
WWE Hall of Famer and former WCW President Eric Bischoff took to an episode of his 83 Weeks podcast, where he talked about a number of topics including how he will be surprised if fellow WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin wrestles again.
Bischoff said, โI will [be surprised if he wrestles again]. Iโd be happy to see it. Iโd be excited to see it. But I would definitely be surprised if next yearโs WrestleMania is a long way off, and itโs hard to predict. But it all comes down to how Steveโs feeling. I was probably in Steveโs last quote-unquote match, but it really wasnโt much of a match. But in terms of being promoted with a story behind it, an arc leading to a pay-per-view and all that, when I wrestled Steve and Montreal, I didnโt want to say wrestled when I was in the ring was Steve at Montreal. And at that point in time, when I donโt remember when that was, that was 2005, maybe, or almost 20 years ago, and there was no in a world I could have ever imagined at that point in time that Steve would ever step into the ring in an actual match with an actual opponent. Just physically, it wasnโt in the cards. Now, is Steve recovered? If he is in rehab, does he overcome the issues that you had? Whenever I worked with him, No Way Out. If he has that, I could see it because he looks like heโs in great shape. As far as how he knows his body. He knows what he can do and what he canโt do. Iโd love to see it. But I would be surprised.โ
He also talked about Stone Cold and CM Punk possibly facing each other in a one-on-one match.
โAnd you know, weโre talking about Steve and his injuries. Letโs be honest. And talk about Punk. Yeah, Punk has been very susceptible to serious injuries over the last couple of outings. Yeah. So itโs not only Steve, thatโs got to, you know, would have to work hard at being physically ready and enabled to bump around and do the things that Steve would want to do. I would imagine, you know, when youโre a guy like Steve Austin, you donโt want to come out there and be half of what the audience remembers, right? Thatโs, thatโs always the danger, right? When guys who have been so successful for so long get out of the business and decide to make a comeback. And just less than what people remember; part of that is because people remember you, and their memory of you, and their memory of that time. Itโs kind of hyper-inflated over time. Absolutely. You remember it much differently and more favorably in some respects than it really was at the time. And then on top of that, youโve got time, and the fact that you know, in this case, that Boston hasnโt been in the ring and an actual match and wants to be yours. You know, itโs hard to go out there and meet the audienceโs expectation when that expectation is kind of based on a memory that wasnโt actually true, at least to the magnitude that you recall it. So itโs hard to live up to the audienceโs expectations for talent like that. And especially someone like Steve Austin, whoโs very proud, but heโs got his head on straight and doesnโt have an overinflated view of himself or value. But at the same time, he wonโt want to disappoint the audience. He wonโt want to go out there knowing heโs not going to be able to live up to his expectations. So youโve got that youโve got the same situation with CM Punk is gotta be able to put together three or four or five, six-month runs, run without injuries, to really start feeling his momentum. Itโs gonna hold it. Punk is like 44-45 somewhere in that area. Heโs not going to heal up real fast. His rehab is going to be tough. And then youโve got to get back in the ring and get in ring shape again; itโs gonna be interesting to see how punk comes out of this with a series of injuries that he sustained over the last year.โ
You can check out the complete podcast below.