Stone Cold Steve Austin Says ‘Never Say Never’ When Discussing WWE In-Ring Return

While “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s appearance at WrestleMania 38 isn’t being billed as a match, the WWE Hall of Famer isn’t closed off to the idea of returning for a bout at some point.

Appearing on Wednesday’s Rich Eisen Show, Austin discussed his WrestleMania role, which will see him appear as a guest on The KO Show with Kevin Owens: When asked whether his KO Show appearance could lead to an actual match, The Texas Rattlesnake said: “In this business, never say never. I said I would never get in, but prompted by the right person at the right time, hell, I wish [Owens] would have pissed me off a little sooner than he did to give me more time to prep.”

Austin, 57, retired from in-ring competition after losing to The Rock at WrestleMania XIX in 2003. At the time, he was dealing with complications from suffering a broken neck a few years earlier. While Austin has stayed true to his retirement and hasn’t had a match since then, he has made many appearances and gotten physical at times, primarily by hitting wrestlers with his Stone Cold Stunner finisher.

Over the past several weeks, Owens has gone out of his way to trash Austin’s home state of Texas since WrestleMania 38 is taking place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. that led to Owens calling out Austin to appear on The KO Show at WrestleMania, and Stone Cold accepted: In his acceptance video, Austin blurred the lines regarding what the segment will comprise, but he vowed to take the fight to KO.

There had been rumors previously that Austin and Owens were going to have an actual match, and while that could still be the case, it has the makings of a confrontation instead.

If things go well for Austin at WrestleMania and the fans enjoy it, perhaps there is a chance WWE can convince him to come back for an actual match at some point as long as it provides him with ample time to prepare. Fans long to see the beloved Stone Cold no matter what he is involved with, and when the glass shatters on Night 1 of WrestleMania 38 on April 2, there is little doubt that AT&T Stadium will be rocking.