Steve Austin on possible WrestleMania 42 appearance, his WWE future
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin is open to making an appearance at WWE WrestleMania 42, but he thinks most of the spotlight should go to the current roster.
To help celebrate 3:16 Day (March 16), Austin called into Busted Open Radio for an interview on Monday. When asked about his status for WrestleMania 42, Austin said it would be cool to be involved in some form. But he thinks WWE has a quality roster right now that deserves to be showcased on the biggest stage.
“It’s funny because you’ll sit there or they’ll put something on [Instagram] and people will say, ‘Oh, no, no. Man, he’s too old. Let the current talent have the spotlight.’ Let the current talent have the spotlight, of course. If I can go out there and do something, that’d be fine,” Austin said. “But God damn, when I crashed that four-wheeler last year up there against that wall, man, you talk about sh***ing the bed big time. I was so pissed off about that. Because I was looking forward to going out there and announcing the attendance and then watching the show, seeing what kind of show the superstars were going to put on. And, man, I sh*t the bed on the big stage.
“We’ll see if they have me back. If they do, that’s cool. I always say — they got a pretty good roster, you know? So I think those guys and gals, they need all the time.”
Austin made an on-camera appearance at WrestleMania 41 in 2025 when he announced the night two attendance. He drove an ATV down to the ring and accidentally crashed into the ringside barrier, knocking down one fan.
WrestleMania is back in Las Vegas again this year — and Austin will be among the guests at the WWE World convention. He told Busted Open that he’s honored that fans still want to see him involved. But if he were to come back to WWE, it would be for a moment rather than an actual wrestling match.
“It’d be to go back for one of those moments,” the 61-year-old Austin responded when asked if he ever gets the itch to return. “Not a match itch, right? I got a left knee replacement a little over a year ago. And God dang, my leg feels good, I’m glad I got it done. But, yeah, I get the itch for certain moments. But to try and do a match? No.”
When asked if he’d be interested in coming back for a cinematic match, Austin said he loved The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles from WrestleMania 36. However, Austin thinks Undertaker vs. Styles was appropriate for the time it took place. He doesn’t know if he wants to see too many more cinematic matches.
“I don’t think so,” Austin said about a possible cinematic bout. “I think I’m good.”
One of Austin’s biggest hobbies at the moment is his off-road racing team. He’s preparing for an upcoming race, which appears to rule out Austin being in Texas for Raw tonight.
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.