Steve Austin explains not appearing at WWE WrestleMania 40
An appearance at WWE WrestleMania 40 was pitched to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin — but he had “other sh*t going on.”
The main event of WrestleMania 40 in 2024 saw Cody Rhodes defeat Roman Reigns to finish his story and win the WWE Championship. Cameos by WWE legends The Rock and The Undertaker were part of the match — and it seemed like Undertaker’s spot might have originally been intended for Austin. Undertaker helped fend off interference by The Rock and clear the way for Rhodes to get the victory.
In the past, Austin has explained that the rumored appearance in Philadelphia didn’t happen because of scheduling issues. He expanded on that during an appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet.
“Things just didn’t line up. I had other things going on,” Austin said. “You know, I remember when they pitched that to me. I said, ‘Dude, I got some things going on. I don’t see myself being there.’ That was way in advance. Was it pitched to me, or did they want me there? Yeah, but I wasn’t in a position to go.
“There was a possibility that I could have been there, had I chose to go there. I had other sh*t going on. Sometimes, you know, WWE is this multi-billion dollar corporation. I got a metal shop that we’re sitting in. So, sometimes the multi-billion dollar company has an idea that the dude that has the metal shop — it just don’t work. It didn’t work. I’m over here in my metal shop. I like to do as much as I can with WWE. When it works for them, when it works for me, and when it’s going to be fun. In saying that, not everything lines up on a timeline basis. I had other sh*t going on.”
Austin was able to make an appearance at WrestleMania 41 happen, with him showing up in Las Vegas at the second night to announce the attendance. The Austin vs. Bret Hart match from WrestleMania 13 was also inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame that weekend.
WrestleMania is back in Vegas this year — and Austin owns a ranch in the state of Nevada. It remains to be seen if he’ll be involved in the show. If he is, it likely will not be for a wrestling match. The 61-year-old Austin noted on Insight that he feels physically capable of having one more WWE match but probably never will.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.