Will “Stone Cold” Steve Austin Wrestle at WWE WrestleMania 40?

Even if he has only had one match in the past two decades, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin has added his name to WWE’s growing shortlist of part-time in-ring performers. Austin came out of retirement in April 2022 to face Kevin Owens in the main event of WWE WrestleMania 38. This 13-minute slugfest went over well with fans, as many clamored for Austin to get back in the ring on a part-time basis going forward. Rumors swirled over the next 365 days that Austin would in fact be wrestling again, with names like John Cena and Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns floated as potential opponents. As evident by his absence from WWE WrestleMania 39, none of those reported matches materialized.

Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Austin admitted that he is capable of wrestling again but is not in the business of campaigning for another match.

“I could, [but] I’m not going to sit here and lobby for one, because that’d be silly,” Austin said. “That’s a year away. A year in that business is like that [finger snap].”

Austin confirmed that he was approached for WWE WrestleMania 39 but turned down any involvement due to his busy schedule, specifically with his new Stone Cold Takes on America A&E series.

“They asked me to be part of (WrestleMania) 39, they really did, and I couldn’t do it because there was no way. I knew what my life was going to look like due to the filming schedule of the show,” Austin continued. “We had some internal stop-downs where the show took five months to film. That’s a long time. We finished filming about five to seven days before WrestleMania 39. In a position they were going to put me in, which was going to be a big one, you can’t prepare for WrestleMania and do yourself justice or do that crowd justice.”

This mystery WWE WrestleMania 39 match would have put the Texas Rattlesnake in an even bigger spotlight that his Mania 38 contest against Owens.

“Dallas was set up for a Stone Cold return, the way we framed that with KO [Kevin Owens], who I love, was perfect for the time and setting. For this match to play out, I really needed to perform at a high level,” Austin added. “I didn’t work out before 38. I hadn’t thrown a working punch in 19 years. I was killing KO out there. I truly was. Ask him. I told him when we got to the back, ‘Man, I can’t believe you didn’t throw a receipt.’ He just laughed because his job was to take care of me.”

Even if he is not going to be the one to make the dial, Austin emphasized that he will pick up the phone if WWE comes calling.

“In the future, I’m not lobbying for it, but could anything happen? Yes,” Austin said. “They always say, never say never.”