A former WWE World Champion has looked back on their memorable match with Steve Austin and how they felt the effects of The Texas Rattlesnake’s punches later that night.
After 19 years away from the ring, Austin came out of retirement at WrestleMania 38 to take on Kevin Owens. Originally set up to be a talk show segment, both men later faced off in a no-holds-barred match to close night one.
Although the match was very well received by the fans with many wanting to see at least one more Austin match before the Hall of Famer retires for good, Austin was not entirely happy with the match. In follow-up interviews, Austin has been critical of his performance and admitted that his timing was off.
While speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Owens stated that Austin did hit a few snug shots in the match, but noted that it was no worse than what he had been hit with before:
“Yeah. Actually the night of the match, when I go back to my hotel my earlobe was swollen like this big from his punches. I went [squeezes] and it just splattered against the mirror. He kept saying, ‘You didn’t give me any receipts.’ What am I gonna do? But honestly, in that moment too, I felt the punches but they weren’t any worse than anything I felt before.
But to him, that shows how much of a pro he is. Bret has always prided himself on how he’s never hurt anyone. You could barely feel him in the ring and stuff, and that’s amazing. I think Steve was the same way, so he prided himself on not killing people and that night he knew he was killing me. But to me it was not any worse than other guys.”
How Steve Austin Match Came Together
For years, Austin looked to be the exception to the rule in wrestling as there was no indication that he would be back in the ring after his 2003 retirement. During the same interview, Kevin Owens recalled how the Steve Austin dream match was made a reality.
If you use any quotes from this article please credit the source and leave a h/t to ITR Wrestling.