When videos emerged online of 57-year-old “Stone Cold” Steve Austin working out, fans assumed it meant one thing and one thing only: WWE had struck up a deal to bring “The Texas Rattlesnake” back for a second final match.
The minds of fans began to race, “who would be the next opponent? Would it be Kevin Owens? Bret Hart? Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson? Or how about CM Punk? He's basically on the outs with AEW, maybe Paul “Triple H” Levesque could swoop in, offer him a huge payday for one night only, and give wrestling fans one huge pop before both men move on to the next chapters of their lives. When Fightful Select and others reported that Austin had, in fact, been offered another match with WWE, in a statement you can read below, the hype became all the more real.
Stone Cold Steve Austin had his return to wrestling earlier this year, main eventing WrestleMania against Kevin Owens.
Shortly after the match, which was Austin's first in 19 years, reports and word emerged that Austin enjoyed the experience and was open to doing it more. It seems like that is a distinct reality, to the surprise of absolutely no one.
Austin posted a video of him working out, in incredible shape this week, that conjured speculation from fans. It's with merit, as we're told WWE at least wants him to do more with the company. Specifically, we're told that while the Vince McMahon regime had hoped to have Austin come back to do another match, that the Triple H regime had actually made an offer for Austin to do another match.
The sources that we spoke to weren't sure if that meant for a Saudi Arabia match, WrestleMania, or anything else, but that there was an offer. Those sources presumed it was for WrestleMania in LA, but wouldn't confirm that or a potential opponent. Another source indicated that initially Austin and WWE were far apart on terms.
Welp, there you go; Austin is going to be a WrestleMania 39 in sunny Hollywood, California – read: Inglewood – and all that's left to decide on is who he'll be wrestling… or is he?
That's right, while a match at Mania or elsewhere is still very much a possibility, as “The Texas Rattlesnake” can most certainly draw numbers and put butts in seats, Austin took to Instagram to explain what's going on and why he's gotten in such good shape as of late.
“People have been speculating… I just simply looked in the mirror and realized I looked like sh*t.”
– Stone Cold Steve Austin addresses his recent training videos & potential comeback rumors (via steveaustinbsr/Instagram). pic.twitter.com/aH7DSREg7C
— Public Enemies Podcast (@TheEnemiesPE3) November 19, 2022
“Stone Cold” got ripped for a reason many WWE fans will appreciate.
So why did Austin get back in shape? Is it to wrestle? For a movie? Or maybe to host a new television game show? To paraphrase the man himself, it's because he was tired of “looking like sh*t.”
“People have been speculating, ‘Hey Steve, what are you doing? What are you training for? Are you training for an event?' I just simply looked in the mirror and realized I look like sh*t,” Austin said to his Instagram fans. “So I called my diet coach up and my macros are currently, give or take, roughly around 2650 calories 300-320 grams of protein, 150 grams of carbs on a regular day, will spike at 420 on a load up. I still drink beer on Friday nights. Get 3 Broken Skull IPAs and that's pretty much it. I'm probably, as far as body weight goes, sub-232, the leanest I've been in forever. Anyway, I'm out. I just got tired of looking In the mirror, I got tired of looking like sh*t, so I'm taking action to do something about it. I gotta go. Catch you down the road.”
Alright Steve, sure thing; you totally aren't getting ready for Mania or some other in-ring return and instead just want to look better when you look in the mirror. While that latter part is probably true, I personally am not buying that he isn't training for something important, as 57-year-old millionaire podcast hosts with bad knees don't usually get jacked for free.
Need proof? Well, look no further than the comments section of the Instagram post, as Austin's first final opponent, noted jacked-for-roles man “The Rock” stopped by to deliver some words of encouragement for his former foe.
“Maaaan for everyone watching this, let me just say that how Steve is talking here, is exactly how talks in person and why we became brothers,” Johnson said in the comments. “Straight up, direct, no bullsh*t. Good or bad. You’ll always get the real. Keep kicking a– my brother and you know I gotta say it, ‘thank you for the house.'”
Welp, you read it here, folks; Rock-Austin at WrestleMania 39. Sorry Roman, I guess you'll have to find someone else to wrestle in the main event of Night 2.
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