Stone Cold Steve Austin WWE In-Ring Return Update

WWE

Stone Cold Steve Austin has addressed the possibility of returning to a WWE ring for another match in the future.

April 2026 will mark four years since the “Texas Rattlesnake” Stone Cold Steve Austin came out of a 19-year in-ring retirement to main event WrestleMania 38 Night One against Kevin Owens.

With Austin putting in a great showing in the match, fans have long speculated whether he will step into the ring again in the future, with persistent rumors and questions during the build to every WrestleMania since his return.

Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Van Vliet commented on Austin’s physique and told him that he looks like he can still “go” inside the ring, with the Hall of Famer agreeing that he thinks he could too.

Austin said:

“I could. God dang it. And just saying that takes me back to when we did that WrestleMania match with Kevin Owens in Dallas, Texas, and they didn’t send a ring down for me to work out in to get any kind of timing or hit the ropes. I remember going down there, and I was running the ropes and taking a couple of flat back bumps before we got into the ring, but you can’t get your timing or any kind of anything back, much less your wind.

“I was over here in my gym doing all kinds of cardio, because when that glass breaks, or whoever’s music hits, and you start walking to the ring, man, just the buzz of the crowd. I’ve seen people blow up walking to the ring, because that’s just what a crowd can do to you.

“So just going there with Kevin Owens and trying to have that match with him, where we didn’t bill it as a match, but it was going to be a match, so to speak. I remember telling Kevin, and I was knocking the sh*t out of him. I was potatoing him so bad because I hadn’t thrown a punch in 19 years, and he never threw a receipt.

“I told him, because we keep in touch with each other every now and then. I just wish that he could have been in the ring with me when I was really going, you know, full speed and had my timing, because he’s a great worker, and I really like him a lot. I wish he would have got a chance to experience me when I was in my prime, because that would have been a great contest.

“But I could still do it? And I’m not advocating for nothing, so I’m not selling a match here, Chris. But you asked me, could I? Yes.”

Despite feeling he “could still go” inside the ring, Austin thinks it “probably” won’t happen after he underwent knee replacement surgery last year.

Asutin continued:

“Probably not. I’ll say that, but you say never. But with the knee replacement I had last year? God dang, I was limping around so bad, and I didn’t know I was limping, and people would ask me, ‘What’s wrong?’ I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ [They said] ‘You’re limping.’ F*ck, I didn’t know, because I don’t watch myself walk. And then finally, after everybody kept pointing it out to me, I could feel it, no doubt that’s why I was limping.

“Then it just started getting really bad because of all the arthritis in there. And finally, last year, I had it replaced. I was thinking why didn’t I do this sooner to get out of so much pain? And I’ve always wondered what arthritis felt like. Man, I found out firsthand. And it’s chronically over time, years and years and years of it. It’ll change your personality.

“It just puts you in a state of mind where you just want some relief, so to get that relief and come out on the other side and still be active.” 

After WrestleMania 43 was announced to be taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia it was reported that the country had been told by WWE that an Austin return at the event would be determined by how Austin was feeling physically by then, with it being noted that the multi-time former world champion has “great pride and was happy” with his match at WrestleMania 38 being his last.

To make sure you stay up to date with all the biggest wrestling and WrestleTalk news, follow us on Threads by clicking this link!

• wwe
• Return
• stone cold steve austin

Share this article with friends