Steve Austin shocked the world on Saturday night, agreeing to compete in a No Holds Barred match with Kevin Owens in the WrestleMania 38 main event. “The Texas Rattlesnake” pulled out the win with a Stone Cold Stunner, then celebrated with fans by downing plenty of beers, hitting more Stunners on Kevin Owens and Byron Saxton and embracing his brother in the ring. Once the cameras stopped rolling, Austin broke out hit ATV and started running laps around the ring again. He then pulled it up to the top of the entrance ramp and posed for a crowd standing atop his vehicle.ย
Videos by ComicBook.com
The match marked the first time Austin had competed in 19 years, with his retirement initially coming after his WrestleMania XIX bout with The Rock. Check out the footage of his farewell below!
Austin explained on a recent episode of The Rich Eisen Show why he chose to come back for one more WrestleMania. “The Texas Rattlesnake” had repeatedly shot down every attempt WWE had made to book him for one more match.
“This opportunity comes up, Kevin Owens starts running me down and gets my attention,” Austin said. “It was a thing where, I kind of said, ‘I’m never going to get in the ring again.’ 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 he would have pissed me off a little sooner than he did to give me more time to prep. Once you step into the ring, it’s like stepping onto a football field, that’s where business happens. We don’t know what it’s going to escalate to. I’ve been working on my conditioning. Had it been anywhere else other than Jerry’s Place….it’s a two-night event, WrestleMania is biggest show of the year, to be part of that is really special to me. I’m doing this for me. I’m going out there to have a damn blast. I’m gonna have fun and I’m gonna wear these two fists out on Kevin Owens. I’m sure he’s going to get some to because he’s had an amazing career. I’m glad he pissed me off when he did.”
“When I left, I didn’t want to leave. WrestleMania 19, my neck had presented some problems,” he added. “After I got spiked and dropped on my head back in 99, I had three, four fused up, and it was time for me to ride off into the sunset and do something else. This comeback means a lot to me as I’ve been getting back into in-ring shape. I’m gonna go out there and do the absolute best I can…. I’m doing this for the fans. I’m doing this for WWE. I’m doing this for me, number one.”
