June 24, 2002 Observer Newsletter: Details on Steve Austin quitting, plus tons of news
The departure of Steve Williams (Stone Cold Steve Austin) took a unique turn as WWE attempted to use him for one last Raw rating on 6/17, coming off the heels of Austin making national publicity for allegedly beating wife Debra in the early morning on 6/15 at their home in San Antonio.
Over a five-year-period, no character in the history of the pro wrestling industry has generated more revenue than Steve Austin has done the past five years. That period includes a year he was just starting to heat up in 1997, and another ten months lost after neck surgery. He was the key character (well, on the WWF side, the key reason was the incompetence of the opposition) in turning the corner of a losing wrestling war. More importantly, he was the most important cog in the wheel, between drawing more revenue over a one year period than any wrestler in history ever had at the box office, on PPV, and in merchandising, taking the company from an $83 million per year business that was in financial disarray to a business that peaked at $456 million in revenue one year ago and was valued at more than $1 billion on the New York Stock Exchange.
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Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.