“Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s appearance at WrestleMania 41 didn’t go as planned, as the WWE legend accidentally crashed his ATV into the ringside barricade.
On a recent episode of “The Ariel Helwani Show,” the WWE Hall of Famer reflected on the mishap, explaining that a mechanical difference led to the error in a routine he had performed many times before. He said,
“It was a different throttle setup than I’m used to—long story short, just a different system. I’m pretty dang handy on a four-wheeler, so I was embarrassed by it. I think everybody’s okay. But when you go out there on the biggest night in wrestling and that happens, it’s not the greatest day at the office. You want to give the fans the best show possible, and when you fall short, it doesn’t feel good.”
The crash led to a female fan being knocked down, prompting Austin and WWE President Nick Khan to immediately check on her.
According to reports, WWE is concerned the fan may pursue legal action as a result of the incident, though no lawsuit has been filed publicly at this time.
During the same podcast, Austin was asked if there were discussions of him doing more at WrestleMania 41. He said,
“I was just happy to be there. I had a knee replacement about four months ago. For a total knee replacement to heal up 100%, you’re looking at about a year. That was on December 4th. I don’t squat anymore, I’m doing some Hindu squats along with my workouts, but I haven’t even tried to run yet. I don’t even know if I can run, not that I run a lot to the ring. I would imagine about I’m 30-35% of capacity. I did what I could. Just to be involved in the show, go out there and announce the attendance, that’s what I did. That’s about all I could do. Earlier in the year, not really discussions, just brief, ‘Hey, if you want to be there, maybe we can figure you in.’ I said, ‘I’m getting my knee replaced. We’ll see what happens when that time comes.’ Time came and I can’t do much.”
Despite her beachy persona and surfer gimmick on WWE television, Sol Ruca recently admitted that her surfing skills aren’t quite championship-level.
During an appearance on the “Busted Open Radio” podcast, the WWE Women’s Speed Champion set the record straight. She said,
“I’m not a great surfer. I can surf, but I’m not very good. I grew up in Southern California, lived in Hawaii, have shark tattoos on my arm — I definitely look the part. I’ve always loved surfing and the culture around it, but I didn’t have time to really learn when I was younger. I actually grew up snowboarding and I’m much better at that.”
She added, “I go as much as I can now. I can stand up and do a little cut, and the biggest wave I ever surfed was six feet once in Hawaii. I’m just okay. I’ve never claimed to be a great surfer. It’s more like people assumed that’s what I do. There was even a WWE promo where someone else is surfing, and people thought it was me. It wasn’t!”
(h/t – Fightful)
