Posted in: Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: jim ross, kevin owens, steve austin, Stone Cold, stone cold steve austin, Wrestlemania, wrestling, wwe, wwe hall of fame

Jim Ross Says Stone Cold Isn't Enthusiastic About WrestleMania

The speculation about WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin having a return match at next month's WrestleMania has run the gamut from "maybe?" to "definitely!" to ultimately what we got this week, which was a confirmation that Austin would be live on the show, but as a part of a KO Show segment with Kevin Owens.  So what exactly happened?  Why were so many reputable insiders reporting a match was set, only for us to get a confrontation?  We may now have that answer and it comes from someone pretty close to the Rattlesnake himself.

On the newest episode of the Grilling JR Podcast, WWE Hall of Famer and current AEW Dynamite commentator Jim Ross says that he's spoken with Stone Cold recently and he isn't thrilled with what WWE has come up with for him at WrestleMania. "It looks like Austin is not going to do anything at WrestleMania as far as wrestling in the ring.  He and I have talked, but at the time we talked, he didn't know what he was going to do and he didn't sound overwhelmingly enthusiastic about it."

Ross explained how it's not a matter of Stone Cold's physical well-being, but rather the situation that was probably a deterrent. "People have to understand that Steve is a perfectionist. Even though he stays in great shape and he looks wonderful, especially for a guy his age, he looks great. He can do a photoshoot and it looks like that can be Steve from any era, but that's the athlete in him. He likes to train, eat right, and all those things."

He continues that a Stone Cold versus Kevin Owens match probably won't happen because for Austin to come out of retirement after 19 years, it would have to be a perfect situation that he felt was appropriate.  "If he was going to wrestle at WrestleMania, and this is just me talking, I would suggest that it should have been decided six months ago, not only to build a story to that crescendo in Dallas at WrestleMania but to give him time to train better and have more peace of mind. You know he's going to handpick his opponent."

While WWE would, for obvious reasons, love for one more "Stone Cold" Steve Austin match, ultimately that ball is in Austin's court, and Ross speculates that what the company presented him with here wasn't worth risking his legacy for.  "He likes to prepare, and if anything, over prepare because he always wants to give the fans their money's worth. He's got a legacy that he's built around the Stone Cold brand that he's not going to purposely, or by his own hand, make himself look bad, and I don't blame him."

h/t WrestlingNews.co

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!