The internet has been on fire in recent days following the news that Stone Cold Steve Austin has been offered the chance to come out of retirement yet again. With CM Punk also seemingly out on his way out of AEW, fans quickly dared to dream that a match between the two might be possible.
One man who knows a thing or two about wrestling comebacks is Ric Flair. The 16-time World Champion got back in the ring in July to bring down the curtain on his five-decade long career. However, in typical Ric Flair fashion, the Nature Boy has continued to hint that he isn’t quite done.
Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs CM Punk? Give Me A Break
Speaking on a recent episode of his To Be The Man podcast, Flair gave his opinion on the potential dream match between Austin and Punk. Flair began by discussing the neck injury which initially forced Austin to retire back in 2003, noting that he was in really bad way. Despite this, Flair believes is he comes back to wrestle Punk the match should only last 30 seconds, making it completely unviable.
“I think with Steve, it’s gonna be like Edge maybe. Maybe time in technology or whatever, [if] his neck is healed, but Steve was hurt real bad. So to go out there and do what he did with Kevin Owens was fantastic and a lot more than they anticipated. But, you know, for Steve to put on the tights and go out there and wrestle as Stone Cold, you know, he’ll take a lot of pride in himself, because he is, he’s a man’s man. And he is in great [shape], he always stays in good shape Steve does.
But he’d want to go out there and he doesn’t look that much different than when he was [wrestling]. I mean, his body’s still great, he looks good. But he’ll want to be knowing his ego and knowing who he is. He’ll want to be Stone Cold. And if he wrestled CM Punk, he needs to beat him in 30 seconds, so that’s not the answer. 30 seconds. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. CM Punk. Come on. Give me a break. Anybody mentioned their names in the same breath. Please.”
Despite speculation running wild about a potential clash between Stone Cold Steve Austin and CM Punk, a recent report hinted that putting together such a match would be far from straightforward. At time of writing Punk remains under contract with AEW, although there have been talks about surrounding a buyout. Furthermore, WWE could potentially welcome him back in the right circumstances. However, it has been suggested that “a lot of issues” exist between Punk and All Elite Wrestling which have slowed his departure. In addition there are some within WWE who do not want the star to return to the company.
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