Steve Austin is not entirely against one more WWE match.
Following on from his loss to The Rock in 2003, Austin looked to be one of the select few who really did retire. Content with his final match at WrestleMania 19, The Rattlesnake would still make appearances but never have an official match.
In 2022 that would change as the Hall of Famer would come out of retirement to face Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38 in his home state of Texas. Being victorious in the main event of night 1 and putting on a great match for the Dallas crowd, fans are now once again hoping that Austin has one more in him.
Speaking with ESPN, Austin admitted that he had no plans to come back but he also said that ever since 2003, implying that anything could happen:
“I said I’d never get in a ring again unless all the stars aligned,” Austin said. “And for some reason, somehow, they all did. And at the age of 57, I headlined the first night of WrestleMania. I never thought I’d do that. If you’d have told me that when I retired in [2003], I’d have said, ‘You’re crazy.’ So I’m not gonna sit here and say no to anything, because you never say never in this crazy business of sports entertainment.”
If Austin were to have another match, many fans have one name in mind for the return, CM Punk. While this seemed impossible a few years ago, CM Punk’s return at Survivor Series has once again confirmed that seemingly impossible things can be made possible in WWE.
When asked about a match with Punk, Austin stated that they both get along well with each other and joked that if Punk could take Stunner then it might be a possibility:
“[It] would be a good one. I like Punk, and I think Punk likes me — so, as long as he can take a [Stone Cold] Stunner,” Austin said with a laugh. “I consider him a great friend, a great guy and a great wrestler who’s had a great career. We’ll see.”
With nothing confirmed and Austin not building to a match anytime soon, The Texas Rattlesnake expressed his love for wrestling and left the fans wanting more once again with a small chance that he may come back one more time:
“I love the sports entertainment business more than anything I’ve ever done in my life. And you get a dose of it, and you want more. And so here I am talking to you a couple years later about doing it again. And that’s how addicting it is to me, just to talk about it. And I get excited, and I’ll start talking too fast.
“But it’s not gonna happen. But it could.”
Steve Austin Heavily Featured In WWE 2K24
One of the biggest stars in company history, Austin has had multiple classic battles at WrestleMania including his trilogy with The Rock and the critically acclaimed battle with Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13. Video game fans will be able to recreate multiple Austin moments in the WWE 2K24 WrestleMania Showcase mode as 2K Games have revealed multiple matches.