Fanatics has revealed Austin will be part of WWE World during WrestleMania Weekend on April 19 and 20 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The announcement was made on Austin’s unofficial holiday, 3:16 Day.
OH HELL YEAH! 🔥 It’s only fitting we drop this announcement today.
“STONE COLD” STEVE AUSTIN 🍺 is headed to WWE World this April 19 & 20. Tickets to purchase autographs and photo ops will be on sale Tuesday at 11AM ET.
Austin has not taken part in WrestleMania since his match against Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38. He met with WWE about wrestling at WrestleMania 39 the following year but ultimately decided he did not have enough time to get in ring shape. He was also working on his Stone Cold Takes on America show at the time.
Austin did not appear at WrestleMania 40 last year either. He later said a deal for him to be at the event was “close” and that he hopes to be at this year’s show.
“It was close,” Austin told Adrian Hernandez shortly after the event. “And they certainly reached out to me and we had conversations, but my wife and I had some things going on that I didn’t need to go to Philly at that time.”
Dave Meltzer reported in the April 15, 2024, Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Austin had originally been planned for the spot to take out The Rock in the closing moments of last year’s show, but WWE and Austin were unable to come to a financial agreement.
I think a lot of people expected Steve Austin to come out next and take out Rock with a stunner, and then Rhodes would start hitting Cross Rhodes and win the title. Undertaker’s gong hit and he choke slammed and took out Rock. Austin was the person originally earmarked for that spot, but in the end they couldn’t reach a financial agreement and Undertaker was put in his place.
Steve Austin wishes he’d have slowed down and savored more crowd reactions during his match at WrestleMania 38.
Austin defeated Kevin Owens in a No Holds Barred match on night one of the two-night event from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It was his first match in over 19 years, his previous bout being a loss to The Rock at WrestleMania XIX.
Austin spoke about his performance that night during a recent interview with Sports Illustrated.
“I was happy in a moment, but, you know, they didn’t send me a ring down,” he said. “I didn’t have any timing.”
“(Triple H) said, you can come back, but you don’t know what you have, because you haven’t been out there. Undertaker said, you’re not going to have any timing. He was right. I didn’t have any timing. Hell, I hadn’t hit a set of ropes in 19 years. Hadn’t thrown a punch in 19 years.”
Austin mentioned that Hulk Hogan told him every move he did would hurt more because his body was no longer as calloused as it had been during his in-ring career. He also says he wishes he’d worked the crowd more and savored their reactions to the match.
“I think I couldn’t hear the crowd as much as I wanted to,” Austin continued. “When I watched it back, the crowd was into it. It was very, very loud, yes, but I wish I would have taken more time, savored more moments, and worked the people a little bit more than I did. I think I was in a space of not knowing what I had and trying to be a little too frantic. I could have slowed down drastically and made that better. And I wish that I would have. I haven’t told too many people that, but I told you.”
Our own Dave Meltzer awarded the match three and a half stars, tied for the third-highest rating of the night. Cagematch ratings also have it third for the night, behind only Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins and Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch.
A complete look at WWE & UFC business, the numbers, the trends, prospectus for 2025, why profits were so low, Saudi Arabia, media rights, crazy gates, boxing, , new TV shows and more.
The return to WWE of Dwayne Johnson, why it happened, where it has the most effect, the Rhodes angle and more.
Vince McMahon legal updates, latest arguments in the Grant case, as well as notes from the shareholder lawsuit against WWE and members of the board or letting McMahon back in the company, charges about the investigation and lots of new news regarding the board of directors actions from the day of the first Wall Street Journal article until the McMahon return.
Osamu Nishimura passes away, one of the smoothest wrestlers of modern times
Ryan Nemeth’s lawsuit against AEW, Tony Khan and CM Punk, legitimacy, silliness, claims and more details on those claims
Preview of Elimination Chamber and AEW Revolution, odds, cards and consumer demand
The most detailed look at the ratings for all the major U.S. wrestling shows
What is notable about Torneo Escuelas
Stardom has excellent PPV show
Fantastica Mania notes
Promotion sues a fan
Queen of the Ring notes and history form that period
Death of Portland announcer Don Coss
Lawsuit involving WWE Hall of Fame settled
Woman star has health issue
Major injury updates
WBD business
Lots of new AEW matches
Advance ticket sales for WWE & AEW shows
More on UFC & WWE 2026 business prospects with new deals coming in
Why the TKO stock price dropped greatly
Dark Side of the Cage notes
More on discontent with WWE employees
Goals of the WWE/UFC/PBR weekend in Kansas City
Stephanie McMahon update
This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue
The first episode of WWE Evolve premiered on Tubi last night and is available to watch here. Shawn Michaels served as the on-screen matchmaker for one night only, with NXT General Manager Ava being the authority figure for the show going forward. Episode one featured the following results:
Jack Cartwheel, Cappuccino Jones & Sean Legacy defeated Jackson Drake & Swipe Right (Brad Baylor & Ricky Smokes)
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin told Unlikely with Adrian Hernandez that, even though they don’t talk to each other much, he considers CM Punk a good friend:
Me and Punk are friends from way back. There was a picture back from, you know, probably in my heyday, and he’s a lot younger than I am and we got a picture there together and he’s just a young kid. And so I think he was a ‘Stone Cold’ fan back in the day, and I’m a CM Punk fan. I’m a fan of his work. And his promos – Jesus Christ, he can light somebody up. So, you know, we don’t talk a whole lot. We’ll send each other a text every now and then. But we’re probably really, really good friends and don’t talk a whole lot and have a lot of mutual respect for each other. I enjoy what he does.
In an interview with Bill Apter for Sportskeeda WrestleBinge, John Cena Sr. gave an in-character response when asked about his son’s heel turn:
Bill, you’re a real good friend. We go back a long way, but will you please stop? I’m tired of guys like you. I’m tired of the other phone calls I’m getting. I don’t know why he did what he did. You’re gonna have to get that from him. I am so tired of this. Why don’t we just let it play out and find out what’s happening? A reporter’s a reporter, but listen, Bill Apter – ‘friend’ – enough’s enough.
Greg Miller of Kinda Funny confirmed that he is no longer with WWE due to the show “This Is Awesome” not being renewed. It aired on Peacock in the United States for three seasons with Miller as the host. Miller said he’s incredibly proud of the series and doubts that this is the last time he’ll do something WWE-related.
I want to be the world champ. I cannot say it any easier than that. I have longed and wanted the responsibility for ages, and I feel like every time I got the responsibility in Japan, I dropped the ball because I wasn’t mature enough to see what was in front of me.
For the first time in my life, I generally feel like I have the fans’ trust, and I feel like there is a large portion of people that are backing and wanting me to finally take to the throne. And for me, I’m so grateful that it seems like it could be on the table. If I keep working hard enough and I keep dedicating myself, I could be that guy.
Smash Wrestling officially announced that Cassie Lee (the former Peyton Royce) will challenge Jody Threat for the Smash Women’s Championship at their show in Toronto on Sunday, April 20. Lee will be accompanied by her tag team partner Jessica McKay (Billie Kay).
Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling announced that Mo Jabari will defend his Jericho Cruise Oceanic Championship at night one of their Mayhem weekend in Windsor, Ontario, Canada on Friday, March 14. Taiji Ishimori, Stu Grayson, Brent Banks, Michael Allen Richard Clark, and Rich Swann are his challengers.
Bobby Fish and Atlantis Jr. are the latest confirmed entrants for MLW Battle Riot VII in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 5.
Royce Isaacs will be competing at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XIII in Las Vegas on Thursday, April 17.
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin is interested to see how things play out after John Cena’s heel turn.
Cena shockingly turned heel at Elimination Chamber 2025, aligning with The Rock and beating down Cody Rhodes. The angle kicked off the build to Rhodes vs. Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship, which is now official for WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas.
The Schmo interviewed Austin at a Mint 400 race this week and asked for his thoughts on Cena’s turn. Austin said he thought it was an epic way to begin the road to WrestleMania, but he doesn’t know whether the fans will accept Cena as a heel or if this move will have just made him more of a babyface in their eyes.
“It had to happen sooner or later. Finally it happened,” Austin said. “So it’ll be interesting to see, you know, whether the people accept him as a heel or has he turned himself more babyface. I think it remains to be seen as the story unfolds. Nonetheless, they’ve kicked off an epic build into WrestleMania. And that’s what they do every single year. And this year it’s here in Las Vegas, so it’s going to be pretty damn awesome.”
With Austin living in Nevada, he’s said he is open to making an appearance at WrestleMania 41. The Schmo asked if we could see him help out Rhodes against Cena.
“Hey, I haven’t been in contact with anybody, so I guess anything could happen,” Austin responded. “But I’m here to run the Mint 400 and that’s what my sights are set on. I’m not looking to Mania, I’m looking to the Mint 400. I’ve got a brand new left knee. This is my first race back, so I’m going to go out there and kick ass and see if I can do as well as I can.”
Allegiant Stadium is hosting WrestleMania 41 on Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20. This is the last WrestleMania that Cena will ever compete at. He’s currently on his retirement tour and will have his final match in December 2025.
The WWE Hall of Famer shared on Instagram Tuesday that he underwent surgery on his left knee and has been recovering for the last seven weeks.
“I am 7 weeks post op on a Total Knee Replacement. My left knee was on its last leg, and I have been putting this surgery off for years. Post op X-Rays show everything is healing nicely,” he wrote. “Before starting PT, I came out of the gate aggressive and started walking way too soon and too far and really pissed off my new knee. Total Knee Replacement is a year long healing process, so I dont know what the hell I was thinking. Swelling is still an issue, but things are healing up nicely and getting solid.”
Austin hopes to participate in the upcoming Mint 400, an off-road racing event near Las Vegas that takes place in seven weeks.
“I will get back in my @kawasakiusa KRX1000 for the first time this weekend to knock the rust off and get back to driving,” he said. “I am thankful to have found the challenge of Desert Off Road Racing. I love competition and the harsh conditions that come with it. So here goes…”
Austin, 60, appeared on the Bobbycast back in October and said he needed knee replacement surgery “pretty quick”, noting his history with knee injuries dating back to his college football days.
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin is going to need a knee replacement at some point soon.
During a September appearance on the BobbyCast, the 59-year-old wrestling legend discussed his history with knee injuries dating back to when he played college football. Austin said he’s going to need his left knee replaced “pretty quick.”
“My first year at North Texas State University there in Denton, Texas, running down on a kickoff coverage and I hit my guy I was supposed to block — and man, I went down,” Austin said. “I’d never felt anything like what I felt in my left knee. And I tore my ACL, but it was a mop-end tear where you tear it in the middle and the edges are kind of frayed, and that’s why they call it a mop. But they could either repair it or not repair it. Based on the strength of my quads and my hamstrings, they didn’t repair that knee. So, anyway, subsequently, that’s what led to all my knee issues down the road. And I’ve had ACL, PCL put in there from cadaver ligaments several years ago. And you know, if I’m telling you like it is and I will, you know, I need a new left knee here pretty quick.”
Austin has said that, if WWE has an idea that makes sense, he’d be happy to make an appearance at WrestleMania 41 in his new home state of Nevada next April. Austin has indicated that his career as an in-ring wrestler is likely over, though, saying he understands reality and believes pro wrestling is a young man’s game.
After nearly 20 years without having a match, Austin came out of retirement to face Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38 in 2022. He did not appear at either WrestleMania 39 or WrestleMania 40.
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin would be happy to appear at WrestleMania 41 if WWE has an idea for him that makes sense.
Reiterating comments that he’s made previously, Austin told Fox News Digital that — with the event taking place in Nevada — he’s open to appearing at WrestleMania 41. Austin lives on a ranch that’s located south of Reno. Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas is hosting WrestleMania 41 on Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20, 2025.
“I do spend several trips a year in Las Vegas, so, to think that WWE’s biggest signature pay-per-view event is 400 miles away, in a state that I live in, that I’m going to be there, make a couple of appearances, I’ll be promoting my beer if they, WWE, reached out and said, ‘Hey, maybe you want to do something,’ I’d be happy to do it as long as it makes sense,” Austin told Fox News Digital.
If Austin does appear, it would be his first time being involved with WrestleMania since coming out of retirement in 2022 to face Kevin Owens in a no holds barred match. That was Austin’s first time wrestling in 19 years.
The 59-year-old Austin told Fox News Digital that, while he always thinks about having one more match, he’s “totally reality based” and believes that pro wrestling is a young man’s sport.
“They got such a stacked roster with so many great superstars these days that they’re not going to have any problem filling two nights of entertainment,” Austin said. “But if I got out there and be a part of it on one hand and do something positive that works for the company and works for what they want to do, and it satisfied a crowd, I’d be happy to.”
An appearance by “Stone Cold” Steve Austin almost happened at WWE WrestleMania 40.
The WrestleMania 40 night two main event between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes included cameos by both John Cena and The Undertaker. The two WWE legends fended off interference by The Rock and the rest of The Bloodline, helping Rhodes win the Undisputed WWE Championship. Dave Meltzer reported that Austin was originally earmarked for Undertaker’s spot, but an agreement couldn’t be reached between him and WWE.
Unlikely with Adrian Hernandez spoke with Austin for a new interview that was published on Friday. During the conversation, Austin confirmed that he was “close” to appearing at WrestleMania 40. It didn’t happen, but Austin hopes to be at WrestleMania 41.
“Oh, it was close. And they certainly reached out to me and we had conversations, but my wife and I had some things going on that I didn’t need to go to Philly at that time. But I have said — I missed that Mania. And god dang, Philly was a good town for me back in the day and I appreciate those fans. Couldn’t make it down on that one, but WrestleMania this year is in Vegas. And I was doing an interview a while back and I said, ‘Hey man’ — and that’s 400 miles. That’s like right here, where we’re sitting. Right down the road,” Austin said. “But anyway, it’ll be in Vegas, so I hope to be there this year.”
Austin has a ranch located in Nevada. Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas is hosting WrestleMania 41 on Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20, 2025.
If Austin is part of WrestleMania 41, it will be his first time appearing at the event since WrestleMania 38, where he came out of retirement to defeat Kevin Owens. It was Austin’s first match in 19 years.
Adrian Hernandez asked Austin if he still gets the itch to come back and wrestle. Austin admitted that he thinks about it every now and then, but he understands reality and believes that wrestling is a young man’s game.
Cody Rhodes would love to see “Stone Cold” Steve Austin make more appearances for WWE.
In a profile piece for The Athletic that was published last week, Austin teased that he could potentially be involved with WrestleMania 41 next April. The show is taking place in Las Vegas — and Austin has a ranch located in Nevada.
“I said I won’t leave Nevada. It’s hard to get me out of this state,” Austin said. “But … WrestleMania next year is in Vegas. That’s in Nevada.”
Rhodes told Gabby AF that he had not seen the tease, but he’d love to have Austin involved with WWE in any capacity. He praised Austin for being “the most profitable wrestler ever” and creating so many memories.
“I’d love to see him in any capacity. He over-delivered with Kevin Owens. And if that was the end, that’s a great end. And Kevin Owens did an incredible job there too,” Rhodes said. “But anything with Steve — also I feel like he hasn’t punched his legends card enough, where he could just come in and tag with somebody. You know what I’m saying? It doesn’t have to be — I know he probably would want it to be at the highest of levels. But you’re a legend, you can do whatever you want.”
Austin came out of retirement for a No Holds Barred match against Owens at WrestleMania 38 in 2022. The match — which was Austin’s first in nearly two decades — wasn’t officially announced in advance, instead only being advertised as a KO Show segment. Austin has not wrestled since then and did not appear at either WrestleMania 39 or WrestleMania 40.
Rhodes won the Undisputed WWE Championship from Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 40 night two. At SummerSlam this past weekend, Rhodes retained the title against Solo Sikoa after Reigns made his return to WWE programming.
With WrestleMania 41 being held in Las Vegas, an appearance by “Stone Cold” Steve Austin could potentially be in the cards.
The Athletic spent time with Austin at his ranch in Nevada for a profile piece that was published this week. In the story, Austin indicated there’s a chance he could appear at WrestleMania 41 next April.
“I said I won’t leave Nevada. It’s hard to get me out of this state,” Austin said. “But … WrestleMania next year is in Vegas. That’s in Nevada.”
Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas is hosting WrestleMania 41 on Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20, 2025. If Austin is involved with the event, it will be his first WrestleMania appearance since coming out of retirement to face Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38 in 2022. That no holds barred match — which wasn’t officially announced in advance — was Austin’s first time wrestling in nearly two decades.
There were rumors that the 59-year-old Austin could potentially show up during the Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes main event at WrestleMania 40 night two this April. Instead, two other legends filled that role. The Undertaker and John Cena helped Rhodes fend off interference by The Rock and the rest of The Bloodline. Rhodes defeated Reigns to win the Undisputed WWE Championship.
– Bryan and I will be back tonight talking about the great episode of Smackdown, Jeff Jarrett, AEW numbers, Fantastica Mania, G-1 Jamie Kellner and more.
– We’re looking for reports from the weekend WWE shows last night in Bloomington, IL and tonight in Kalamazoo, MI. We’re looking for results, finishes and highlights to [email protected]
– Jeff Jarrett got a lot of talk last night for his promo regarding the Owen Hart tournament that aired on Collision. I know that the full promo was long and segments would have had to have been canceled to fit it in, but the version on YouTube was a must-see, far more than the television version, and a longer cut should have aired last night. Maybe they can air it on Wednesday in its entirety but I’m guessing that doesn’t happen.The unedited version can be seen here.
– Another Jarrett story is that he was at the AIW show in Cleveland last night and Nathan Zegura, the Cleveland Browns radio host, was there working at the show and Jarrett hit him with a guitar.
– In Google searches, for the week, the UFC show from Saudi Arabia was the No. 1 search in the country with 200,000. On Friday, the death of Talor Wily (Teila Tuli who was in the first UFC fight ever on PPV) was No. 3. The only other thing during the week making the top 20 from wrestling, boxing or MMA, was Ryan Garcia being suspended officially after his positive drug test being No. 6 on Wednesday.
– The back issue on the site today from 2007 is notable for two major historical reasons, the first being the first women’s MMA fight on a major television station and how important that was to history with Gina Carano vs. Julie Kedzie. The other is the death of James Melby, a name who has been on the Hall of Fame ballot but never gotten in, who was a major magazine writer and head of the group of historians who have unveiled so much of wrestling history, doing away with tons of myths passed down and such. Melby was a huge part of both my career, as without him there is zero chance there would be a Wrestling Observer, as well as the career of Mike Tenay. There’s also a story on plans that never happened involving Hulk Hogan for the 2007 WrestleMania.
– Today is the 22nd anniversary of one of the most famous fights in history, Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama on June 23, 2002. It’s also the 28th anniversary of Steve Austin winning King of the Ring and cutting the Austin 3:16 promo, which almost surely led to more merchandise revenue and probably long-term ticket revenue than any promo in the history of pro wrestling.
– A&E tonight at 8 pm. airs the debut of the Rob Van Dam biography episode.
– Ramazan Kuramagomedov beat Jason Jackson yesterday in Dublin, Ireland to win the Bellator welterweight title via unanimous decision.
– Conor McGregor did a promo on that show saying that other fighters who don’t rely on footwork would have fought with a broken toe, but his game is dependent on footwork and he’s going in at 100 percent and indicated he would be fighting shortly. McGregor is known for great promos and he really didn’t come across like anything special even though of course the crowd reacted to him big.
– Raw tomorrow in Indianapolis against game seven of the NHL playoffs has Bron Breakker vs. Ludwig Kaiser, Kofi Kingston vs. Karrion Kross, Braun Strowman vs. Chad Gable vs. Bronson Reed in a MITB qualifier and Shayna Baszler vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Kairi Sane in a MITB qualifier. They had originally announced Gable was out and Kaiser was in his spot. Then they announced Gable was back in.
– On Friday night’s show at Arena Mexico, Catalina was in terrible pain in her match with Stephanie Vaquer. The aftermath of this match involved Mercedes Mone confronting Vaquer, which was shown on Collision last night. Catalina finished the match and then went to the hospital where she was diagnosed with an ovarian cyst. She underwent surgery yesterday morning.
– People were raving about last night’s Arena Coliseo match with Hechicero vs. Zack Sabre Jr., which Hechicero won. The other actual match we heard a lot about was Ospreay vs. Brian Cage from Collision, which ended up excellent, but I’m sure would have been better without the two long commercial breaks.
– Paige VanZant announced that she was going to compete in PowerSlap with her debut on the Friday night show in Las Vegas against Christine Wolmarans. She will become the first former UFC fighter in PowerSlap. Many others had been contacted about doing it but turned it down.
– Shelton Benjamin beat Jonathan Gresham last night for the ASE promotion in Charlotte, NC.
– Dungeon Wrestling from from Calgary, Alberta last night before 500 fans: Harlon Abbott b Tommy Billington, Michale Alen Richard Clark b Raj Singh, Chris Knight b Red Scorpion, Shuan Mooore & Aurora Teves b Rohan Raja & Ava Lawless, Mo Jabari b Real 1 (Enzo Amore), Chris Adonis b Dirty Dango. There were photos that surfaced of promoter Bret Hart with Snoop Dogg (thanks to Ross Hart).
– XICW from last night in Clinton Township, MI: Dean Hendrix b Alex Lynch, Jack Price b TJ Meyer, Royce Carney III b Jheas Grey, Great Tiger b Marcus Porter, Dre Jabobs b Crazy Kig Schwartzy b Soultaker, Randi West b Ricki Morris, Kyler Coleman b Maxximillion Rhino & DBA b N8 Mattson & Orlando Christopher (thanks to Leonard Brand)
In the new edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer explained why there wasn’t a cameo by “Stone Cold” Steve Austin at WrestleMania 40.
The WrestleMania 40 night two main event between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns included appearances by WWE legends John Cena and The Undertaker. Some fans were hoping that Austin would also get involved and renew his rivalry with The Rock, but it didn’t end up happening.
Meltzer reports that Austin and WWE couldn’t reach a financial agreement. Because of that, Undertaker appeared in the spot that Austin was earmarked for:
I think a lot of people expected Steve Austin to come out next and take out Rock with a stunner, and then Rhodes would start hitting Cross Rhodes and win the title. Undertaker’s gong hit and he choke slammed and took out Rock. Austin was the person originally earmarked for that spot, but in the end they couldn’t reach a financial agreement and Undertaker was put in his place.
Cena, Undertaker, Seth Rollins, and Jey Uso all helped Rhodes fend off interference by The Bloodline in Sunday’s main event. It ended with Rhodes defeating Reigns to end his 1,316-day run as champion.
At WrestleMania 38 in 2022, Austin came out of retirement to defeat Kevin Owens in a no holds barred match. Austin hasn’t appeared at WrestleMania in the two years since.
Some of WWE’s biggest legends of all time could be involved with WrestleMania 40.
In the new edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reports that the belief right now is “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Undertaker, and John Cena “will have something at WrestleMania” in some form. Meltzer notes that nothing is official regarding them appearing at the event:
Nothing is official but the belief right now is that Steve Austin, Undertaker and John Cena will have something at WrestleMania in some form. At press time, there is no creative locked in for Cena and Austin at this moment, or if there is it’s a well-guarded secret. A lot depends on how much they are willing to do and money. Cena is free but depending on what acting stuff he has and how quick after he’s filming would determine how much he can or can’t do for insurance reasons. Austin and Undertaker would be based on willingness that they have.
After returning to the ring against Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38 in 2022, Austin did not appear at WrestleMania 39 last year.
Undertaker was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania 38 weekend.
WrestleMania 40 is taking place from Philadelphia on Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7. The Rock will be in action in the night one main event, teaming with Roman Reigns against Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins. Reigns vs. Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship will then headline night two of WrestleMania 40.
Welcome to a revamped edition of the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, perhaps version 2.0 or a reboot or whatever you might like to call it.
On this episode, I present the next match in my Greatest Kayfabe Tournament (GKT): Antonio Inoki vs. Steve Austin. The votes are in and we have a winner.
I then take another look back to the history of pro wrestling at Madison Square Garden in NYC as the 1930s begin and we find out if Jim Londos was really such a big deal.
You’ll hear all that plus much more classic pro wrestling history. Just click below to listen.
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin isn’t closing the door on competing in the ring again.
Austin came out of retirement at WrestleMania 38 in 2022, wrestling his first match in nearly two decades. He defeated Kevin Owens in a no holds barred match that wasn’t officially announced in advance. It was instead advertised as a KO Show segment with Owens and Austin.
In an interview with ESPN to promote WWE 2K24, the 59-year-old Austin didn’t rule out the possibility of having another match:
I said I’d never get in a ring again unless all the stars aligned. And for some reason, somehow, they all did. And at the age of 57, I headlined the first night of WrestleMania. I never thought I’d do that. If you’d have told me that when I retired in [2003], I’d have said, ‘You’re crazy.’ So I’m not gonna sit here and say no to anything, because you never say never in this crazy business of sports entertainment.
Austin told ESPN that, if he does wrestle again, he has an opponent in mind who he would like to face. Austin did not name who that opponent is.
ESPN wrote:
When asked whether he had an idea of what opponent he would want in what would likely be his final career match, Austin said he did. But he did not want to mention the name, because he was not promoting the match, nor did he want to add pressure on WWE or the foe to make it happen.
When asked about potentially facing CM Punk, Austin said that the matchup “would be a good one.”
I like Punk, and I think Punk likes me — so, as long as he can take a [Stone Cold] Stunner [laughs]. I consider him a great friend, a great guy and a great wrestler who’s had a great career. We’ll see.
Punk returned to WWE at Survivor Series last November and was scheduled to challenge World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 40, but Punk will instead be out of action for several months after suffering a torn triceps in the Royal Rumble. Punk underwent surgery for the injury earlier this month.
Austin told ESPN that he loves the pro wrestling business more than anything else he’s ever done in his life:
I love the sports entertainment business more than anything I’ve ever done in my life. And you get a dose of it, and you want more. And so here I am talking to you a couple years later about doing it again. And that’s how addicting it is to me, just to talk about it. And I get excited, and I’ll start talking too fast.
But it’s not gonna happen. But it could.
On Wrestling Observer Radio last December, Dave Meltzer and Garrett Gonzales discussed the possibility of a potential Austin vs. Punk dream match:
