Steve Austin says he couldn't commit to having a match at WWE WrestleMania 39.
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin returned to the ring at WWE WrestleMania 38; in his first bout in nearly 20 years, the WWE Hall of Famer defeated Kevin Owens in a No Holds Barred match. On the road to WrestleMania 39, Fightful Select reported that WWE approached Austin with pitches for a match. In the end, Austin did not appear at the show whatsoever.
Speaking with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Austin commented on his absence from WrestleMania 39.
“I haven’t spoken to this, but I’ll give you the story, I met with some people from WWE. We talked about the possibility of me wrestling at WrestleMania 39. The biggest thing in my mind was the presentation and what kind of match it was going to be. Going back to 38, the way the KO thing was presented—I love KO—I turned that down three, four, five times until the creative finally came to what it ended up being. I didn’t want it constructed as a real match, per se. I needed something that could turn into one, and it did, but I think that’s why we got away with it. The Dallas crowd was very receptive. I hadn’t been around, so the timing was right," Austin said.
Austin continued by stating that he couldn't commit to a proper match because he'd want to be in shape for a potential return to the ring. He noted that production on his new show, Stone Cold Takes on America, was set to start, and the schedule also impacted his ability tp get in shape in time for WrestleMania.
“But to do a proper match, I’d have to be in off-the-charts shape. I told them, and this is the exact truth, I said, ‘Guys, I’m just fixin’ to go into production on this show, Stone Cold Takes on America, and until we start production, I don’t know what my life looks like. I can’t commit.’ Sure enough, there were technical issues before we finished. I was supposed to finish a month before we did. There’s no way, with the schedule I was doing—driving an RV all over God’s creation, doing all I was doing—that I would be ready. I had two 30-pound dumbbells, a 45-pound sandbag, and a 25-pound kettlebell. Working 15 hours a day, then getting in a 30- or 40-minute workout, that doesn’t get you ready for WrestleMania. I was really protected at WrestleMania 38. This time, that wasn’t going to be the case. That was a true statement: Until this show was over, I couldn’t commit," Austin said.
Austin recently reflected on Bret Hart's impact on his career. Check out his comments here.
Click here to check out Austin's comments about how people recognize him for WWE video games now just as much as his in-ring career.
Austin previously recalled his match at WrestleMania 38. Click here to see what he had to say.
