“Stone Cold” Steve Austin Heavily Expected by WWE to Appear on Raw for 3/16 Day

Steve Austin's previous on-screen appearance for WWE came at last year's WrestleMania. He's now expected to be at Raw next week.

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin Heavily Expected by WWE to Appear on Raw for 3/16 Day

Steve Austin at WrestleMania 38 [via- WWE]

In Short
  • Steve Austin is expected to appear on WWE Raw for 3/16 Day in his home state of Texas.
  • This would be his first live Raw appearance since 2019, following a pandemic-era promo in 2020.
  • Austin is also scheduled for WrestleMania 42 weekend events in Las Vegas, raising speculation about his involvement in the show.

It seems like Steve Austin might pull up to Raw this coming Monday on account of the 3:16 Day. Moreover, it’s in his home state of Texas. And as per WrestleVotes Radio via Fightful Select, there were conversations within WWE about that. While it wasn’t clear whether the company extended an invite to the legendary Attitude Era figure to be on the show or not, many in WWE were very hopeful that ‘Stone Cold’ will indeed be there.

‘The Texas Rattlesnake’ hasn’t appeared on Raw since its 3/16 edition in 2020. Back then, the three-time Royal Rumble match winner had to cut his promo behind closed doors with no fans in attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Should he turn up to the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio this Monday, it’ll mark his first Raw appearance in front of a live crowd since 2019.

He’s already confirmed to be a part of the WrestleMania 42 weekend in Las Vegas. WWE announced a few weeks ago that ‘The Baddest S.O.B. on the Planet’ will be at the WWE World fan convention on April 18 and 19. The 6-time WWE Champion was at last year’s WrestleMania, and what a rollercoaster of emotions it was.

Austin rammed his ATV into the barricade, taking out several fans nestled in the front row. The wrestling icon felt pretty embarrassed about it, as he mentioned in an interview later on. ‘Stone Cold’ revealed that he misjudged a turn due to an unfamiliar throttle system, and hence the mishap. The 61-year-old announced the combined WrestleMania attendance in the ring before exiting.

Would Austin be at this year’s WrestleMania too? It’s very much in the realm of possibility, as the WWE Hall of Famer is booked to appear at WWE World on the same dates as two nights of WrestleMania. Barring any other commitments, Austin would be in town for WWE to use him at The Grandest Stage of Them All.

CM Punk still rates Steve Austin as his dream wrestling match opponent

CM Punk is gearing up for the biggest wrestling match of his career, with him set to defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 42. ‘The Second City Saint’ is having the best run of his pro wrestling journey at the moment in WWE. He’s all set to headline his second consecutive WrestleMania after having harbored bitter feelings about that particular distinction stemming from his previous tenure in the company under Vince McMahon.

Steve Austin and CM Punk
Steve Austin and CM Punk [via- WWE]

After having accomplished so much in his career, who does Punk see as his dream match opponent? The answer is Steve Austin, as it’s always been every time he gets asked about it. Punk made the admission in a chat with ESPN under its The 3 Count segment. ‘The Best in the World’ has always wanted to get in the ring with ‘Stone Cold’, but the stars never aligned for it. Austin came out of retirement for an impromptu match at WrestleMania 38 against Kevin Owens.

‘The Texas Rattlesnake’ fondly looked back on it during a conversation with Chris Van Vliet in January of this year. Austin admitted that he was stiffing Owens out with his punches, as his pacing and timing were off due to it being his first match in almost two decades. Despite bearing the brunt of those haymakers, ‘The Prizefighter’ didn’t once hand out receipts in return, which speaks volumes of Owens’ professionalism and the respect he’s always had for ‘Stone Cold’.

The latter wished he could’ve gotten the chance to wrestle ‘KO’ in his prime years when Austin was going full steam on his opponents, which Austin said he could still do. However, in the very next moment, the ‘Bionic Redneck’ stepped back and affirmed that he wasn’t advocating to have another match at all. When asked by Van Vliet if he would wrestle again, Austin replied, “Probably not.” However, his body is still in shape, which Austin takes great care of.

He said he doesn’t really squat anymore but has replaced it with Hindu squats. Steve Austin underwent knee replacement last year, something that he’d been avoiding for a very long time but went for it when a number of people around him started pointing out that he was limping. In essence, the WWE Hall of Famer is still pretty much in shape, albeit not in-ring ready, especially if he were to wrestle right away.

Also, there’s no lead on whether his match with CM Punk will ever happen. However, the fans have started manifesting for an on-screen interaction between Austin and Punk on the upcoming episode of Raw. It might plant the seeds for their potential showdown at next year’s WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia. The local authorities are lobbying to get Austin on the show, and what more could they ask of WWE other than Austin versus Punk?

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