'It was close': Stone Cold Steve Austin Confirms Talks With WWE For WrestleMania 40 Appearance at Philadelphia
Stone Cold Steve Austin has confirmed talks with WWE over WrestleMania's return. Read on to know what he said.
![Stone Cold Steve Austin. Photo: Getty Getty](https://www.pinkvilla.com/images/2024-08/578684206_stone-cold-1280-1.jpg)
If there was one thing that the entire WWE Universe desperately missed at WrestleMania 40, it was the return of Stone Cold Steve Austin. In the final moments of the event, when The Undertaker looked into the eyes of The Rock and gave him a chokeslam, fans pondered what effect Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock had created.
The entire Lincoln Financial Field would have exploded with loud chants. It would have been a never-before event in the history of WWE. But was Stone Cold Steve Austin reached out by WWE?
Yes, he was. The Rattlesnake himself confirmed that WWE did reach out to him for that. Austin, however, gave a very vague reason for not being there. He said that he and his wife had some other plans at that time, and because of that, he couldn’t make it.
“It was close. They certainly reached out to me. We had conversations. My wife and I had some things going on, and I didn’t need to go to Philly at that time. I have said, I miss Mania, and Philly was a good town for me back in the day and I appreciate those fans. Couldn’t make it down on that one,” Austin said.
At the same time, Austin has also has given hints of being at WrestleMania 41. He goes, “WrestleMania this year is in Vegas,” Austin said. There isn’t any storyline where Austin fits currently or an event where he could make a presence next year.
However, there is another theory to why Steve Austin rejected WWE’s request for a special appearance. According to wrestling journalist, Dave Meltzer, Austin, and WWE couldn’t reach a financial agreement, and, thereby the deal couldn’t be done.
It was also said that the deal couldn’t be done till the last day, and then The Undertaker was finally roped in. Stone Cold Steve Austin made a return at WrestleMania 38 against Kevin Owens. That was Austin’s return to the ring after nearly 19 years.
After losing his WrestleMania 20 fight against The Rock Austin retired from in-ring WWE performances. He, however, kept making sporadic appearances, at big events.
For example, Austin was the guest referee at WrestleMania 23 in The Battle of the Billionaire match, when Vince McMahon’s Umaga faced Donald Trump’s Umaga. He also gave a stunner to Umaga in the match. Having made his debut in 1995, Stone Cold Steve Austin has been a six-time WWE Champion. In 2009, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Also Read: Stone Cold Steve Austin Opens Up On The Possibility of Him Returning To WWE For One Final Time
![](https://www.pinkvilla.com/assets/images/newsletter-icon.png)