Tag: Stone Cold Steve Austin

Is LA Knight merch outselling John Cena, Stone Cold? Yeah! (Probably)

LA Knight is bringing his popularity directly to WWE’s bottom line when it comes to merchandise sales.

Whose merch game is it? Maybe not everybody is buying LA Knight shirts, but a lot of people are — enough so that he appears to be outselling a couple of WWE icons.

According to the estimated sales data from Wrestlenomics (subscription required) for September 2023, Knight had both the category that appeared in the top 10 daily listings the most, well above John Cena in second, and the single item atop the items list too. His black “YEAH!” shirt narrowly beat out one of Cena’s recent tees.

Wrestlenomics uses only the standings within the WWE Shop’s daily top rankings to compile its list, which is why they are estimates. Still, they have proven to be great indicators of what is selling fastest over time, and there’s no question that anecdotal evidence from attending live WWE shows suggests Knight is very hot when it comes to moving merchandise.

Three of Knight’s shirts appear in the top 10 for September, while no other WWE talent, past or present, had more than one.

The upcoming plans for Knight should only help keep him top of mind among fans. He’s going to join Cena to team to face The Bloodline’s Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa at Fastlane this weekend. Knight doesn’t really seem to need the rub right now, but pairing him with the man WWE has actively been promoting as “The Greatest of All Time” sure won’t hurt.

It might even convince some more fans in Indianapolis to buy a few additional shirts. Don’t expect the Megastar to drop off the WWE top 10 list for October, the way things are going.

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The Bloodline just might be the best storytelling WWE has ever produced

For three years now, The Bloodline story has made every little moment and detail matter. It has wasted none of our time.

Once upon a time, Bryan Danielson, then known as Daniel Bryan, stood in the middle of a ring on live television and called wrestling fans around the world “fickle.”

Truer words have never been spoken. And that fickle nature has often derailed various stories and even a wrestlers’ push to the top of the card — all because the fans became bored and turned on it.

But here we are, three years into The Bloodline story, and fans are still fully invested.

Sure, there have been fans here and there who were mad online and expressed how they were over the long-running story. Those cries grew even louder when Roman Reigns defeated Cody Rhodes in the main event of WrestleMania.

But then you watch the July 7 edition of Smackdown, and you hear the fans in Madison Square Garden, the world’s most famous arena, get swept up in every single moment of the Tribal Court of the Tribal Chief, and you can plainly see that there is nothing fickle about how these fans feel about this story. They are still very much with it.

How many stories in WWE history can say that? How many stories in the history of professional wrestling can that? 

How many people can say they were part of an angle that went strong for three years, with no dips in quality? The Bloodline can.

Sure, the New World Order lasted from 1996 until World Championship Wrestling closed its doors in 2001, and even had a brief run in 2002 in WWE, but the quality took a sharp turn in the wrong direction by 1998. And by 2002, the group was a mere shell of its former self.

Not The Bloodline. Not right now.

How many stories can have people frothing at the mouth for a segment that involves sending people to court?

Granted, Vince McMahon sent Steve Austin to jail multiple times in 1998 and ’99, but by 2001 we had been there and done that. At least that’s what Austin thought, which is why he wanted to turn heel and align himself with McMahon to begin with. Even he felt like it was getting a bit stale.

So far, The Bloodline has endured no such missteps. And those lack of mistakes have come as the group itself has shifted and changed over time – but not in a way where you would lose track of who is even in the group, which is how it was with the New World Order. Each addition or subtraction to The Bloodline has carried a lot of weight.

At first, you just had Reigns and Paul Heyman. But then Jey Uso fell in line. Not long after, Jimmy Uso fell in line. Eventually, The Bloodline took in Sami Zayn, which sparked its own arc that had fans yearning for Zayn to headline WrestleMania against Reigns.

At Clash at the Castle, Solo Sikoa made his main-roster debut. And with perfect timing, WWE began to unveil the cracks in the group’s seemingly impenetrable armor. 

Out the door went Zayn, and The Usos soon followed. And despite the group being down to only three members, the story is still as enthralling as it was at its full strength.

The only story that can stack up against this is Austin vs. McMahon, which had fans buying into the fact that the world champ could headline the pay-per-views against a middle-aged non-wrestler.

And while that story was basically a license to print money and made a massive cultural impact, the quality wasn’t always tremendous. For as many hits Austin and McMahon produced together, they produced some misses, too, most notable their infamous handshake at WrestleMania 17.

But for The Bloodline, I see no misses. If this story was an album, there would be no skips. From the matches to the segments that lead up to them, the drama and emotion that has been on display throughout these last three years is all worth reliving.

Everyone has played their part. Reigns has elevated his game to a degree some didn’t think he was capable of. His work as the Tribal Chief has made his work prior to the pandemic as “The Big Dog” feel like child’s play.

“The Big Dog” had no depth. It was a very one-dimensional character. What was his character? He was just good at what he did.

The Tribal Chief? Not only is he good at what he does, he’s the very best, which comes with an extremely toxic ego.

However, Reigns adds an extra layer of complexity by making the Tribal Chief highly insecure, and his ability to convey that confidence and fragility at the same time is sheer brilliance.

The Usos have never been hotter. They compel fans to empathize with them because a lot of people have been bullied and manipulated, and a lot of times, a close family member was the culprit.

Even Solo Sikoa has displayed his conflicted emotions at various points, which is saying something for someone whose main directive is to be as stoic as possible on television.

And then there’s Paul Heyman, who always conveys the importance and gravity of every situation. The look on his face when Reigns threw down his title belt this past Friday night was classic. And it only added to the moment of Reigns bending a knee before Jey Uso, which garnered a massive reaction from the fans.

The people have bought in hook, line, and sinker. Why? Because we believe everyone that is involved. We have met them. We have met a master manipulator with a fragile ego like Reigns. We’ve become fed up with our relatives like The Usos. We’ve also been Sikoa, who would love for everyone to just get along, but is still willing to do what he believes is best for the family – for now.

We even know someone like Heyman, who is so willing to kiss the ring of the person that would happily use the same hand to keep them in line if they saw fit.

The Bloodline story has made every little moment and detail matter. It has wasted none of our time. And while I was also wondering where they would go next after WrestleMania, WWE managed to keep me and many others invested.

And here we are, three years after Reigns returned to WWE after a pandemic-induced hiatus, he is set to defend his title against Jey Uso. Three years ago, that match would not have meant all that much.

Today it will be the most anticipated WWE match since WrestleMania. And those usually fickle wrestling fans will be there for every single moment.

It has been pro wrestling storytelling at its finest, and outside of Austin-McMahon, I don’t think anything else WWE has ever produced can measure up.

John Cena credits Brock Lesnar, Steve Austin for WWE SummerSlam 2014 match layout

Stone Cold Steve Austin helped convince Brock Lesnar that squashing John Cena at SummerSlam was the way to go.

Brock Lesnar‘s stock reached an all-time high by ending the Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania 30. Already a made man in WWE, Lesnar became an even larger figure for the next few years.

Of course, he needed someone else to feud with after the Dead Man. That became John Cena, leading to a shocking squash of the “Fast X” star at SummerSlam 2014. Blink and fans would have missed what happened in this “Suplex City” match.

Almost a decade later, Cena reflected on the match in an interview with Sam Roberts of Not Sam Wrestling. He said not only did Lesnar create the bout’s layout, but that Stone Cold Steve Austin had significant input as well (h/t Fightful for transcription).

“Brock is one of the most giving performers when it’s his time. He will make anyone look great. I remember Brock being like, ‘I had dinner with Steve Austin last night and we came up with this idea where I start suplexing you and don’t stop and then beat you.’ ‘Yeah.’ We both collectively agreed that you just beat the streak. We ruin that if we have a 50/50 match. It’s not my night, kid. Arn Anderson, in the back of my head, I hope he understands the influence he had on my wisdom with this. It’s not my night. How do you showcase the enormity of that win? How do we not waste the Undertaker’s streak. It’s not just Brock winning a match, it’s all those matches he had to lead up to losing. If I go out and have a 50/50 match where he just sneaks over, we wasted all that. If you take that unbelievable feat with another unbelievable feat, now we have passed the energy, and that is how you make someone. That someone can make others and that’s how the business works, you have to be able to work together. You can survive and thrive by also being generous and being giving and working with others.”

Essentially, they teamed to make a special WWE moment even grander.

As Cena said, a match in which they were equals would have compromised the significance of Lesnar ending the Undertaker’s streak as if it were any other match. Instead, the SummerSlam 2014 match further increased Lesnar’s status and made him a nearly invincible presence on WWE programming in the subsequent years.

Meanwhile, regardless of the result, nothing could have changed Cena’s status as one of WWE’s biggest stars ever, and his participation in this match only enhanced programming for the rest of the year and beyond.

Why Stone Cold Steve Austin almost became an ordained minister

Stone Cold Steve Austin considered marrying people on at least a semi-regular basis.

It’s difficult to think of Stone Cold Steve Austin as anything but one of the greatest WWE superstars of all time, though thanks to his current A&E series, “Stone Cold Takes on America,” it’s easier to see some other occupations where his talents could be applied.

How about this one: Steve Austin, ordained minister?

It almost happened, but of course, there’s a story behind it.

On the upcoming fourth episode of “Stone Cold Takes on America,” Austin tries his hand at officiating a wedding for the first time. And it turns out the couple on the show isn’t the only one who’s asked him to do the honors.

“I almost turned into an ordained minister, because I think you just fill out some papers or do whatever,” Austin told Wrestling Junkie on a recent Zoom call. “Because I’ve had probably at least 100 requests from people for me to marry them. I’ve thought about doing that, but I was like man, I don’t want to be a gimmick.”

Even though he’s not planning on making this a recurring gig, Austin threw himself into the role, drawing form his own life experiences — Austin has been married four times — and making sure marriage was a journey on which they truly wanted to embark.

“When I went in there, they were feeling pretty nervous, and I wanted to have a conversation with them, because I’ve been through the marriage game a few times,” Austin said. “My wife and I have been together now 19 years, almost 20 years, and I found the love of my life but it took me four times to do it.

“I wanted to get to the bottom of, ‘Hey man, is this the right move for you right now? Is this the right person, is this your soulmate?’ Before I went and officiated this ceremony.”

Ultimately, the couple did go through with it. So who knows — maybe Austin will decide to circle back to becoming a minister so more people can get him to help them say “I do.”

“They were a great couple, they were huge wrestling fans, and it was just fun to do.”

Click here for more of our conversation with Austin about “Stone Cold Takes on America,” which airs Sunday nights at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT on USA.

In ‘Stone Cold Takes on America,’ Steve Austin battles a new foe: uncertainty

Steve Austin isn’t sure if people want to see him when he’s less Stone Cold, but his current A&E series may help answer that question.

At the height of his WWE career, Stone Cold Steve Austin routinely had thousands of people eating out of the palm of his hand. One of the driving forces behind the company’s financially and creatively successful Attitude Era in the late ’90s and early 2000s, Austin struck a chord with fans who related to — even if it was often by living vicariously through him — his beer-guzzling, anti-authority persona.

His days as an active in-ring performer ended 20 years ago, save for a well-received match at WrestleMania 38 last year against Kevin Owens. But since then, Austin has found success as a podcaster and TV show host, proving that there’s more than nostalgia that drives his popularity.

Still, everything he’s done has to some extent traded on the “Stone Cold” part of his personality, the one he’s described as his true self with the volume turned way up. Would people love him just as much if that wasn’t the case? Would they tune in to see him try things that don’t come as naturally to him as scripted ass-kicking and drinking beer?

In short, do they want to see a show that’s just about Steve Austin?

That’s a question he hasn’t answered yet, but one he’s fully committed to exploring in his latest A&E series, “Stone Cold Takes on America.” The high concept is pretty simple: It’s Austin driving around the country in an RV doing a bunch of things you wouldn’t expect a pro wrestler to be doing. In the first few episodes, he’s taken on such wide-ranging challenges as working a fast food drive-thru window, taking the controls of an advanced flight simulator and seeing if the infamous Nevada State Prison is really haunted.

It’s a vast departure from what fans have come to expect from the WWE Hall of Famer, and as Austin told Wrestling Junkie during a recent Zoom call, that’s exactly what attracted him to the series when it was presented to him.

“This show was a cool opportunity,” Austin said. “I got a call from a former colleague of mine who used to work at USA Network, and Heather [Olander] pitched the show to me and it sounded like a cool idea. And it was more like, ‘Hey, do you want to do some things that you’ve always wanted to do?’ And I gravitated towards that.”

It wasn’t necessarily framed as a fish-out-of-water chronicle, but there are unmistakable elements of that in each episode. Part of the fun is seeing what Austin is good at — it turns out he’s got some natural talent behind the wheel of most any vehicle — and what he’s not.

That’s the creative risk Austin is taking in “Stone Cold Takes on America.” His fans are used to seeing him as one of the very best at his craft, or in more recent times, at least talking to others who are. These are completely different circumstances, the type that make him very aware that he’s not operating in his wheelhouse.

“For instance, one of the things is I’m taking orders in a steakhouse and I ain’t got no game because I’m not being Stone Cold,” Austin said. “I’m not just going to chuck down a couple of menus and say, ‘Hey, if you wanted a medium rare steak, give me a hell yeah!’

“I didn’t know the menu, I’m trying to copy this guy’s shtick … You know, I’m pretty awkward just trying to do something as Steve Austin now.”

He also described himself as “terrible” in a segment from an upcoming episode where he tries to do the weather on live TV. It’s that kind of self-awareness that not only shows Austin’s appreciation for people who are experts in their own fields, but also perhaps a tad of perfectionism in him as well.

“If it was just me hanging out with somebody, that’s a whole different story,” he said. “But trying to do a job to perfection, or, you know, worthy of not getting fired, that’s the kind of pressure.”

Speaking of pressure, “Stone Cold Takes on America” was ordered without a pilot, meaning Austin and his crew are finding their rhythm as they go. He estimates it takes about halfway through the first season for him to really find his groove.

“I couldn’t see what sticks and what I needed to turn up or what I needed to turn down,” Austin said. “So we’re flying by the seat of our pants and you’re watching it in chronological order as it pans out. I’m along for the ride just like everybody else is, and it’s going to be interesting.”

Austin was reluctant to talk about the possibility of a season 2, noting that it depended on whether the interest was there. He clearly had a lot of fun shooting the first batch of episodes, and was effusive in his praise of the show’s crew and the bond they formed along the way.

So it all comes back to a bit of a paradox: The series is called “Stone Cold Takes on America,” but its success may hinge on how much viewers want to learn about Steve Austin.

“I’m very honest about who I am and what I am,” Austin said. “I’m willing to show it. Are people interested in seeing it?”

New episodes of “Stone Cold Takes on America” are airing weekly right now, Sunday nights at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT on USA.

Steve Austin says a Cody Rhodes WrestleMania win would have been cliche

Count Stone Cold Steve Austin among the people who enjoyed seeing the Cody Rhodes championship quest continue past WrestleMania 39.

At WrestleMania 39, Roman Reigns’ historic multi-year run continued when he defeated Cody Rhodes for the WWE Undisputed Championship. This sparked mixed reactions, as many had hoped that it would be Rhodes’ time to win and “finish his story.” Maybe it will happen another time, at another event against Reigns — if he still has the title.

Rhodes had significant crowd support on his side, which could have grown with a win at SoFi Stadium or potentially plateaued on the Raw after WrestleMania. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, who knows a thing or two about crowd reactions, doesn’t think a victorious night for Rhodes would have helped him further.

In an interview with Busted Open Radio, Austin said that given Reigns’ run and WrestleMania 39 as the “wrong time” to take the belt off him, it would not have made him the mainstream star many assumed (h/t Fightful for transcription).

“Cody beating Roman would not have gotten Cody over anymore. As a matter of fact, it might have worked against him. The way they had it set up, he showed the belt, his wife and beautiful baby are there he’s holding the baby and it’s a storybook ending and the story is told. Those guys came out there with the outside interference. Like I’ve said before, I love that spike from Solo Sikoa. Sami, Kevin, Jimmy, Jey, it was chaos, it was exciting. They built it up and had a hell of a match. Roman is on fire right now, and one of these days it will be time to take the belt from him and put it on somebody else, but you don’t make Cody by taking the belt off the right guy at the wrong time,” he said.

Austin added that it would have been “cliche” to put the title on Rhodes. While the Texas Rattlesnake thought the path was also “storybook,” he believes the celebration will happen at some point.

Austin continued, “I completely thought they made the right decision. I really respect the hell out of Cody for what he did walking away from WWE, found himself, went down to AEW and then came back. He gets injured, blows out a pec, competes in the Rumble, gets in the main event with Roman. It was so storybook and would have been so cliche to put the belt on him more so. Has he earned the opportunity to be there? Yeah. Would he have been the right guy, right now, trying to take out Roman Reigns? I just think not. Roman is so fire and so money. Cody is going to be there. To me, it made me respect Cody more when you’re laying there and looking at the lights. That story is going to be completed one of these days, but it ain’t going to be right here. It was for the right reasons and the reason was business. He’ll get it, and when he does, it’ll be a celebration like no other. I’m one of his biggest fans. I see nothing but good things for Cody.”

For now, Rhodes has a program with Brock Lesnar outside the championship picture that can bridge the gap to rekindling the Reigns feud. Somewhere in Texas, Austin likely approves.

20 best WWE matches of all time: Stone Cold, Shawn Michaels, John Cena and more

Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker and Kurt Angle are among the WWE superstars with multiple matches on this list.

Rankings of the best anything are always tricky, definitely subjective, and absolutely a lot of fun. When it comes to the best WWE matches of all time, however, there’s also another factor: There’s just so many of them.

Consider lists of the best movie or TV series. Yes, there are a ton of each over the years. But in any given year, there are maybe dozens of movies to consider, and great TV shows tend to last for several years, even in the modern streaming age.

WWE goes nonstop every tear, putting matches on Raw and SmackDown weekly and holding bigger premium live event cards monthly. That’s hundreds of new matches annually, and while some are unquestionably more significant than others, each one is a separate performance with its own unique context.

Just narrowing that list of potential candidates down could be a Herculean effort, but we found a way to reduce the work and make the resulting list pseudo-scientific at the same time. We came up with a formula that incorporates both Cagematch ratings and the Wrestling Observer’s star ratings to give each of the greatest WWE matches ever their own score.

The end product has a satisfying cross-section in terms of both types of matches and chronology, as it includes bouts from 1994 up through this year. Certain names appear multiple times — you’d expect nothing less from the likes of Shawn Michaels, for instance — but there’s also nice variety in terms of who made the cut overall.

And while we certainly have our own opinions about where certain matches should fall in the top 20, we decided to let the rankings remain where the numbers said they should fall. After all, debating lists like this is part of what makes being a pro wrestling fan so much fun. Where possible, we’ve included the full video of the match so you can relive them as you go.

Without further ado, here are the best WWE matches of all time, working from 20 up to No. 1.

Watch: Steve Austin dances, bartends in exclusive ‘Stone Cold Takes on America’ sneak peek

Watch Steve Austin try some flair bartending in an exclusive clip from his upcoming A&E series, “Stone Cold Takes on America.”

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin has caught and consumed more than his fair share of adult beverages over the years, mostly in a WWE ring. For his new A&E series, “Stone Cold Takes on America,” he’s seeing what life is like on the other side of the bar.

The Fuel Bar, to be exact. “Stone Cold Takes on America” sees Austin hitting the road at the wheel of an RV to experience as many different things as possible across the country, and one of them happens to be learning the ropes of flair bartending in Las Vegas.

Check out the exclusive clip below to see how the Texas Rattlesnake finds the energy from happy bargoers can feed you like the passion of the WWE Universe, forgets a very important step in the bartending process, and decides maybe he’s found his “second calling.”

Oh, and he also has the police ask him to move aside while dancing in the street. Really.

“Stone Cold Takes on America” promises to show fans even more of Austin outside his usual comfort zone as he visits places and try things he never had time for during his Hall of Fame WWE career. There should be plenty of trips down memory lane as well, with A&E noting that the series features “archival footage from classic WWE moments.”

The series premieres on Sunday, April 30 at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT on A&E.

Steve Austin had WrestleMania 39 talks, but new TV show wouldn’t let him commit

Stone Cold Takes on America prevented Steve Austin from being able to realistically prepare for a WrestleMania 39 match.

For seemingly one last time, Stone Cold Steve Austin tore the house at WrestleMania 38 in the main event, defeating Kevin Owens in a No Holds Barred match. Nearly two decades of anticipation for his in-ring return culminated in a night that both evoked nostalgia for older fans and created a fresh memory for the new generation.

Austin did not appear at WrestleMania 39 earlier this month, though legends like Trish Stratus and Lita still featured in the show. Superstars like Owens, Sami Zayn, The Usos, Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes controlled the main event instead, offering ample star power without the Texas Rattlesnake.

However, Austin told Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso that he spoke with WWE about a WrestleMania 39 match. His presence would have added another layer to an exciting weekend, but with production for his A&E show, “Stone Cold Takes on America,” underway, the timing did not work for another match at Austin’s standard of fitness.

“I haven’t spoken to this, but I’ll give you the story,” says Austin. “I met with some people from WWE. We talked about the possibility of me wrestling at WrestleMania 39. 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. 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.”

At 58 years old, Austin’s time is dwindling to compete at another WrestleMania. WWE legends frequently appear no matter their age in a non-wrestling capacity, but anyone hoping for one more match from Austin must wait and see what WrestleMania 40 holds.

In the meantime, everyone can see what Austin was working on this spring when “Stone Cold Takes on America” debuts on A&E at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Sunday, April 30.

Stone Cold says match with John Cena would have been ‘special’ but will never happen

But Steve Austin also suggested John Cena was never a name discussed with him by WWE.

WWE has a way of making some huge fantasy matchups across eras become a reality. The Rock faced Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8. John Cena battled The Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII, then again the next year (even though the prior meeting was billed as “Once in a Lifetime.”

More recently, Stone Cold Steve Austin made his return after 19 years away and fought Kevin Owens in a No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania 38. It was a terrific, “turn back the clock” type performance for Austin, and the fans ate it up.

But you know what would have been even more amazing? Austin vs. Cena.

Stone Cold himself weighed in on that hypothetical meeting between two of WWE’s all-time greats as the guest on Out of Character with Ryan Satin (h/t Fightful). While expressing his admiration for all that Cena has done and acknowledging how huge a match between them would have been, he also shot down the idea of it ever happening.

“Working with him would have been a real highlight, and I’ve had a bunch of highlights,” Austin said. “It would have been a real special thing. There is something about John. People are so invested in his matches. He’s a very special talent. It would have been great to have a match with him. Will it ever happen? No.”

Why is he so certain? Austin explained that at this point in his career, everything has to fall just right for matches to happen. Cena’s busy Hollywood schedule is likely the sticking point — the same way The Rock’s acting and business dealings prevented a much rumored match between him and Roman Reigns from ever coming together.

Multiple outlets have reported that WWE pitched Austin several ideas for matches over the past year, but he recently claimed the company never specifically talked WrestleMania 39. He seemed to admit as much to Satin but denied that Cena was ever among the list of possible opponents.

“No, not really,” Austin said. “Names have always been tossed around in conversation and stuff like that. I said I was never going to really wrestle again, unless, because you never say never, unless the stars aligned properly. They did to work with KO [Kevin Owens] in Dallas, so we did that.”

Cena has a match against Austin Theory at WrestleMania 39. Austin almost certainly won’t, but it wouldn’t be out of the question for him to appear in some capacity. Maybe they’ll cross paths in L.A.

But for now, anyway, a match between them will have to remain a dream.