Heading into WrestleMania 39, there were multiple reports that WWE were trying to get Steve Austin to get in the ring for another match.
The Texas Rattlesnake originally retired from the ring following his match with The Rock at WrestleMania 19 back in 2003. However, he made a stunning return to the ring to defeat Kevin Owens in a No Holds Barred bout in 2022.
Earlier this year, reports surfaced claiming that Austin has been pitched several huge matches for the 39th edition of the Showcase of the Immortals, including against Brock Lesnar or the Tribal Chief himself, Roman Reigns. However, it wasn’t to be, and the annual spectacular passed without an appearance from the Bionic Redneck.
Steve Austin explains why he didn’t appear at WrestleMania 39
Speaking to Graham Matthews of Bleacher Report, Austin explained that he couldn’t make a decision on whether to appear on the Grandest Stage of them All before filing finished on his new A&E show, ‘Stone Cold Takes On America’.
Unfortunately, the show took longer to film than expected, leaving him with no time to be a part of the event.
“Originally, the show was going to take, I think give or take three months to shoot it, but it took close to five. It chewed up a lot of time. The weather threw some monkey wrenches at us too, but it lasted a lot longer than I thought it would.
“So yeah, man, I mean, from just interviewing people for the podcast, as far as people say, ‘Hey, Man, why don’t you do Mania?’ You know, they asked me to be a part of it.
“But as I told them and I’m telling everybody today if you ask me, I didn’t know what my life was gonna look like until I finished filming the show. I finished filming the show about four days before WrestleMania.
“I drove every single mile in that RV. I took dumbbells with me on the road, a sandbag, and a kettlebell. That’s how I got my workout in. I was a decent shape for the show. When they greenlit the show, before I started getting ready, I hired a nutrition coach. I got down to 7% body fat.
“I got in the best shape I’ve ever been in and then it didn’t pay off because the whole time we were in 10 degree weather. I got about 10 layers on. So I got into shape in my lifetime to be all covered up. So if it goes into another season or whatever, it’ll be in warm weather, and I’ll be jacked.”
When it comes to the plans for the show, Austin confirmed there was a concrete idea for a match, and it would’ve been against “one of the top guys in the business, period.” However, he refused to divulge who it would’ve been, preferring to leave fans to speculate.
“Yeah, the concrete idea was a match. It was a match and one of the top guys in the business, period. I will let everybody speculate about that.
“But yeah, it was a match, and I didn’t think I could get ready for it in time because I didn’t know my schedule, which is what I told them.”
‘Stone Cold Takes On America’ premieres on April 30th on A&E.
H/T to WreslingNews.co for the above transcription.