“I walked away,” Steve Austin poignantly teases retirement despite previous talks of a dream match with CM Punk

The WWE Hall of Famer is fine with having to never wrestle again.

“I walked away,” Steve Austin poignantly teases retirement despite previous talks of a dream match with CM Punk

Steve Austin and CM Punk [via- WWE]

On the brink of turning 60, ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin seems to have wrestled his last match. There’s a bunch of fans hoping he could make that final stretch to tango with CM Punk, the rumors of which stemmed following the latter’s return to WWE at Survivor Series: WarGames. However, Austin seems content with whatever he has left behind.

In the latest edition of his biography on A&E, the 59-year-old teased retirement. After being asked if there was something left in his tank, Steve Austin said he was happy with what he did, referring to his main event match at WrestleMania 38 against Kevin Owens. The Texas Rattlesnake said that there have been people who’ve lasted longer than he did, but he said that he’s had a good career.

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Did Austin have a good career? Not just good. He had one of the greatest, if not the greatest, careers in WWE history. He was just being quite generous in the aforementioned biography. WrestleMania in Texas was quite possibly the biggest trigger the Bionic Redneck could’ve had to come out of retirement. He did so at the behest of Owens, who was denigrating Austin’s home state during his promos.

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I walked away. I’m happy with what I did. There are people who have done more and lasted more, but I’ve had a good career and I’m happy with it. I have nothing to prove to anyone.
Steve Austin via biography on A&E

They went last on Saturday and arguably stole the show, which was on par with Cody Rhodes‘ return earlier in the night. Even though there’s nothing left for the Attitude Era icon to do in this business, there’s always some room for more. As mentioned above, there were talks within WWE to finally pit the Baddest S.O.B. against CM Punk. The idea was broached, but there has to be a perfect alignment of all the stars for it to happen.

Why did Steve Austin decline to show up at WrestleMania XL?

Heading into this year’s WrestleMania, there was enough fuss about Stone Cold making an appearance on night 2 during the main event. As the fans saw, the former World Champion was nowhere to be found.

Steve Austin
Steve Austin [via- Bleacher Report]

However, it’s not that he wasn’t even considered for the show. He was indeed earmarked for a spot, quite likely with his longtime rival, The Rock. However, in the end, Austin couldn’t agree on financial terms with WWE, and The Undertaker eventually replaced him for that cause.

Cody Rhodes later discussed how he viewed the Rattlesnake’s absence. The American Nightmare said that he has nothing but the utmost reverence for the 59-year-old. Maybe the fans will get to see more of the latter somewhere down the road.

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