WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin has confirmed previous reports on talks with WWE for a potential match at WrestleMania 39.
It was reported in the lead-up to WrestleMania 39 how WWE had offered Austin two big matches in the last year or so – one with Brock Lesnar, or one with Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. While those did not work out, the rumor mill was wide open as Austin had posted social media clips that confirmed he was in great shape. There were additional reports on Austin having talks for WrestleMania 39, but nothing could be confirmed. It was then reported in March that WWE pitched Austin some sort of match or segment with LA Knight on The Grandest Stage of Them All, but by mid-March, Stone Cold was stating in media interviews how there was no deal for him to appear this year.
In an update, Austin just spoke with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated and confirmed that he talked with WWE officials about working a match at WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles, just one year after his No Holds Barred win over current Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38 in Dallas.
“I haven’t spoken to this, but I’ll give you the story,” Austin said. “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 continued and said he couldn’t commit to preparing for the match due to production on his new A&E show.
“But to do a proper match, I’d have to be in off-the-charts shape,” Austin said. “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. And 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.”
“Stone Cold Takes on America” premieres on A&E at 10pm ET on Sunday, April 30.
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