Stone Cold Steve Austin. Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Stone Cold Steve Austin would consider WWE return

By Adam Taylor | Last updated 2/13/24

Stone Cold Steve Austin was last seen in a WWE ring in 2022, where he faced Kevin Owens at Wrestlemania 38. Since then, he has become a popular figure on Instagram, sharing behind-the-scenes snippets of the "Broken Skull Ranch."

However, Austin hasn't ruled out making another return to a wrestling ring in the future. During a recent interview with Marc Raimondi of ESPN, Austin admitted the draw of "Sports Entertainment" is an addictive one.

"I said I'd never get in a ring again unless all the stars aligned," Austin said. h/t to Fightful for the transcription. "For some reason, somehow, they all did. At the age of 57, I headlined the first night of WrestleMania. I never thought I'd do that...I love the sports entertainment business more than anything I've ever done in my life. You get a dose of it, and you want more. So here I am talking to you a couple years later about doing it again. That's how addicting it is to me, just to talk about it. I get excited."

WWE has multiple legends in it's history. The Rock, The Undertaker, Kane and Mankind are some of the biggest names to grace a wrestling ring. Stone Cold belongs in that same category. Those five wrestlers were the backbone of the "Attitude" era. They took wrestling to new heights. Heights that WWE, and every other wrestling promotion, has been chasing ever since.

A potential Austin return would likely be based on a single match. He did float the idea of potentially facing CM Punk. However, he could be on screen for multiple weeks. WWE likes to build up a storyline before having it conclude a premium live event.

Given the nostalgic boost The Rock's most recent return has given the company, seeing Austin back with the WWE doesn't appear to be far-fetched. However, as he continues to inch closer to his 60th birthday, time for one final hoorah is running out.

WWE has a lot of momentum right now. Therefore, it will be interesting to see if they keep Austin as a trump card for a quieter period in the year or if they go full throttle and look to skyrocket their ratings and viewing while interest is high. Either way, Austin remains a huge draw for the company. And that won't change, regardless of how old he gets.

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