New details are being revealed on how WWE Chairman Vince McMahon wanted WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin to be ready for his WrestleMania 38 ring return in 2022, which saw Austin win a No Holds Barred match over Kevin Owens to headline Night 1.
A new report from Fightful Select notes that while Austin himself had been hesitant since his initial 2003 retirement and was very particular about how the right situation would present itself, McMahon was also very particular in making sure Austin was ready for his “impromptu” WrestleMania main event match.
McMahon reportedly flew himself and Drew Gulak to Austin’s Texas ranch to prepare for WrestleMania. Gulak ran drills with Austin, and Austin started calling out spots to Gulak, almost in full character. Gulak went with it and the two effectively had a long match at the ranch. Gulak also worked with McMahon.
One WWE higher-up said, “The funniest thing about all of this wasn’t that Vince flew all the way out there, took Drew Gulak with him and made sure that Austin could still go. It’s that while he did all that to make sure that Austin was good to go, he knew he was planning to wrestle himself, knew he sucked, still did it and ended up having one of the worst matches and Stunner sells of all-time after.”
Austin also worked with McMahon and current WWE United States Champion Austin Theory on Night 2 of WrestleMania 38. McMahon came out to watch Pat McAfee’s win over Theory, but this led to McAfee calling out McMahon for an impromptu match. Theory attacked McAfee before the bell, and the quick match ended with McMahon pinning McAfee. Austin then made a surprise appearance and hit Theory with a Stunner, then shard beers with McMahon. Austin ended the segment with a sloppy Stunner to McMahon, thanks to the Chairman, then celebrated with McAfee before also hitting him with a Stunner.
Stone Cold has been rumored for WrestleMania 39 but he stated earlier this month that WWE has not contacted him about appearing.
Stay tuned to WrestlingHeadlines.com for more.
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