Had Punk stayed would Stone Cold have wrestled him at WM 32?

[Vic Venom]

Now that it's all but certain that Austin won't wrestle at 32 in his home-state of Dallas, would a certain straight-edge indivdual have convinced him to lace his boots and put on his tights one last time? Given the way they were teasing each other with the possibility of a match through interviews and twitter, l'm almost convinced that Austin was waiting until Dallas to face Punk, but we all know what happened with the latter. 

[Hit Girl]

No

Austin is done.

[Hobby Drifter]

Austin may have been involved in a physical capacity in an angle culminating at Wrestlemania, but a standard one-on-one match... Probably not.

Had HHH not thrown a bucket of suspicious liquid on Punk's first title reign? Maybe. Best possible person to work with AND likely a million-plus payday would be a good enough incentive to try for "one more match".

[Mozenrath]

I don't think he would.

I don't think it's out of lack of wanting that Austin has stayed out of the ring, not entirely, anyway. His body is done, and it's simply not worth either coming back and risking severe injury, or wrestling in such a limited quality as to damage his reputation and embarrass himself.

Honestly, if he could come back for anyone, I could see him wanting to come back in wrestle Bray, if his body allowed for it. He has liked him since pretty much his debut, including as Husky Harris.

[The Ichi]

That video is from, what, 2012?

The guy is still wearing a knee-brace 9 years after retiring. He's probably still wearing it now.

Let go of the idea of him wrestling again.

[celtics543]

Steve Austin is never wrestling again. That said, I'd love to see him and Punk go 1 on 1 at Wrestlemania. Fortunately, Steve's health seems to have improved greatly since hanging up the tights in 2003 but having another match is still probably not in the cards, his neck injury was pretty bad and when he got out he had to get out.

The one thing that I don't want to happen is for him to have another match just for the sake of having another match. I'm a huge Bret Hart fan but his match with Vince at Wrestlemania was just sad. A guy who prided himself on his ability to work an incredible match went out there as a shell of his former self and had perhaps the most boring match in the history of Wrestlemania, after being part of so many classics. I don't need to see Austin do the same thing.

[Vic Venom]

Nov 24, 2015 6:43:38 GMT -5 The Ichi said:

That video is from, what, 2012?

The guy is still wearing a knee-brace 9 years after retiring. He's probably still wearing it now.

Let go of the idea of him wrestling again.

The guy got surgery on his knee months before the video, thus the knee brace. Other than that, he's recently stated that he's in zero pain. I don't really mind if he doesn't wrestle again but hey, if he did i'd be super happy.

[Vic Venom]

Nov 24, 2015 6:49:03 GMT -5 celtics543 said:

Steve Austin is never wrestling again. That said, I'd love to see him and Punk go 1 on 1 at Wrestlemania. Fortunately, Steve's health seems to have improved greatly since hanging up the tights in 2003 but having another match is still probably not in the cards, his neck injury was pretty bad and when he got out he had to get out.

The one thing that I don't want to happen is for him to have another match just for the sake of having another match. I'm a huge Bret Hart fan but his match with Vince at Wrestlemania was just sad. A guy who prided himself on his ability to work an incredible match went out there as a shell of his former self and had perhaps the most boring match in the history of Wrestlemania, after being part of so many classics. I don't need to see Austin do the same thing.

Pretty sure Austin can put a much better performance than Bret did. He's said if he's perfectly capable of wrestling again, if he put a 3 to 4 month effort in a mma-style camp since he hasn't wrestled in almost 13 years. With that said, a Punk/Austin wouldn't be just another match. Can you imagine the angles and promos that could come out of that feud?! And Punk would've been capable of carrying Austin to a decent match, besides, Austin's a master of in-ring psychology, i'm sure he can tell a story with his limited moveset. But yeah l do agree. if he's afraid of putting on a stinker, then better not risk it.

[Starshine]

I think there was approximately a 0.000000000% chance of this match ever happening. Austin's smart, he knows his body is done. He barely made it out of his last match with The Rock with his health intact. How the hell could we expect him to do anything 10 or so years later?

[The Dark Order Inferno]

If Austin had one more match in him, they would have used it on Hunter or Cena, rather than someone who could have benefited from the rub.

[The Unconquered Sun]

Austin isn't going to kill himself over a match.
Kurt Angle on the other hand...

[________ has left the building]

It was just the regular cocktease by Austin to keep people talking about him for Wrestlemania. Because Austin is nowhere serious about climbing back into the ring to wrestle one more match. He knows his body can't handle it and looking out for his best interest than trying to chase that feeling you get from wrestling. Wish more wrestlers would recognize that.

[Andy Martin]

For the love of God, no.

[mizerable]

Let it go...

[Milkman Norm]

The short answer is no. The long answer is also no.

[Deleted]

Some wrestlers come back for their legacy, others come back for a payday. Austin's legacy is firmly cemented, and his finances are more than alright, I'm sure.

The result would never meet the anticipation, and I think Steve knows that.

I think the most that would have happened is heel-punk eats a stunner in a segment.

[This Player Hating Mothman]

I think his occasional comments about being able to go are for 'mystique', so to speak. As far as retired wrestlers go, Austin's high-profile and 'around', and especially with his podcast now being promoted by WWE, it's to his benefit to not entirely dismiss the idea, as it keeps interest high and eyes on him. There's always the maybe, and that maybe keeps more a bit interest in him than if he said "No, never again. I can't."

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

No.

Besides, the angle ceased making sense when Punk stopped being the straight edge Messiah.

[JCBaggee]

I take every single Austin "Nah, I'm done" interview with a grain of salt given his demeanor, but it would take one hell of an incentive for him to come back. I imagine he'd have liked to have worked with Punk, and knows they could have put on a great match, but I doubt that would be enough.

So for now, looking at the current roster? No. I can't imagine there's anyone Austin would be willing to come back for a match with.