WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin spoke with Marc Raimondi of ESPN to talk about his decision to stay retired.
Austin quietly retired from pro wrestling in 2003 when he lost to The Rock in one of the top matches at WrestleMania 19. Here is what he had to say:
“I’d be happy to give you a two-letter answer: N.O. It’s like people say, it’s show business, and in the wrestling business, it’s never say never. If you ask me, ‘Steve do you have a couple of Stunners, a couple of right hands or do you have some hell raising left in you?’ Absolutely, I do. But just to go in there, lace them up and go in there for a 15-, 20-minute match? No, man. I don’t. Nor do I want to. I did what I did, and in WrestleMania 19, that was my last match with The Rock and he beat me 1-2-3 right in the middle of the ring. Took three Rock Bottoms, but that was the last match that “Stone Cold” Steve Austin will ever have.”
“No, I’m not gonna name names. As soon as I do that, everybody is gonna start making these fantasy matches. A few weeks back on my podcast, I was kind of just giving a physical assessment of where I am. Because everyone thinks that all the guys are just beat to shreds — and by and large many of us are. But I was simply stating, hey man, as far as the pain level I feel good. Most times on a 1 to 10, I don’t even register as a 1. So I said, in theory, I could have a match, because physically I’m in a good shape. So now all of a sudden, I get taken out of context and people start saying I’m fishing for a dream match. Like God dang, I opened a whole other can of worms.”
“No. The expectations would be off the charts. We talk about what it takes for The Undertaker to get ready for a match. You’ll hear that discussed on the Broken Skull Session after Survivor Series.
The wrestling business for me, it’s very addictive. I was hooked on that business, and I loved it. As many years as I’ve been away from the business, I have fond memories. Whereas, when I was forced to take myself out of the equation, I had a hard time dealing with it. So why go back and get so immersed in that world, knowing that it would be a short road? And the build up and then the match. I just think when it was all said and done, it would be anticlimactic for me. I don’t have anything to prove. People can judge me on the career that I had. So, I’d rather leave well enough alone is the simple answer.”
