Stone Cold Steve Austin has had his last WWE match. Probably. Maybe.
There are two reasons Austin can’t say for sure that he’s done for good. One is that he already defied Father Time once, taking on Kevin Owens in a No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania 38 — 19 years after his previous WWE match.
Was it peak Stone Cold? Not quite. But it was better than just about anyone could have imagined, despite Austin’s age (he was 57 at the time), long layoff and extensive injury history.
The other reason is that Austin is a pro’s pro who understands the wrestling business as well as anyone. So that means he knows that completely closing the door on any idea is silly.
Even, say, the thought of facing CM Punk.
A Punk vs. Austin showdown is one of those dream matches that fans have filed away in the “probably not, but can you imagine?” folder for years. Austin was asked about the possibility by ESPN’s Marc Raimondi and didn’t seem to think it was impossible, just unlikely.
I like Punk, and I think Punk likes me — so, as long as he can take a [Stone Cold] Stunner. I consider him a great friend, a great guy and a great wrestler who’s had a great career. We’ll see.
WrestleMania would be the most likely place for it to happen, but it’s definitely not in the cards this year. Barring a late surprise, Punk is expected to miss this year’s show in Philadelphia while recovering from a torn triceps.
What about WrestleMania 41, the location of which has yet to be announced? Austin will be 60 by then, but he’s surely seen the way Sting has stayed active in spurts in AEW past that age. He certainly sounds like someone who could be tempted to get back in there one more time.
I love the sports entertainment business more than anything I’ve ever done in my life. And you get a dose of it, and you want more. And so here I am talking to you a couple years later about doing it again. And that’s how addicting it is to me, just to talk about it. And I get excited, and I’ll start talking too fast.
But it’s not gonna happen. But it could.
Maybe the stars can align again after all. Listen for the sound of breaking glass, we suppose.
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