WWE Chairman Vince McMahon wanted WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin to be prepared for his WrestleMania 38 ring return in 2022, which Austin won in a No Holds Barred match over Kevin Owens to headline Night 1.
According to a new report from Fightful Select, while Austin had been hesitant since his initial retirement in 2003 and was very particular about how the right situation would present itself, McMahon was also very particular about Austin being ready for his “impromptu” WrestleMania main event match.
McMahon is said to have flown himself and Drew Gulak to Austin’s Texas ranch in preparation for WrestleMania. Gulak practiced drills with Austin, and Austin began calling out spots to Gulak almost in character. Gulak went along with it, and the two had a long match at the ranch. Gulak also worked with McMahon.
A WWE higher-up said, “The funniest thing about all of this wasn’t that Vince flew all the way out there, took Drew Gulak with him and made sure that Austin could still go. It’s that while he did all that to make sure that Austin was good to go, he knew he was planning to wrestle himself, knew he sucked, still did it and ended up having one of the worst matches and Stunner sells of all-time after.”
On Night 2 of WrestleMania 38, Austin worked with McMahon and current WWE United States Champion Austin Theory. McMahon came out to watch Pat McAfee beat Theory, but this prompted McAfee to challenge McMahon to an impromptu match. Before the bell, Theory attacked McAfee, and the quick match ended with McMahon pinning McAfee. Austin then made an unexpected appearance, hitting Theory with a Stunner before sharding beers with McMahon. Thanks to the Chairman, Austin ended the segment with a sloppy Stunner to McMahon, then celebrated with McAfee before also hitting him with a Stunner.
WrestleMania 39 has been rumored to feature Stone Cold, but he stated earlier this month that WWE has not contacted him about appearing.
