April 7, 2003 Observer Newsletter: WrestleMania 19 review
It may very well have been the last match in the career of Steve Austin. And despite optimism in recent days, the short-term future of Kurt Angle is still in question. But if anyone was expecting either to go out on their back, well, from a won-loss standpoint, they both did the right thing for business, so they did. But they really didn’t. Each put an effort to make their last appearance as special as possible.
Austin, 38, agreed to wrestle and was told in no uncertain terms that if he were to continue his career, everyone was flirting with disaster. It was quietly known internally before the show that Mania was going to be his unannounced retirement match. Being that this is wrestling, nothing is forever, and there is nothing more fake than an retirement, but internally, Austin and the company are going with the idea that he will never wrestle again.
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Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.