While there were a lot of factors in play that led to Stone Cold Steve Austin’s departure from WWE in 2002, a proposed match with Brock Lesnar was the final nail in the coffin. However, the Beast Incarnate himself, holds no grudge against the Texas Rattlesnake for backing off from a bout with him.
The former Universal champion recently appeared on The Pat McAfee Show. He discussed a number of things including not caring about Hall Of Fame and more. He was also asked which Attitude Era star he wishes he had gotten a chance to step in the ring with.
Answering the question, Brock Lesnar noted that he got to wrestle people like The Undertaker, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, and more. He then discussed how the one name he never got to face was Steve Austin. Though according to Lesnar, he understands that it was a business decision:
“I didn’t get to wrestle Steve (Austin). And I was thinking about this actually today because you (Pat McAfee) and I had dinner and talking about Steve and whatnot, and doing the ’˜whats’.
I understand from a business aspect, at the time, Steve left and didn’t wanna work with me. And it was probably the right decision for him at the time. I don’t hold a grudge against it at all. Business is business. I had a lot of good mentors coming up in the business.’
For those who don’t know, WWE wanted Steve Austin to lose a King Of The Ring qualifying match to Brock on Raw. However, Austin, who was already exhausted with his WWE stint and dealing with a number of injuries felt it wasn’t appropriate for him to lose clean without a build-up. So he walked out of the company instead.
