Famous Stone Cold Steve Austin WWE Match Almost Never Happened

Steve Austin’s in-ring comeback was confirmed very late in the day.

At WrestleMania 38, Steve Austin stepped into the ring for the first time since 2003. In those intervening 19 years, Austin had been adamant that he was happily retired, although he never fully closed the door on a special comeback.

However, as the years passed, many felt the chances of seeing the Texas Rattlesnake wrestle one more time were increasingly slim. That was until one crazy night in Texas with Kevin Owens.

In a wild No Holds Barred Match, Austin rolled back the years and turned in a performance that was praised far and wide as he beat Owens in the main event.

Steve Austin vs. Kevin Owens Was In Doubt

In a new interview with Chris Van Vliet, Owens looked back on the match and how it came together. The former World Champion explained that even 24 hours before the show he still didn’t know what he and Austin would be doing.

“I think Vince wanted him to be on WrestleMania in Dallas, and he wasn’t sure in what capacity. I’m not sure how. I think they talked. He said no at first, from what I understand. Then they went back to him, and he’s like, Okay, who would it be with? I think that’s when they said me, which I think he was good with.

Then somehow, was it going to be a talking segment? Was it going to be a match? Was it going to be a Stunner? Literally, up until the day of the show, we had no idea. Me and Steve had talked, I would talk to Steve, ask him, ‘What are we going to do?’ He goes, ‘I don’t know, depends on Vince.’

So I talked to Vince, and Vince goes, ‘Depends on Steve. ‘ I’m like, ‘Can’t you guys talk to each other for f*ck sake?’

But yeah, up until that day, we really didn’t know for sure what it was going to be. It turned out to be what it was, and it was pretty great. I’m very lucky to have been a part of it. To this day, it’s the craziest thing that I’ll ever have done in my career, and I don’t think anything will top it.”

During WrestleMania 41 weekend, Steve Austin is set to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for the second time. Austin’s match against Bret Hart at WrestleMania is set to be inducted as part of the company’s new “Immortal Moments” series.

The main inductees as part of the class of 2025 include Triple H, Lex Luger, The Natural Disasters, and Michelle McCool. Meanwhile, it’s been announced that Dory Funk Sr, Kamala, and Ivan Koloff will be inducted into the legacy wing.

H/t to Fightful