Steve Austin was arguably the most beloved and successful WWE superstar of all time. The rise of Austin led to WWE ascending into a new top spot in the industry during the Monday Night Wars with WCW. WWE would have various storylines and character twists for Austin down the line during his stint in the company as a performer from 1996 to 2004.

RELATED: 10 Pictures That Defined Steve Austin's Career

Austin didn’t always have flawless booking despite being made to look strong for most of his run. There were a few bumps in the road that showed WWE wasn’t always effective in how they spotlighted him. Find out just what could have made an iconic career even better.

10 Demanding He Put Over Brock Lesnar Without Any Build

Steve Austin and Brock Lesnar

The most common example used to show how much WWE started to lose faith in Steve Austin featured him being asked to put over Brock Lesnar. Austin putting over a rookie that early into his career would already have been a tough sell, but WWE didn’t even build to the match.

RELATED: Attitude Era: 5 Stone Cold Moments That Have Aged Well (& 5 That Haven't)

The plan was for Lesnar to pin Austin cleanly in a King of the Ring qualifier with no hype on Raw. Austin walked out of the company for months due to feeling disrespected by Vince McMahon. WWE was using Austin poorly for months before this idea put everything over the top.

9 Promos Mocking Him For Leaving in 2002

Steve Austin in WWE

The aftermath of Steve Austin leaving WWE was more volatile than the act itself. WWE buried Austin on television the following week with the timing of the name WWE replacing WWF moving forward.

The term “Get the F out” was used to promote the name change and a few wrestlers used it to mock Austin leaving. Triple H and The Rock specifically called out Austin for taking his ball and going home. WWE showed zero love to Austin and tried to make him look like a cowardly traitor.

8 Tough Enough Reboot

Steve Austin on Tough Enough

WWE brought back the reality series Tough Enough with Steve Austin hosting in 2011. The star power involved of Austin hosting along with Booker T and Trish Stratus as coaches gave WWE hope that ratings would be strong.

Tough Enough still had a flawed concept that didn’t get over enough to make an impact. The show missed the mark and it felt like Austin was wasting his time. Chris Jericho replaced Austin in the role about four years later when Tough Enough again returned to the USA Network.

7 Turning Him Heel to Join The Alliance

The Alliance celebrate Steve Austin

The WrestleMania 17 heel turn of Steve Austin is criticized to this day for hurting Austin’s momentum and causing a huge decline for WWE. However, things look even worse when realizing WWE almost fixed the problem in the summer of 2001.

Austin seemed to turn face when “the old Stone Cold” returned to attack The Alliance wrestlers from WCW and ECW. The payoff saw Austin revealing he was conning WWE and joined The Alliance to become heel again. WWE decided to double down on a mistake after it could have been repaired with ease.

6 Ted DiBiase Managing Him

Steve Austin and Ted DiBiase

Steve Austin was unhappy with the first few months of his WWE career when Ted DiBiase was his manager. The hope of Austin was that he would get the chance to talk and finally have a shot at getting over on his own after some WCW disappointments.

Austin struggled immensely and showed little chemistry with DiBiase. The Ringmaster phase of Austin’s career could have ruined him for good in WWE if DiBiase didn’t leave for a WCW contract. Austin got over huge when getting the chance to do his own talking.

5 Scott Hall as His WrestleMania 18 Opponent

Steve Austin vs Scott Hall

The New World Order coming to WWE for the first time since WCW ended saw Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Hulk Hogan trying to take over a new promotion. Hogan was placed in a program with The Rock when Austin didn’t want to work with him.

RELATED: Stone Cold: 5 Best Stunners Ever (& 5 Worst)

Even though Austin shut down their original idea, WWE could have booked him in a much better program than with Hall heading into WrestleMania 18. The Undertaker facing Ric Flair on that card could have seen Austin facing him instead with the streak on the line. Austin putting over Undertaker would have found more success than beating a washed Hall.

4 Booking Him in Match with Jonathan Coachman

Jonathan Coachman

The use of Steve Austin by WWE after retirement saw him coming back in a few strange situations. Jim Ross getting fired by the McMahon family in 2005 felt like a low-rent angle meant to embarrass the broadcaster again.

Austin returned to stand up for Ross and was placed in a match with Jonathan Coachman of all people with JR’s job on the line. WWE wanted Coachman to win and Austin refused to show up. Batista ended up replacing Austin to beat Coachman, but the JR portion of the storyline was dropped.

3 Feud with Ric Flair as New Boss

Steve Austin and Ric Flair

Steve Austin struggled to find the groove as a face in WWE after the failed 2001 heel turn hurt his momentum. The original brand split started with Flair running Raw and trying to form a bond with Austin.

WWE booked the angle of Austin refusing to befriend management and turning Flair heel with his antics. Austin just didn’t have the same chemistry with Flair that he did with Vince McMahon. The angle made Austin fall to his lowest status in WWE since 1996.

2 Not Booking Goldberg Dream Match at WM 19

Steve Austin and Goldberg

WrestleMania 19 was the last legitimate match of Steve Austin’s wrestling career putting over The Rock. It was a nice story to see Rock finally get a WM win over Austin in his third attempt, but WWE missed out on a bigger dream match.

Goldberg debuted for the company just one later after Austin retired to block the massive WWE vs WCW attraction fans badly wanted. The timetable pushing Goldberg up or having Austin work one more program would have added another legendary chapter to Austin’s career.

1 Rikishi as Mystery Attacker

Rikishi in WWE

Steve Austin missing most of 2000 was due to him taking time off to get surgery on his damaged neck. WWE wrote Austin off of television at Survivor Series 1999 by having a mystery man run him over with a car.

The return almost one year later saw Austin having a huge storyline of trying to find his attacker. WWE went with Rikishi to turn him heel as a reward for getting over as a top face. Fans just couldn’t buy Rikishi as a villain and he never had the main event run to ensure there was important to his reveal. WWE ruined a potentially great angle by picking the wrong wrestler.

NEXT: Steve Austin vs Triple H: 10 Things Most Fans Don't Realize About Their Rivalry, 20 Years Later