Stone Cold Steve Austin discussed a possible return to the ring, his health, legendary and missed dream matches and today’s wrestling style in an extensive conversation on the show “Insight with Chris Van Vliet”. The WWE legend made it clear that he feels physically capable of another match, but that a return is still unlikely.
When asked if he could wrestle again, Austin replied that he was definitely capable of it, recalling his comeback match against Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38. At that time, he competed in the ring without any real training and had to get his timing and feeling back on the fly. At the same time, he made it clear that he did not want to advertise another match with this statement – but when asked purely about the possibility, the answer was “yes”.
Austin became more specific when it came to the question of whether he would actually return. In his own opinion, this is “probably not” the case, even if one should never say never in wrestling. He referred to a knee replacement that he received last year after suffering from severe osteoarthritis pain for a long time. In retrospect, he wished he had taken this step earlier, as the symptoms had severely affected his mood and everyday life over the years. After the operation, he was able to be more active again and, above all, he was happy about being free of pain.
Austin’s famous finisher, the Stone Cold Stunner, also came up in the conversation. When asked who took the stunner the worst, he didn’t hesitate to name Vince McMahon. Precisely because McMahon had to take the move several times, there are a number of failed examples – in his opinion, the stunner at WrestleMania 38 in particular turned out “very badly”. At the same time, Austin highlighted positive examples and praised The Rock and Scott Hall, among others, for their stunner sells. Austin also had words of praise for Austin Theory, particularly his stunner sell at WrestleMania 38. He described the promotion as “top notch” and explained that he felt at the time that “the sky could be the limit” for Theory. Pat McAfee also sold the stunner very well that evening, including the spontaneous moment when he continued drinking beer while lying on the mat after the bump. This type of improvisation and entertainment quality really stood out to Austin.
Another topic was Austin’s love of beer, long associated with his on-air character. He denied rumors that he had given up drinking completely and explained that he now simply drinks more consciously and “more selectively”. Today he has to pay more attention to when and how much he consumes, but he hasn’t completely given up beer.
Austin also talked about missing several dream matches. A possible meeting with Goldberg, which never took place, was mentioned particularly often in the past. According to Austin, the pairing was discussed internally when he joined the WWE, but Goldberg initially needed time to arrive in the then WWF and establish himself there. Ultimately, the match simply never happened, even though the two have a good relationship with each other. Austin also classified a potential match against CM Punk as one of the duels that many fans would have liked to see, but which was no longer realistic – comparable to the never realized match between him and Hulk Hogan.
A central topic in the interview was Austin’s iconic entrance music. He recalled that in his early days in WWE he didn’t feel comfortable with slow, “dreamy” music as Million Dollar Champion and that it made him feel “lost”. It was only with the later theme, which Jim Johnston developed based on Austin’s reference to “Bulls on Parade” by Rage Against the Machine – including a broken glass sound and a siren element – that he found the right musical profile for the character Stone Cold Steve Austin. He emphasized how important this topic was for his presentation and gave Johnston great respect for it.
Austin also commented on John Cena’s heel turn at Elimination Chamber 2025. There were many voices who wanted to see an evil version of the long-time top star at least once, and he himself found this idea fundamentally interesting. In retrospect, he would have preferred to see Cena as a face permanently, especially in the late phase of his career and given the importance he has, especially for younger fans.
Finally, Stone Cold gave some advice to today’s generation of wrestlers. At a time when matches are often played very quickly and athletically, he would like to see more emphasis placed on “selling” again – i.e. on selling actions and exhaustion credibly. He cited Bret Hart as a role model, who appeared tired and worn out in long matches without actually being exhausted, thus making the physical toll of the fight visible. Austin advocated making fights seem less like perfectly rehearsed choreography, allowing for more “struggle” and occasional inaccuracies, and overall “working” rather than “acting” in order to create real impact and credibility.
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