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.