Steve Austin’s new series Stone Cold Takes on America finally arrives on A&E this Sunday at 10 p.m. ET. ComicBook was granted an exclusive first look at the series, showing “The Texas Rattlesnake” attempting to drive up and over Nevada’s Sand Mountain. The clip shows Austin dealing with the nerves of the challenge, saying, “On one hand, I know I can do it. On the other hand, I don’t know how well I can do it…Now we’re at Sand Mountain, I’m in the driver’s seat, there’s 15 people on the crew and they’re all depending on me. Nervous is not the word, living up to expectations would be the best way I can phrase it.”
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Austin takes a strong approach to climbing the mountain but stops just short before driving over the peak as he feels something isn’t quite right. His guide informs him that he’s oversteering while on the ridge and encourages him to go again. Fans will have to tune in to the series to see if he pulls it off.
The show’s official synopsis explains the former WWE Champion will take viewers on “an epic adventure as he redefines what life after years in the ring looks like and experiences everything he missed out on while focused on his career.”
Austin recently revealed in an interview with Sports Illustrated that he had negotiations with WWE about returning for another match at WrestleMania 39 after coming out of retirement for last year. He declined as he wasn’t able to commit to getting back into in-ring shape while producing the series.
“I met with some people from WWE. We talked about the possibility of me wrestling at WrestleMania 39,” Austin said. “The biggest thing in my mind was the presentation and what kind of match it was going to be. Going back to 38, the way the KO thing was presented — I love KO — I turned that down three, four, five times until the creative finally came to what it ended up being. I didn’t want it constructed as a real match, per se. I needed something that could turn into one, and it did, but I think that’s why we got away with it. The Dallas crowd was very receptive. I hadn’t been around, so the timing was right.
“But to do a proper match, I’d have to be in off-the-charts shape,” he continued. “I told them, and this is the exact truth, I said, ‘Guys, I’m just fixin’ to go into production on this show, Stone Cold Takes on America, and until we start production, I don’t know what my life looks like. I can’t commit.’ Sure enough, there were technical issues before we finished. I was supposed to finish a month before we did. There’s no way, with the schedule I was doing–driving an RV all over God’s creation, doing all I was doing–that I would be ready. I had two 30-pound dumbbells, a 45-pound sandbag, and a 25-pound kettlebell. Working 15 hours a day, then getting in a 30- or 40-minute workout, that doesn’t get you ready for WrestleMania. And I was really protected at WrestleMania 38. This time, that wasn’t going to be the case. That was a true statement: Until this show was over, I couldn’t commit.”
Stone Cold Takes on America premiers this Sunday on A&E at 10 p.m. ET. Stay tuned for full coverage of the show throughout the season!
