Jim Ross comments on potential Steve Austin WWE WrestleMania 42 appearance
Jim Ross doubts that his friend “Stone Cold” Steve Austin will make a return to the ring at WWE WrestleMania 42.
Speaking on his Grilling JR Podcast, the AEW commentator was asked about Austin potentially appearing at Mania. Ross believes Austin’s presence would help elevate the show, but he doesn’t see Austin getting too physically involved.
“To wrestle? No. To make an appearance or to shoot an angle or something along those lines, I could see that potentially happening,” Ross said. “But as far as Steve having another match, I don’t see it. I’m not being pessimistic or a negative Nelly or a negative Nelson, whatever.”
Austin’s in-ring career took a toll on him physically, particularly affecting his back and knees. And from what Ross knows, Austin is focused on trying to take care of his health right now.
“That’s not where his head is and he’s trying to take care of himself health-wise. You know, we just forget these guys are not Iron Man. When they’re hurt, they’re hurt. And Austin’s got that bad neck. He’s having bad knees. I don’t think it’s worth the risk, quite frankly,” Ross said. “I think that’s how Steve would look at it and I know him pretty well, but I don’t think there’s any chance. There’s a chance obviously that he could do something, but do I think he’ll wrestle? No way in hell.”
Austin will be appearing at the WWE World convention surrounding WrestleMania 42. He’s not fully closed the door on ever having another match, but Austin doubts that it will ever happen. The last time Austin wrestled was when he came out of retirement to face Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38. He did make a very brief appearance at WrestleMania 41 last year, announcing the night two attendance.
This week, rumors surfaced regarding a potential Austin appearance on Raw next Monday given that the date coincides with his 3:16 gimmick. As of now, WWE has not announced Austin for the show.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.