Steve Austin has come out in support of Roman Reigns’ victory over Cody Rhodes in the main event of WrestleMania 39.
Heading into the event everything seemed primed for a Cody Rhodes victory. He had overcome a serious pectoral injury, won the Royal Rumble, and was being pushed forward by his own previous failures as well as the legacy of his Hall of Fame father. There seemed no better stage for the American Nightmare to finally become WWE Champion than WrestleMania 39, in the process claiming the World Title Dusty Rhodes never won.
However, WWE had other plans. Roman Reigns kept hold of the Undisputed WWE Universal Title via a boatload of interference and is now closing in on 1000 days as World Champion.
Despite the result not going down well with a number of fans both online and in the stadium on April 2nd, WWE legend Steve Austin believes WWE made the right call. Speaking to Sports Illustrated, Austin said that he wouldn’t have changed a thing about the match.
“I was wondering how they were going to do this match. They built it perfectly. I told my wife, ‘I think they’re going 30 [minutes].’ They ended up going just over 34, and it was a classic. I loved it, and I wouldn’t have changed a thing. I texted a couple people who were involved, and I sent a one-word text: Magnificent.”
Continuing on, Austin said he felt Rhodes needs to become World Champion, just not yet.
“I loved the finish. I loved all of it. Roman is so good right now. The story was there—Cody coming back from injury, coming back into the fold after he left from AEW, and putting himself in the position he’s in now, overcoming all this adversity as part of one of the most famous wrestling families that’s ever been in the business, and trying to finish the story against Roman.
I watched both nights of WrestleMania 39 very intently. To me, you can’t take that belt off Roman right now. You want to get it to Cody somehow, someway, some time—but now’s not the time.”
The legend added that it’s not quite time to pass the torch while praising all involved for their performances.
“I kept asking, ‘How are they going to do this? To have Solo Sikoa, who has a great career in front of him, Jimmy and Jey Uso, who are just so badass, plus Sami and Kevin, Paul E., I love all those guys—they all played a great role. Roman is so hot. It just wasn’t time to pass that torch yet.
Just thinking about that finish, I thought it was definitely the right call. I loved the outside interference. You didn’t know what was coming next. That spike to the throat, for me, it was money.”
Steve Austin Confirms He Turned Down WWE Comeback
During the conversation, Austin also confirmed one of the worst-kept secrets of WrestleMania season. The WWE Hall of Famer revealed that he did indeed turn down the chance to wrestle at the spectacular.
While Austin didn’t mention the specific creative thrown his way, it had previously been reported that he turned down matches with Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns.