Steve Austin says he has no interest in competing in a cinematic wrestling match, though he gave high praise to the famous Boneyard match from WrestleMania 36.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio on 3:16 Day, Austin was asked whether the cinematic match format might appeal to him if he were to make another return to the ring.
Austin was blunt with his initial answer. “No,” Austin said before expanding on his reasoning. “Yes and no. Because it could be done. But I remember that match and it was the right time for that match. To keep doing those, I don’t think so.”
Despite ruling out participating in that style of match himself, Austin spoke glowingly about the Boneyard match between The Undertaker and AJ Styles. “I remember watching that. I enjoyed the hell out of that,” Austin said. “I’ll go five stars, okay, whatever the scale is. I loved it. I love both guys as talents, as human beings. So it was badass.”
The Boneyard match took place during WrestleMania 36 in 2020 at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. The event was held without fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic and featured a heavily produced cinematic presentation filmed across multiple locations.
Austin acknowledged the creativity of the format but suggested it works best as a special one-off presentation rather than something used frequently. “It is almost like a mini-movie, almost like the Michael Jackson Thriller video, right? Longer,” Austin said. “But I don’t think so. I think I am good.”
The cinematic concept became a hallmark of WWE programming during the pandemic era. WrestleMania 36 also featured the widely discussed Firefly Fun House match between John Cena and Bray Wyatt.
The Boneyard match remains one of the most unique and highly praised matches in WrestleMania history.
