Tag: Steve Austin

Steve Austin explains not appearing at WWE WrestleMania 40

Posted on by Joseph Currier

An appearance at WWE WrestleMania 40 was pitched to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin — but he had “other sh*t going on.”

The main event of WrestleMania 40 in 2024 saw Cody Rhodes defeat Roman Reigns to finish his story and win the WWE Championship. Cameos by WWE legends The Rock and The Undertaker were part of the match — and it seemed like Undertaker’s spot might have originally been intended for Austin. Undertaker helped fend off interference by The Rock and clear the way for Rhodes to get the victory.

In the past, Austin has explained that the rumored appearance in Philadelphia didn’t happen because of scheduling issues. He expanded on that during an appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet.

“Things just didn’t line up. I had other things going on,” Austin said. “You know, I remember when they pitched that to me. I said, ‘Dude, I got some things going on. I don’t see myself being there.’ That was way in advance. Was it pitched to me, or did they want me there? Yeah, but I wasn’t in a position to go.

“There was a possibility that I could have been there, had I chose to go there. I had other sh*t going on. Sometimes, you know, WWE is this multi-billion dollar corporation. I got a metal shop that we’re sitting in. So, sometimes the multi-billion dollar company has an idea that the dude that has the metal shop — it just don’t work. It didn’t work. I’m over here in my metal shop. I like to do as much as I can with WWE. When it works for them, when it works for me, and when it’s going to be fun. In saying that, not everything lines up on a timeline basis. I had other sh*t going on.”

Austin was able to make an appearance at WrestleMania 41 happen, with him showing up in Las Vegas at the second night to announce the attendance. The Austin vs. Bret Hart match from WrestleMania 13 was also inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame that weekend.

WrestleMania is back in Vegas this year — and Austin owns a ranch in the state of Nevada. It remains to be seen if he’ll be involved in the show. If he is, it likely will not be for a wrestling match. The 61-year-old Austin noted on Insight that he feels physically capable of having one more WWE match but probably never will.

Steve Austin on his chemistry with Bret Hart, Vince McMahon

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Bret Hart was one opponent that “Stone Cold” Steve Austin always loved working with.

Last year, Austin vs. Hart from WrestleMania 13 became the first match to receive a WWE Hall of Fame induction. The two had multiple classic bouts against each other and always showed great chemistry. When asked why that was, Austin pointed to just how good Hart is in the ring.

“Because Bret Hart is the best there is, the best there was, there ever will be,” Austin said on a new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet.

“Bret, I loved working with that guy. We just had instant chemistry. He was a student of the game and a student of other promotions. And he had seen what I was doing in WCW as Stunning Steve Austin. He knew his style and my style would work well together — and it did. Just the trash-talking heel that I was, and he was that steady workaholic working babyface, blue collar if you will, [from] Canada, wearing the pink. Just two styles that would work really, really well together — and it did. I’m very thankful to that guy, because he meant a lot to my career.”

Though Hart, The Rock, and Mick Foley were some of his best-ever opponents, Austin named Vince McMahon as the greatest rival he ever had.

“Vince, great chemistry,” Austin said. “That was a feud that transcended the wrestling business. Even if you weren’t like a wrestling fan per se, you were interested in being entertained, so you put it on to see what this m*therfucker from South Texas is terrorizing his boss from New York City — of course, Vince is from North Carolina — but you know what I’m saying. He’s the guy with all the money. And here’s this guy that he’s trying to give a hard time to and make everything hard for him. And he’s outsmarting him and he’s kicking his ass. At some point in anybody’s life, they’d like to punch their boss in the mouth.”

Steve Austin reacts to John Cena’s WWE heel turn: ‘It was okay’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Steve Austin was neither a huge fun nor a big detractor of John Cena’s WWE heel run.

While appearing on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Austin reflected on his own heel turn from 2001, admitting that it did not work and should not have happened. Van Vliet then followed up by asking Austin to give his thoughts on Cena’s 2025 heel stint, which has drawn parallels to the Austin turn.

“Everybody — not everybody — a lot of people wanted to see at least one John Cena heel turn in his run. It was okay,” Austin responded. “It was okay, you know? I like him better as a babyface. I wanted to see him as a heel at some point during his career. The way that it was done — and I’m not knocking booking — just like, man, this far in? Forget about it. Just let him do his thing, f*cking kids love that guy.”

Cena’s heel turn happened at Elimination Chamber 2025 and initially drew intrigue from the audience. However, the follow-up was widely criticized. The Rock and rapper Travis Scott played key roles in the initial turn but then disappeared from the angle, with Cena reverting back to a babyface by SummerSlam and finishing out his retirement tour as a fan-favorite.

Though Cena has no regrets about how things played out, he’s said the heel turn was mostly about creating a big moment at Elimination Chamber.

Austin’s turn saw him shake hands with Vince McMahon at the end of WrestleMania 17. The moment was not something fans wanted to see, and Austin has always said that he wishes he would have read the crowd’s reaction and dropped McMahon with a stunner after the handshake.

“Nobody wanted me to turn heel, but I was just set on turning heel because I’ve always liked working heel so much,” Austin said on Insight.

“It didn’t work. It wasn’t successful. We got a chance to, you know, push the character in different directions and different dimensions. But I don’t think we were really ringing up the box office doing that.”

Steve Austin on whether he would return for one more WWE match

Posted on by Joseph Currier

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin believes he’s physically capable of having another match — but it doesn’t sound too likely that he’ll actually return to the ring.

The 61-year-old Austin is now more than one year removed from undergoing total knee replacement surgery. While appearing on a new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Austin said the operation has provided him physical relief. Staying active in the gym remains a priority for Austin and is a key part of his identity.

Van Vliet remarked that Austin looks like he can still go in the ring.

“I could, God dang it,” the WWE legend responded. “And just saying that takes me back to when we did that WrestleMania match with Kevin Owens in Dallas, Texas.”

After a 19-year layoff, Austin returned for a no holds barred match against Owens at WrestleMania 38 in 2022. Austin praised Owens on Insight, calling him a future Hall of Famer and saying he wishes they could have had a match when Austin was in his prime.

“I just wish that he could have been in the ring with me when I was really going full speed and had my timing because he’s a great worker and I really like him a lot,” Austin said. “I wish he would have got a chance to experience me when I was in my prime because that would have been a great contest.”

Despite no longer being in his prime, Austin reiterated that he does feel like he’s still physically capable of wrestling.

“I could still do it,” he said. “And I’m not advocating for nothing. So I’m not selling a match here. But you asked me, could I? Yes.”

Van Vliet then asked Austin if he would wrestle again.

“Probably not,” Austin responded. “I’ll say that, but you say never say never.”

Austin has not competed since that WrestleMania 38 match but did make a brief appearance at WrestleMania 41 last year, announcing the attendance for night two of the show.

WWE legend Kurt Angle reflects on working with The Rock, Steve Austin

Posted on by Joseph Currier

When he was coming up in WWE, Kurt Angle had the benefit of learning from two all-time greats.

The WWE Hall of Famer and Olympic gold medalist spoke with Going Ringside and reflected on what it was like to work with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin early in his pro wrestling career. Angle said The Rock taught him a lot about cutting promos — but Austin was the person he learned the most from overall.

“He was so entertaining, the guy was such a phenomenal athlete,” Angle said about Rock. “And his promo skills were above everybody else’s. He taught me a lot about cutting promos. He taught me a lot about wrestling in the ring.

“‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin actually was the one guy that I learned the most from. He was one of those guys who would call the match out in the ring, you know? He was an old-school wrestler. That means you don’t plan a lot of it backstage, you just go out there and do it. Improvise. And he was a great improviser. Him and Triple H and Undertaker were three of the best improvisers I’ve ever wrestled.”

Going Ringside also asked Angle to name the hardest opponent he ever faced in the ring.

“Brock Lesnar,” Angle responded. “He was a mixture of power, speed, agility. And he was so — 300 pounds and moved like a cat. I had never been in the ring with an athlete like that. He was an animal.”

The 56-year-old Angle is currently part of the Real American Freestyle wrestling organization as a commentator, analyst, and partner.

DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The end of the 1990s

Posted on by Karl Stern

Karl Stern returns this week with a new podcast looking back at the 1990s.

Recently, he took a look at the first pro wrestling newsletters of that era to get a feeling for where it began which was in a very low place. Today, he looks at the last newsletters from 1999 to discover that WWF/WWE was flying high and WCW was trying to regroup, yet again, from a failed reset.

Steve Austin, Bill Goldberg, Vince Russo, Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, and many others are discussed through the pages of the insider newsletters of 1999.

Click Here to Listen (sub needed)

Steve Austin’s original role for WWE WrestleMania 41 detailed

Posted on by Ian Carey

WWE wanted Steve Austin to play a larger role at WrestleMania 41.

Austin came out on an ATV on night two of the event this year and then announced the total attendance for both nights. He crashed the ATV into the LED boards around ringside, something he would later blame on not being familiar with the throttle system.

In the WWE Unreal docuseries which premiered on Netflix on Tuesday, a proposed lineup for WrestleMania 41 appears on the screen with several differences from what would eventually take place on the show.

Austin is listed as the special referee for a match between Bron Breakker and Drew McIntyre. The rest of the proposed lineup is below.

WWE WrestleMania 41 proposed lineup:

  • WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defending against John Cena
  • Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins
  • Heavyweight Champion Gunther defending against CM Punk
  • Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley defending against Bianca Belair
  • Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens
  • 10 person mixed tag: The Wyatt Sicks vs. Judgment Day
  • WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill defending against Nia Jax
  • Women’s Tag Team Championships: Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair vs. IYO Sky & Asuka
  • Bad Bunny vs. Dominik Mysterio
  • Bron Breakker vs. Drew McIntyre w/ Steve Austin as referee
  • AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
  • Rey Mysterio (w/ Travis Scott) vs. Chad Gable
  • Intercontinental Championship ladder match: Jey Uso vs. Damian Priest vs. Sheamus vs. Sami Zayn vs. Bronson Reed vs. Ludgwig Kaiser
  • US Championship ladder match: LA Knight vs. Jimmy Uso vs. Andrade vs. Santos Escobar vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Steve Austin pays tribute to Hulk Hogan: ‘Hulkamania lives on’

Posted on by Josh Nason

WWE legend & pro wrestling icon “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was the latest to pay tribute to the late Hulk Hogan who passed away Thursday at 71 years old.

Austin posted a picture of himself and Hogan on Instagram (seen below) with the following caption:

“Hulk Hogan was born to be a Professional Wrestler. Larger than life. Charisma for days. He was in a stratosphere all on his own. His contributions are immense. His influence will be forever. Hulkamania lives on. My condolences to his family and loved ones.”

The two shared a memorable moment with The Rock to open WWE WrestleMania 30, but Austin and Hogan never had a one-on-one match. The closest they came was in a three-on-two handicap match on a March 2022 edition of Raw where the NWO (Hogan, Kevin Nash & Scott Hall) defeated Austin and The Rock.

Hulk Hogan News Coverage & Podcasts:

Steve Austin on ATV crash at WrestleMania 41: ‘Not the greatest day at the office’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Steve Austin has commented on crashing an ATV into the ringside barricade at WrestleMania 41.

Austin rode an ATV to the ring on night two to announce the attendance figures of both nights of WrestleMania. However, he crashed into the ringside barricade while doing laps around the ring, causing a fan standing behind the barricade to fall backward. Austin was seen apologizing to the fan before entering the ring.

During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show on Wednesday, Austin said the ATV had a different throttle system than he’s used to and that he’s embarrassed by the incident.

“Different throttle setup than what I’m normally used to. Long story short, just a different throttle system because I’m pretty damn handy on a on a four wheeler,” Austin said.

When asked if there was any aftermath to the incident, Austin responded:

“No, just I was embarrassed about it. I think everybody’s ok, but I mean, you go out there on the biggest night in wrestling, and you end up like that, it’s not the greatest day at the office. You go out there and you want to give people the best show that you can and when you fall short of that, it’s not great.”

Logan Paul recently mentioned on his podcast that Austin turned down a $1 million offer to take part in another WrestleMania segment. Paul had pitched for Austin to emerge from the Prime bottle at ringside during the event. Austin told Helwani he declined the offer, in part because he’s in the beer business.

“I just thought that was kind of personal business, but since it’s out there, yeah, I turned it down. I’m in the beer business, I sell Broken Skull beer, we’re in about 25 or 30 states. I don’t know anything about his product,” Austin said.

“I turned it down just becuase I wasn’t into it and no direspect to him or his product.”

Austin was in Las Vegas for WrestleMania this year as his match against Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 was honored as the first Immortal Moment to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. He spoke about the historical impact of the match.

“I love Bret Hart and we just always had great chemistry from day one,” Austin said.

“This is one of the great matches, but just the historical impact that it had. On the rest of the business after this match unfolded, where Bret would go on to become a heel, I would turn into an anti-hero babyface and you know, have the Austin run. I couldn’t have had that run without Bret.”

“We did the turn, the double turn, execute that with perfection. Shout out to Ken Shamrock who was a big part of it as well and the announce team. But it was awesome and it was a great night at the office and every time you go in the ring you want to have a match like that,” he continued.

Austin’s full appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show is available below:

Steve Austin congratulates IYO SKY: That WrestleMania match was ‘killer’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

When IYO SKY arrived backstage after her WWE WrestleMania 41 victory, she received praise from “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

WWE uploaded a four-minute video today documenting some of the behind the scenes of WrestleMania 41. Among the footage included was an interaction between SKY and Austin after SKY retained the WWE Women’s Championship over Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley in a triple threat match.

“That f*cking match was killer,” Austin said. “That was a f*cking great match, very physical… Congrats.”

“I’m so happy, I’m so honored,” SKY responded. “Thank you very much. Thank you.”

The SKY vs. Belair vs. Ripley triple threat opened the WrestleMania 41 night two card and was a tough act to follow. Though Belair was pinned to end her 4-0 streak of WrestleMania victories, she also spoke highly of SKY backstage following the match before cutting a promo on Ripley.

“I think I broke a finger. My finger’s hurt, my feelings hurt. Nah, I’m so happy right now. That was amazing. Win or lose, it’s WrestleMania. The Mania streak is broken. But you know what, I would prefer it to be IYO out of anybody. One of the greatest wrestlers on the planet. So I can’t be mad at that. Congratulations to IYO. Rhea, still coming for that ass, okay? This ain’t over, because it’s your fault.”

Austin appeared at both nights of WrestleMania in Las Vegas, taking part in the Hall of Fame segment on Saturday and then announcing the attendance on Sunday. His match against Bret Hart from WrestleMania 13 was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on Friday as the winner of the first-ever Immortal Moment Award.

‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin crashes ATV at WWE WrestleMania 41

Posted on by Ethan Renner

WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s WrestleMania 41 appearance did not go as planned.

Austin rode to the ring on an ATV on night two of WrestleMania 41, then crashed the vehicle into the ringside barricade as he maneuvered the vehicle around the ring.

As he took laps around the ring on the ATV, Austin crashed, smashing the vehicle into the LED boards decorating the barricade. A fan standing behind the barricade fell back towards their seat following the impact. Austin appeared to make an apology to the fan, then entered the ring for his planned segment where he announced the night two WrestleMania attendance, then the total attendance for both nights of the event.

As Austin’s segment concluded with him drinking his customary beers in the ring, WWE president Nick Khan was seen on camera having a conversation with the fan who fell back after the barricade was struck.

Austin was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for a second time this weekend, with his WrestleMania 13 match against Bret Hart being inducted as an “Immortal Moment.”

Austin headlined the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2009.

WWE WrestleMania 41 attendance announced —

During his segment, Austin announced a sold-out night two WrestleMania attendance of 63,226, and a total attendance of 124,693 for the two-night show.

Our live coverage of WrestleMania 41 is available here.

Steve Austin ‘not looking to get back in the ring anytime soon’

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: WWE

Despite what many hope, WWE Hall of Famer and pop culture icon “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s in-ring days are behind him.

During an appearance on Friday’s Pat McAfee Show, Austin was asked whether he ever gets the itch to get back in the ring and still see if he can do it.

As he said several times over the past few years, Austin said that “the time right now is for the younger generation. I leave it to them,” adding, “I’m not looking to get back in the ring anytime in the future.”

The 60-year-old made his long-awaited return at 2022’s WWE WrestleMania 38, competing in a no holds barred match against Kevin Owens — his first in-ring action in 19 years. He underwent total knee replacement surgery in late-2024.

He said a WrestleMania 40 appearance was “close” and said at one point, that he hoped to be at the 41st edition if it made sense.

Austin said he still wonders if he didn’t have a little more to give Owens in that match, but isn’t thinking about returning again. There was talk last year that WWE was optimistic a potential bout against CM Punk was possible.

His WrestleMania 13 match with Bret Hart will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Friday night.

Austin was also asked about the John Cena heel turn and he approves it, later admitting to Michael Cole that his own attempt to turn heel “didn’t need to happen.”

Bret Hart on WrestleMania 13 match vs. Steve Austin: ‘It was just magic’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Bret Hart discussed his WrestleMania 13 match vs. Steve Austin during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show on Tuesday.

WWE recently announced that the match will be the first to be inducted into its Hall of Fame as an “Immortal Moment.” Hart says what he and Austin did that night was “just magic.”

“It’s a big honor,” Hart said of the match being inducted into the Hall of Fame. “I’m really quite proud of that, especially that match and the work that I had with Steve Austin. If you asked me in truth if I thought there was a better match somewhere, I mean, I don’t think there’s been a better match. It was just magic what we did that night.”

Asked if the match is at the top of his list of career favorites, Hart responded:

“It’s been at the top probably since I had it. I have my all-time favorites. I think the match I had with the Bulldog at Wembley was probably my first greatest match, in the sense that it was the first one that I wasn’t in a team, it was just me by myself going out there and putting that match together. And that was a beautiful match. And the Ironman match with Shawn Michaels—I mean, you could say what you want about our relationship—the truth is that it’s hard to top that match.”

Hart referred to his WrestleMania 13 match as “the highest level of professionalism” possible in wrestling:

“It was, to me, the highest level of professionalism that you can get in a professional wrestling match. We both really worked really hard, took a lot of hard falls, large hits with the chair and stuff like that. But we also really protected each other and looked out for each other. And when they told me they were going to induct that match, it was like, well, they should, it was maybe the best match ever.”

Both Hart and Austin are scheduled to appear at the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2025 ceremony on Friday, April 18, at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas in Nevada. Hart will become the first person to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on three occasions: once as a singles competitor, once as part of the Hart Foundation with Jim Neidhart, and now for his WrestleMania 13 match with Austin.

Hart’s full appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show is available below:

Steve Austin reacts to WM 13 match being inducted into WWE Hall of Fame

Posted on by Joseph Currier

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin is happy that his WrestleMania 13 match against Bret Hart still resonates with fans.

It was announced last week that the Austin vs. Hart match will be enshrined into the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania 41 weekend in Las Vegas. Receiving the inaugural “Immortal Moment Award,” it’s the first match to ever be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

While doing a private autograph signing for American Icon Autographs, Austin was asked if this award means anything to him.

“Yeah, yes and no,” he responded. “I mean, yeah, because it was a hell of a match and we knew it at the time. And I think that it was good that it was in Chicago, because Chicago was kind of a stronghold for me, but it would have worked anywhere. But the fact that it happened with Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart. There’s a couple behind-the-scenes stories that, you know, I don’t want to talk about. But, man, it was a hell of a match, and it’s cool for people to still remember it damn near 30 years later. So, yeah, it means something to me, because, I don’t know, if it wasn’t for the fans, I wouldn’t be sitting here. So the fact that that match is relevant and it’s going into the 2025 Hall of Fame for matches and it’s the first match to be inducted, cool.”

Austin vs. Hart was a no holds barred submission match with Ken Shamrock as the special guest referee. Along with their stellar in-ring work, the match is memorable for its double turn that helped Austin become one of the biggest babyfaces in pro wrestling history. With blood streaming down his face, Austin refused to tap out while in the Sharpshooter and lost by referee stoppage.

Both Austin and Hart have already been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame individually, and The Hart Foundation (Hart & Jim Neidhart) are in the HOF as a tag team as well.

The 2025 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony is set for Friday, April 18 and will air live on Peacock and WWE’s social media channels. Paul “Triple H” Levesque, Michelle McCool, Lex Luger, and The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon) are also part of the inductee class.

Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart WrestleMania 13 match to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame

Posted on by Bryan Rose

For the first time ever, a match will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

During SmackDown, it was announced that the match between Bret Hart and Steve Austin from WrestleMania 13 would be inducted as a “WWE Immortal Moment.” Announcers said that both Austin and Hart would be at the ceremony for the induction.

The bloody brawl that took place in Chicago on March 23, 1997 saw Hart win the match after applying the sharpshooter on Austin, who didn’t submit but passed out, giving special guest referee Ken Shamrock no other option but to end the match. It would begin Hart’s final run with the company as a heel, later forming the Hart Foundation stable. Despite Austin’s loss, it started his own babyface run that led to him winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 14 the following year.

The match was given a five-star rating in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, and also won Match of the Year in the 1997 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards.

Those already announced for this year’s ceremony include Triple H, The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon), Lex Luger, and Michelle McCool. It was reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Shamrock’s name has also been mentioned for the ceremony.