When WrestleMania 39 came and went without so much as a cameo from “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, fans wondered why the “Rattlesnake” opted against making his return to the ring at “The Showcase of the Immortals.” Was he too busy with his new television “Stone Cold Takes on America?” Could he not get in shape for the event? Or was there another obstacle in his way that prevented him from making it to the show from a Kayfabe or non-Kayfabe standpoint?

Well, as it turns out, it was a little bit of all three, with Austin suggesting that the stars simply couldn't align. With that being said, Austin isn't closing the door on ever wrestling a match again, as, in an interview with WESH2, “The Ring Master” noted that, if the stars align, he could be back in a wrestling ring in the not-too-distant future.

“They approached me about wrestling at WrestleMania 39,” Austin said via 411 Mania. “I thought, what I did with Kevin, that was a great sendoff because I started in Dallas, got a chance to end in Dallas. The way we framed that match, too much wasn't expected. I got approached to be part of 39, but the schedule of filming, I told WWE, ‘I don't know what my life looks like until we get into production and knowing if I can train for WrestleMania 39.' We finished this show about five to seven days before WrestleMania. There is no way, traveling all over God's creation in an RV with a 35-pound dumbbell, a 45-pound sandbag, and some kettlebells, that I could have gotten in that kind of shape.

“In the future, I'm not saying I will get back in the ring, but like I said at 38, if the stars align, anything could happen.”

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, now that is an interesting development indeed; while Austin wasn't able to wrestle at Mania, getting him back in the ring at some point in the future, either for a traditional match or for an impromptu physical segment is incredibly interesting, especially since he's shown a total willingness to appear on television when the opportunity presents itself. If Austin wants to go, and the opportunity presents itself, the WWE Universe might just be in for a treat at some point down the line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljcnfHKsC4g&t=1956s

One of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin's reported Mania foes has been revealed.

At WrestleMania 39, there were two impromptu matches that weren't advertised before the show but landed on the card regardless, with The Miz being forced to wrestle Pat McAfee and George Kittle on Night 1 and “The A-Lister” landing an impromptu showdown with Shane McMahon and Snoop Dogg the following night. But what if there was a third thrown-together contest, one featuring Austin and… “The Megastar,” LA Knight? Well, according to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, that match was reportedly pitched for the show, even if it unfortunately never came to fruition.

“Of late, we've heard that a very in-shape Steve Austin was made additional pitches to get on the show, but not for necessarily marquee matches,” Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp reported via Bleacher Report. “LA Knight was a name rumored online, and we can confirm that's at least been pitched. However, nobody close to Austin or in WWE have been able to verify that it's happening as of yet.”

Wow, could you even imagine a world where Austin and Knight shared the ring at WrestleMania? How would it have worked, would Austin have walked to the ring for a speaking segment only for Knight to interrupt him? Would Austin have accepted one of The Miz's open challenges only to have Mike call out LA Knight to defend his honor? Or would WWE have turned it in a different direction, with LA Knight attempting to take over the show with his usual conversation style of “let me talk to ya”-ing to the audience, only for Austin to come out and take knock him down a peg? Either way, it's hard to hear about what could have been and then see what happened, as the Miz's matches were the lowest-ranked matches on the card by a pretty significant margin.

While throwing Austin into the ring with Knight after months of filming his new show probably wouldn't have made anyone forget about his classic matches with Bret Hart, it certainly would have earned a massive pop from the fans at SoFi Stadium and got LA Knight on the card in his namesake town. All things considered, that feels like a pretty big loss, indeed.