Stone Cold reveals thoughts on last match

[Chris]

Exclusive: Stone Cold Steve Austin Reveals Untold Regret Of WWE WrestleMania 38 Return

Stone Cold Steve Austin made his triumphant return to the wrestling ring at WrestleMania 38 in front of 80,000 strong inside AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas nearl

www.si.com

Stone Cold Steve Austin made his triumphant return to the wrestling ring at WrestleMania 38 in front of 80,000 strong inside AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas nearly three years ago.

The return was 19 years in the making and took place in the same city that Austin made his wrestling debut in over three decades prior.

The match was Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Kevin Owens and it was an impromptu bout that took place in the main event of the show. What began as a Kevin Owens Show segment between Austin and Owens turned into a full on match when Owens naively tempted The Rattlesnake into opening up one final can of whoop ass.

Much to the audience's enjoyment, Austin accepted the match and defeated Owens with multiple Stunners. The match included brawling all around the ringside area and into the crowd. Austin took some bumps and dished out plenty of his own offense to Owens as well.

After the victory, the party was on and Austin celebrated with the Dallas audience and copious amounts of Broken Skull beer.

Austin spoke to The Takedown on SI for a 50 minute, no holds barred interview that drops in full on 3/16 Day this Sunday. In the interview, Austin openly discussed his return to the ring, why parts disappointed him, and revealed a key untold detail about the return that he'd like to have back.

"I was happy in a moment, but, you know, they didn't send me a ring down," Austin said of his WrestleMania return. "I didn't have any timing. I think they interviewed Triple H, The Undertaker, and Hogan. Each one of them said something that was so true.

"Paul said, you can come back, but you don't know what you have, because you haven't been out there. Undertaker said, you're not going to have any timing. He was right. I didn't have any timing. Hell, I hadn't hit a set of ropes in 19 years. Hadn't thrown a punch in 19 years. Hogan says, you know, you're just not calloused up. Your body is not as hard as it used to be. And he was right, because when you when you take off, people talk about ring rust, that's timing. So, I had no timing.

"Hogan was talking about being calloused up ... those ropes hurt. Those bumps hurt. If you make a long comeback, it takes you two or three months to get those callouses back, so that your body doesn't hurt after every single match. You build up an immunity to it, so they each made valid points. And like Paul said, you don't know what you got until you get out there, because you can think you got it, but you don't.

"And when I went out there, I think I couldn't hear the crowd as much as I wanted to. When I watched it back, the crowd was into it. It was very, very loud, yes, but I wish I would have taken more time, savored more moments, and worked the people a little bit more than I did. I think I was in a space of not knowing what I had and trying to be a little too frantic. I could have slowed down drastically and made that better. And I wish that I would have. I haven't told too many people that, but I told you."

Austin hasn't appeared for WWE since his victory over Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38. Austin lives in Nevada and with WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas, rumors persist as to whether or not the WWE Hall of Famer will be a part of the show in some capacity.

In the full Takedown on SI interview, Austin discussed his early beginnings in pro wrestling, what it felt like to ride the Attitude Era wave that he helped cultivate, the Austin legacy in pro wrestling, and so much more.

The full interview drops on the website and on The Takedown on SI YouTube channel this Sunday, 3/16 Day.

 

[Shane]

I thought his return was great for what it was. He has nothing to be ashamed of.