Logo

If you’re of a certain age, the sound of shattering glass can only mean one thing: Steve Austin is here, and all hell is about to break loose.

WWE had been rumored to be attempting to lure Stone Cold out of retirement of late. On “Raw” on Monday night, Kevin Owens issued a challenge to Austin, and on Tuesday Austin accepted.

Austin’s final match was versus The Rock at WrestleMania XIX.

“Nineteen years ago, I wrestled my last match in a WWE ring,” Austin said in the announcement. “After three Rock Bottoms, one-two-three, I lost the match. And for 19 years I’ve had to live with that defeat, knowing my time is up.

“Kevin Owens, I want to thank you. I want to thank you for waking something up deep inside me that I’ve kept buried for 19 years. Ever since you started running that mealy mouth of yours, talking about the great state of Texas, you got my attention. And why would you want to do that Kevin? I can think of two reasons. 1) You are one dumb son of a b—h, and 2) You are fixing to get your ass kicked by Stone Cold Steve Austin.”


  Steve Austin duels with The Rock. Getty Images Steve Austin duels with The Rock. Getty Images

WrestleMania 38 is taking place at AT&T Stadium outside Dallas, in Austin’s home state of Texas.

Austin’s aforementioned feud with The Rock was one of WWE’s greatest all-time storyline draws in box office and television ratings. Given it has been nearly two decades, this un-retirement is a date that many wrestling fans — and people working in the business — never thought would arrive.

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy