At WrestleMania 38, Austin Theory went head to head with former SmackDown commentator Pat McAfee in his WrestleMania debut.
Theory was the hand-picked opponent for McAfee at the behest of Vince McMahon, who had agreed to book McAfee on the Grandest Stage of Them All during a rare interview appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
Following McAfee’s victory over the young star, McMahon himself rose up from his vantage point at ringside and confronted the star, taking off his business attire to reveal a tank top underneath. The two then had an impromptu match, McMahon’s last before retiring amidst scandal the following July. Shockingly, McMahon was victorious in his outing, and he celebrated with his protégé after the bout.
However, their celebration was short-lived as the pair were then confronted by Stone Cold Steve Austin, who’s returned to the ring for the first time in 19 years the previous night. He had plenty of stunners to hand out to everyone involved, and while Vince’s sell of the stunner is considered one of the worst in history, Austin Theory’s was a beautiful sight to behold.
Austin Theory Says He Took The Best Stunner In History
Speaking in a new interview with Chris Van Vliet, Theory didn’t show any signs of humility when talking about his WrestleMania 38 stunner, saying it was the best in the history of the move.
“I think it is the best. I don’t think it’s right up there, I think it’s right past the mark. What are we going based off of, height? Because ya boy was a rocket ship. [laughs]
“When I was on the independent scene, I would wrestle in Evolve and sometimes on other shows. If somebody hit me with a stunner, I remember one time I just jumped as high as I could and with just the roar of the crowd you know, you wanna bring that energy. I remember being really high in the air and landing on my back and then I’m flipping and I’m on my feet again, flying into the ropes.
“I knew at WrestleMania, the day of, [Steve] Austin is in the little golf cart pulling up right in front of the locker room and he has his back to me. I go up to him and I’m like ‘Hey, how’s it going? I just wanna introduce myself, I’m Austin.’ He was like ‘Very nice to meet you, I’ll be seeing you later.’ That’s how that day went and then I found out that I’m gonna get stunned. I knew the entire time that’s how I was gonna do it, and I didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t want anybody [to tell me no]. I’m gonna take my moment and that’s gonna be it.”
While some fans hoped Austin may come out of retirement once more at WrestleMania 39, he insists his time in the squared circle is through.
h/t Fightful