Real Reason Steve Austin Didn’t Compete At WrestleMania 39

WWE

Stone Cold Steve Austin has explained why he didn’t wrestle at WrestleMania 39, confirming that at one point, he was in talks about potentially competing.

Following Austin’s return to the ring at WrestleMania 38, it was heavily speculated that the Texas Rattlesnake would be competing at this year’s Show of Shows.

Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Austin confirmed that he met with WWE representatives about a possible match at WrestleMania 39.

Explaining why it didn’t come to fruition, Austin said:

“I haven’t spoken to this, but I’ll give you the story. 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.”

Austin has also shared his honest thoughts on the divisive booking surrounding the Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes WrestleMania 39 main event, which you can read more about right here.

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