Former WWE Champion Was ‘Never Really Cleared’ For Major WrestleMania Match

WWE

A former multi-time WWE Champion has revealed he was “never really cleared” for a major WrestleMania match over 20 years ago.

In what was his final WWE match for 19 years before returning to face Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38, Stone Cold Steve Austin faced off with storied rival The Rock one last time at WrestleMania 19 in 2003.

As has been well documented by WWE and Austin himself, the night before WrestleMania 19 Austin was taken into hospital to undergo tests after suffering a health scare at his hotel.

Speaking with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Austin recalled what led to the incident and eventually making it to WrestleMania 19 afterwards, despite not being properly cleared by a doctor:

“It was just a thing where I was running hard and dehydrated and drank a lot of caffeine. I remember my legs were kind of shaking at the gym that day, and it was just kind of a precursor for what was to come. I was working out with Kevin Nash, and we were sitting there doing cardio and talking on the recumbent bikes.

“Then when I got into the hotel, I think was at Grand Hyatt, and I was up on one of the top floors, 27, 28 and goddamn, my heart just started beating out of my chest. It was like about 180 beats a minute. That sounds crazy, but that’s what it was.

“Then the doors opened, and I’ve told this story many times, and there’s a lady that worked in the office. Her name was Liz, real nice lady, and God damn, I looked at Liz. I said, ‘Liz, I’m in trouble.’

“My room was right there. Went in my room, and she called 911, and a couple of ambulances came and all that stuff, and they told me about the hospital. But they had to kayfabe me to the hospital because, you know, I was in the main event.

“So anyway we get there, they do a bunch of tests on me, check me out and everything, and thought I had a pulmonary embolism and stuff like that. Turns out, man I was just running ragged.

“So anyway, doctor never really cleared me. I’ve said this before, and went to the ring the next day and put over the Rock and took care of business. I think the match is okay, but that was just a product of running too hard, too fast.”

In the same interview, Austin discussed his eventual return to the ring almost two decades later against Kevin Owens, and addressed why “The Prizefighter” was chosen as his opponent – click here for full details.