The initial backstage plan of having Stone Cold Steve Austin return to the ring at WrestleMania this year seems to be out of the window according to a new report from Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer.
Instead of an official match, the new plan calls for Stone Cold and Kevin Owens to have some sort of confrontation rather than an official sanctioned match. The match was originally on internal lineups but has since been changed.
Kevin Owens has been trashing and mocking Texas for weeks, the location of this year’s premium event and home state of Steve Austin. There was uncertainty whether or not 57-year old Steve Austin would be willing or able to compete in a full match despite WWE hoping he would be willing to do so. Stone Cold has been extremely careful about committing to an in ring return over the past few years particularly because he does not want to disappoint the fans.
Fellow Texans including JBL and Booker T have contributed to the story, warning Kevin Owens against trashing the state. Steve Austin has not competed since WrestleMania 19 in 2003, when he was defeated by The Rock. He has turned down multiple opportunities to return since then.
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