WWE's Steve Austin shares plans for match at WrestleMania 39
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin has shared that he had talks with WWE ahead of WrestleMania 39 about potentially wrestling at the event.
The wrestling legend made his long-awaited return to the ring at WrestleMania 38 in 2022. At the event, Austin took on Kevin Owens in a 'No Holds Barred' match, marking his first time wrestling since 2003.
After the success of his comeback, many fans expected Austin to be on the card again at WrestleMania 39 this year — but when the time came around, he was nowhere to be seen.
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Speaking to Sports Illustrated, Austin revealed that he had talks with WWE about doing another match, but his new reality show Stone Cold Takes on America kept him away from the ring.
"I met with some people from WWE. We talked about the possibility of me wrestling at WrestleMania 39," Austin said. "The biggest thing in my mind was the presentation and what kind of match it was going to be."
Austin went on to say that before his WrestleMania 38 match, he had turned down the idea three or four times before finally saying yes.
"I didn’t want it constructed as a real match, per se," he explained. "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."
If Austin were to do a proper match, he'd need to be in "off-the-charts shape", and the 58-year-old said he simply didn't have the time to do that this year.
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"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,'" he explained.
Austin said that with his schedule for the show, working 15 hours a day, he'd only be able to get in a 30- or 40-minute daily workout and "that doesn’t get you ready for WrestleMania."
"I was really protected at WrestleMania 38," he added. "This time, that wasn't going to be the case. That was a true statement: Until this show was over, I couldn't commit."
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