Current Events > What was the deal with Stone Cold between 2002-2003?

(+) Yeah! (+)

There's a pretty weird trajectory for Stone Cold after Wrestlemania X7. He turns heel and becomes a cowardly character. But he has fun with it.

Things basically go to shit around Wrestlemania X8. Doesn't show up on the Raw afterwards. Starts complaining publicly about how he's being used. Apparently throws in the towel because he is due to lose to Brock Lesnar on Raw and WWE itself starts shitting on him for letting people down. They do manage to patch things up before Wrestlemania XIX and he has one last match with The Rock and basically quits wrestling for good (or at least for two decades).

So overall what was the deal? Was he not feeling it anymore? Was his neck injury becoming too much and he didn't want to admit it? Did he outright not want to pass the torch to the new guys and wanted to go out on his own terms?

It's funny because we often hear about the diva politics with wrestlers like Hogan, The Rock and Shawn Michaels but Stone Cold overall manages to not be brought up as much even though his fallout was very sudden and public. Do people think he was justified?

What I read forever ago was that he didn't like the idea of losing to Lesnar with zero build.

Is that around the same time he quit drinking?

IIRC he was upset with his Wrestlemania X8 positioning and he was getting burned out

ClayGuida posted...

What I read forever ago was that he didn't like the idea of losing to Lesnar with zero build.

He was right tbh. He didn't handle it the right way but he was right