This past weekend, WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin returned to in-ring competition at WrestleMania 38 for his first match in over 19 years.
Austin was originally advertised to take place in a KO Show segment with Kevin Owens, but it turned into an official No Holds Barred match after Owens threw out the challenge. After brawling all over the arena, Austin finally picked up the victory with a stunner on Owens. It was quite surprising to see Austin compete since he had been adamant that he’s done competing inside the ring.
His last match took place at WrestleMania 19 in 2003. Austin was defeated by The Rock in what was their third time main eventing “The Show Of Shows” together. Now, 19 years later, Austin finally decided to give it one more go, going out on top with a win at the biggest professional wrestling event of the year. According to a report from Dave Meltzer of F4Wonline, Austin originally only agreed to do an elongated brawl with Owens in Dallas.
However, after training leading up to WrestleMania, Austin felt confident enough to do an actual match, thus, resulting in the No Holds Barred bout we got at WrestleMania 38. But the action didn’t stop at Night One of WrestleMania for Austin. “The Texas Rattlesnake” also hit the ring the following night, following the conclusion of the Austin Theory vs. Pat McAfee matchup. Austin rekindled his famed rivalry with Vince McMahon, hitting him with one of the worst stunners of all time.
He also hit Theory and McAfee with stunners before doing his celebratory beer bash. It was a tremendously nostalgic weekend for Attitude Era fans, but it was likely the last official matchup Steve Austin ever participates in.
