Posted in: Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: attitude era, Austin 3:16, kevin owens, steve austin, Stone Cold, stone cold steve austin, the rock, Wrestlemania, wrestling, wwe, WWE Return

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin: Could This Be More Than Just One Match?

The news that has wrestling fans of all ages absolutely buzzing this week is the reporting that WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin is on the verge of making an in-ring comeback at this year's WrestleMania event in Dallas, Texas.  This would be a monumental moment for WWE, not only because Austin is their most popular and profitable star in history, but because it would be the Rattlesnake's first match since retiring against The Rock at WrestleMania XIX 19 years ago.  That one hell of a layover between bouts, but what if this is just the start of a second wind for the king of the Attitude Era?

Andrew Zarian speculated about just that on the most recent edition of the We're Live, Pal podcast, where he said based on what he's heard and how he's translating it, this might just be the first of many more big matches for Steve Austin.

"I don't think this is a one-off. This is again, my speculation based on what was said. If he is having a match, right? If he's actually going to have a match and it's not just him coming out stunning Kevin Owens and getting a 1-2-3 and making the three-second bit, which is very possible, they could do that they could announce it and something could happen. I would think you convince this man that you've been trying to convince for 17 years to come back. You finally have now convinced them you're gonna only do one? I think Saudi Arabia had offered him like a $3 million a match offer, right?"

Zarian continues to explain why he thinks this will only be the start of more Steve Austin matches in WWE. "If he does do something with Kevin Owens, this would not be a one-off. They would want to capitalize on a larger thing. But, he did do that interview I think it was for one of the social channels (you can watch it on Twitter here), and [they said] give me your top three opponents. [He said] Brock Lesnar…He definitely said Lesnar, but yeah, that's another match, you know…"

Steve Austin has said over the years that part of his apprehension about coming back would be the "one and done" nature of it and not having a proper story, so maybe if they're putting something more long-form on the table here (and why would WWE not want their biggest star ever on TV more?), that would entice Austin to give it more thought.

And who knows?  Maybe Austin has wanted to come back and has been working towards it for a while now?  He's obviously still in great shape from the look of him on TV and he's said that he doesn't have the pain or injury issues he once did.  He had his knees surgically repaired in 2012 and has said that his spine is much better now after some procedures.  In a 2011 interview, he said "I could still get two years out of my carcass on a full-time basis."

Also of note, Steve Austin did have a wrestling ring built in his house this past August, so has he been training for a comeback this whole time in private?

Ultimately, this will all be the decision of Steve Austin (as it should be) and while millions of fans around the world would love to see him extend his career that was cut too short, I for one would also understand him deciding to leave well-enough alone.  We all would love to see our heroes return to glory again, but not at the sacrifice of the peace and well-being that they've earned.

h/t WrestlingNews.co

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