania. The show will take place in April in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Austin will be in town at that time. So it remains to be seen if he does show up at the event in some capacity.
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