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Stone Cold Steve Austin's self-proclaimed final match may have been in 2003 at WrestleMania 19 against The Rock, but the Attitude Era poster boy of WWE did step into the ring for a one-off in 2022.
After a decent showing against Kevin Owens at the Show of Shows, which was a delight to witness in the eyes of fans, Austin is often rumored for a match around this time of year. However, it seems he would rather see the next generation of stars succeed.
During a recent interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Steve Austin named Cody Rhodes as one of his favorites. Praising The American Nightmare for rising up the ranks slowly and steadily, The Bionic Redneck revealed that he is excited for what is in store for the 38-year-old, who, according to fans aplenty, is ready to take the torch from Roman Reigns:
"I visited with Cody Rhodes [during the 2K video shoot]," said Austin. "I’ve followed his career since day one. To see the journey he’s been on, to see him on top of the world right now, it’s great to see him enjoying the ride with a clear mind and so much momentum. He works so hard. And look at his journey. He left WWE to come back to WWE to headline. He’s in his prime, and I can’t wait to see what he does next." [H/T Sports Illustrated]
Since Austin's last back-to-back Rumble win in 1997 and 1998, no superstar has achieved this incredible feat. However, the flagship show's newest member, Ivy Nile, is convinced that The American Nightmare will break that record in 2024.
Even if Stone Cold returns for a future match, his WWE career officially ended in 2003
While talking about the latest WWE 2K24 game, Steve Austin brought up the theme of "finishing the story," which is heavily used in it.
With regard to his own career, The Texas Rattlesnake stated that the true ending to his in-ring career was at WrestleMania 19 against The Rock.
"2K24 always has a theme that is so incredibly thought-out," said Austin. "Finishing your story is exactly that. As simple as it sounds, it can be a complex, philosophical question, too. To me, it’s doing what you gotta do to put a period at the end of the sentence. For me, it was finishing my career in 2003 at WrestleMania XIX. It’s completing the task at hand." [H/T Sports Illustrated]
Austin also responded to a rematch against arguably his most important rival and the possibility of the biggest feud in all of the wrestling business, to be recreated at WrestleMania 40.
