3. ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin
The toughest SOB to ever step foot through the ropes cracks the top three in this list. Although Austin had a very lengthy and memorable career, he never lost his ability to be entertaining nor his wrestling ability, it had been his body that stopped his career.
After a 20 year career and a botched piledriver that resulted in a broken neck in 1997, Austins career began winding down in 2002, as he was dissatisfied with the company that made him a superstar and the new direction the company was headed.
He left in mid-2002, completely abandoning the WWE and the wrestling business. After months of negotiation, Austin returned in February 2003 and had his final match against long-time rival, The Rock, at WrestleMania XIX.
Austin lost the match but his legacy lives on as one of the greatest of all time. One of the most influential, charismatic and important figures in wrestling history, Austin broke the hearts of plenty by retiring in 2003. If you want to see one more Steve Austin match… ‘gimme a ‘Hell Yeah!’
