Stone Cold Steve Austin Reveals How Kevin Owens Became His WrestleMania 38 Opponent

By 2022, it had long since appeared that Stone Cold Steve Austin would never wrestle again.

The Texas Rattlesnake, who retired from the squared circle after his third and final WrestleMania bout against The Rock in 2003, had been linked with several comeback matches during his retirement, with the likes of John Cena, Hulk Hogan, CM Punk and Randy Orton mooted as possible opponents.

However, none of these bouts ever materialized, and Austin's involvement with WWE was limited to guest referee spots and the occasional comeback angles at anniversary shows or major PPV's.

WrestleMania 38 was Stone Cold's first match in 19 years

Then came WrestleMania 38. The first 'Mania post-COVID in front of a capacity crowd, in Austin's home state of Texas.

In the run-up to the show, Austin was consistently called out by Kevin Owens, who ran down the Bionic Redneck as well as the state of Texas, challenging Austin to show up at WrestleMania.

The meeting between the pair was actually billed as being an episode of The KO Show. Said episode lasted roughly a minute before Owens and Austin declared they would be headlining night one of 'Mania 38 in a no-disqualification bout.

For the first time in almost 20 years, Steve Austin rolled back the years and produced a white hot, arena-wide brawl with the former Universal Champion that drew huge plaudits for both men. The match was akin to being transported back to the Attitude Era, with the WWE Hall of Famer knocking back beer after beer as he eventually claimed victory with a Stone Cold Stunner.

How Kevin Owens was chosen for Steve Austin's comeback match

But how was KO selected to be the guy responsible for helping Stone Cold through his first match since WrestleMania 19? Austin has revealed all on his recent appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet.

“It was in Dallas, Texas. Vince flew down here, and we had a conversation, and I thought about it for a minute. I love Kevin Owens, and I think, from a safety standpoint, they picked Kevin. And when they threw out just a couple of names, Kevin was the guy."

"I remember meeting Kevin 100 years ago in the airport, him and Sami Zayn, it’s a well-known story. But anyway, I gave him some advice about learning how to promo and talk instead of taking all those bumps, and you know, he’s turned it up. Kevin Owens will end up in the Hall of Fame. So, I mean, why not pick Kevin Owens for Stone Cold Steve Austin’s opponent?”

Despite the quality of his performance, at 57 years of age, Austin was still critical of his showing during his interview with Van Vliet.

Stone Cold and Hulk Hogan — Austin was often linked with a dream match against Hulk Hogan, but it never happened. | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

"We go into the match, and it was fine. I blew up because I hadn’t had any reps in the ring. But when I look back at that, I rushed through so many things. I wish I would have slowed down more and savored a little bit more and just entertained the crowd a little bit more.

"It was what it was. We got away with it because it was anticipated. It was billed as my last match, because Dallas is where I started and Dallas is where I would finish. So for all the right reasons, it was there to have that match, and we pulled it off. But God dang, I could have been better prepared, and I would have loved to have been better that night for Kevin Owens.”

Austin was linked with a major role in the WrestleMania 40 main event two years later, to help Cody Rhodes overcome The Rock's involvement with The Bloodline to become WWE Champion. However, the stars didn't align, and the Rattlesnake was absent in Philadelphia.

However, Austin would show up to WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas last year. Austin was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame alongside Bret Hart for their classic WrestleMania 13 submission match, and he also announced the attendance for night two, albeit in a manner that almost put a fan in the hospital when the former WWE Champion crashed his ATV into the ringside barricade.

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