Steve Austin reveals original pitch for his WWE RAW return on 3:16 Day

Steve Austin has revealed that he wanted to speak about the meaning of 3:16 Day in an interview with Byron Saxton or Jerry Lawler when he made his return to WWE television on the March 16 episode of RAW.

The WWE Hall of Famer was originally set to appear in front of a live RAW crowd in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, his return took place in Orlando, Florida without any fans in attendance at the Performance Center.

Austin told ESPN’s Peter Rosenberg that, as a result of the change in circumstances, he pitched an idea to WWE’s decision-makers about having an interview segment on the show.

“It was strange. To do something like that, I really kind of wanted to go down there and do a sit-down interview with Byron or Jerry Lawler and talk about what 3:16 meant to me.”

The six-time WWE Champion said he was keen to discuss the power of social media and how it has kept his 3:16 catchphrase alive over the years, but he was asked to share the ring with Becky Lynch and hit Saxton with a Stone Cold Stunner instead.

Steve Austin’s WWE status in 2020

As well as his sporadic appearances on RAW over the last year, Steve Austin has also returned to the WWE Network with new episodes of his Broken Skull Sessions interview series.

He has interviewed The Undertaker, Goldberg, Kane, The Big Show and Bret Hart since the show began in November 2019.