Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Kevin Owens Almost Did Not Happen Because of This Reason

Stone Cold Steve Austin had a match in WWE at WrestleMania 38. This in-ring competition for The Texas Rattlesnake came after 19 years as he accepted the challenge for a No Holds Barred match made by Kevin Owens.

Steve Austin, 57, became the oldest WWE superstar to headline WrestleMania in the company’s history. However, the match between Stone Cold and Kevin Owens wasn’t booked until the last moment.

The segment between Kevin Owens and The Rattlesnake was initially supposed to be a talk show, followed by a brawl in the ring. The brawl would have ended in Stone Cold giving a stunner to The Prizefighter and celebrating with the Texas crowd.

Dave Meltzer, in his latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, shared the actual plans WWE booked for Austin. Also, how Austin was ready for a match. 

He said, “With Austin vs. Owens, it was to be billed as a match, but Austin didn’t want to have a bad match, so the plan was for an elongated brawl lasting several minutes. After training, Austin felt comfortable enough to do a match.” (H/T WrestlePursuits.com)

Prior to WrestleMania, Stone Cold had appeared on the Rich Eisen Show. There, The Rattlesnake had stated that he has been doing some cardio and was in good shape to have a match.

The training Austin did came in handy as he agreed to a match. The Texas crowd in the AT&T Stadium got to witness Stone Cold having one more match and retiring on his terms this time. 

Austin gave an amazing performance despite his age and a long 19-year gap after his last match. The WWE Universe all around loved the match, and it was critically acclaimed as well.

Stone Cold Steve Austin’s future in WWE after WrestleMania 38

Austin after the match stated that he was glad about getting a chance to have a match after 19 years. Following his amazing performance, fans wanted The Rattlesnake to have more matches in WWE.

However, Stone Cold Steve Austin was happy with his performance and has no plans to wrestle one more match in the future. He got the in-ring moment after 19 years and he is glad about doing it.

Austin gave a stunning performance at 57-years old. Moreover, Vince would love to have Austin on the active roster but The Rattlesnake is happy to retire on his own terms and got a chance to have his last match in Texas.

Austin returned on Day 2 of WrestleMania 38

Vince McMahon had a match at WrestleMania 38 against Pat McAfee. He won the match and was celebrating with his protégé Austin Theory. Meanwhile, Austin came out to see the boss and confront him a little.

Austin gave a stunner to Theory, Pat McAfee, and Vince McMahon. After that, he started celebrating with the crowd and drinking beer in his iconic style.

What did you think of Austin’s Mania return? Let us know.