By Chris Walters on April 17, 2004 at 12:12 AM EST

As reported yesterday, Steve Austin and WWE have parted ways due to the contractual issue.

This came as a surprise to some backstage, as the general feeling was that the two parties would eventually come to terms, since the issue did not seem all too serious to some people. It was serious to Austin, however, as he strongly contends WWE's claim to the Stone Cold name, asserting that he and his wife came up with the idea. Out of appreciation for his time with the company, Austin didn't even feeling getting rights to the name should be an issue, but WWE was not willing to give him those rights at this time.

News of Austin's leave also silences rumors of the two parties reaching a temporary solution regarding Austin having a shorter ring schedule. Again, this report of Austin and WWE parting ways should not be a surprise if you've been following our stories, but some in WWE did believe that progress was being made on the issue.

Rumors have already hit the streets regarding Steve Austin working in Japan, but nothing is definite at this point.

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Source: PWTorch.com