Don’t Come Back To The Ring, Stone Cold

In this edition of The Wrestling Estate roundtable, we look back on the legacy of Stone Cold.

Should Stone Cold Steve Austin come out of retirement for one more match?

Chad Gelfand: I’m conflicted because as much as I would like to see Steve Austin be “Stone Cold” one more time, Austin had the perfect retirement match at WrestleMania XIX. It doesn’t get much better than putting over your greatest rival in the third match of a trilogy at WrestleMania.

Steven Jackson: No! Stone Cold Steve Austin doesn’t need to come out of retirement. His retirement was wonderful and I don’t want that tainting 20 years later.

John Corrigan: Aw, hell no! Stone Cold went out on top and since Shawn Michaels ruined his goodbye, Austin currently holds the record for best last match.

Jack Goodwillie: No, but at this point it doesn’t appear that it’s going to be a match as much as an angle. I don’t have as much of a problem with this, as Austin has done WrestleMania angles several times post-retirement, some more memorable than others. WWE intended on having it be a match, but when Austin came to his senses and realized how dumb it would be for him to get back in the ring against Kevin Owens at his age 19 years removed from retirement, he drew a line in the sand and WWE decided it’s better to have some of Austin than none of him.

And that’s not an indictment of Owens, either. He’s one of my favorite talents in the company, but to come out of retirement to wrestle any WWE superstar in 2022 would be a fool’s errand considering how little steam the product has and how few wrestlers are actually over.

Who would you want to see Stone Cold Steve Austin face in 2022?

Gelfand: John Cena. A dream match between two men who represented vastly different eras. The story writes itself and I’m sure the buildup would be incredible.

Jackson: If I had to choose anyone, I’d really like him to face Sting! Something about that match really appeals to me.

Corrigan: I still wish we got to see him vs. Brock Lesnar in a Texas Death Match at WrestleMania 32, as teased by Austin and Paul Heyman. But in 2022, Austin and Lesnar in some kind of bar room brawl in cinematic fashion would be cool.

Goodwillie: Again, it’s tough to say what Austin is actually capable of were he to come back and do a full-blown match, but if you told me we could take the Stone Cold from 2003 and make that guy appear at WrestleMania 38… then Kevin Owens would still be a good opponent for him. But a great opponent would be Roman Reigns or Brock Lesnar. Also, if Austin were to come out of retirement for a match, why would said match go on any place other than the main event? It would have to take top billing, and for that reason, you’d have to feed him a real superstar to complete the match.

What’s the greatest Stone Cold match?

Gelfand: Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold at WrestleMania 13. This is not only Stone Cold’s greatest, but a match that I consider to be perfect. Few matches have had more drama within them than this one, and to pull off a double turn at the end of the match is a testament to how perfect the match was.

Jackson: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret Hitman Hart at WrestleMania 13. While I prefer Survivor Series 1996, WM 13 was a spectacle which kick started an era that redefined an industry.

Corrigan: I’ve never loved the WrestleMania 13 match as much as everybody else seems to. I prefer his first match with Bret. As a matter of fact, it’s the greatest match in Survivor Series history.

Goodwillie: Austin always set a high bar for main event matches, but as far as matches that exceeded that bar, you’ve gotta go with Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13, although each of his three WrestleMania matches with The Rock would have to be two, three and four. I’ve long contended that the match at WrestleMania XIX is criminally underrated because of how frequently it’s naturally compared to the matches at XV and XVII. Also, I miss the roman numerals, as much of a hot take as that may be.

What’s the greatest Stone Cold moment?

Gelfand: My favorite Stone Cold moment is from the Invasion storyline when the “Old Stone Cold” came back and took out every one in the Alliance. The arena was electric for that entire segment.

Jackson: Tyson and Austin…Tyson and Austin…Tyson and Austin!!! What a moment!

Corrigan: Off the top of my head, I wouldn’t have thought the “Old Stone Cold,” but Chad and Goodwillie are right. Twenty years later, I get goosebumps like it was yesterday.

Goodwillie: It has to be a matter of personal taste when you consider there could be 50 “great” moments in the WWE run of Stone Cold, (and actually, that might make a great list), but for me, you’ve got to go with the time he cleaned house on the Alliance on an episode of Raw, which was preceded by the classic Mr. McMahon “I need the old Stone Cold” promo on SmackDown the week before. Massive pop, and what made it great was the anticipation after Austin had run through the Alliance backstage before coming to the ring. It was a Gandalf the White moment, to be sure.

Is Stone Cold Steve Austin the greatest wrestler in WWE history?

Gelfand: Yes. Stone Cold was the captain of the ship during the Attitude Era, his success helped WWE to be able to go public on the New York Stock Exchange and transformed it into a pop culture juggernaut.

Jackson: It’s hard. What we forget is that Stone Cold was only active in WWE for around seven years. That’s not a long time. However, in that short time, his impact is unparalleled from a zeitgeist perspective. He’s one of the greatest for sure. But sadly, not the greatest.

Corrigan: How dare Steven say Austin’s not the greatest, but fail to say who is? Leaving us hanging, damnit! I’ll go with Bruno Sammartino as the greatest in WWE history, but Austin is on the Mount Rushmore with Bruno, Hulkster and Undertaker.

Goodwillie: I’ll go there. You can also make a case for Hulk Hogan and perhaps The Undertaker, but Austin did more in less time than Hogan, and if you could remove either Austin or Undertaker from wrestling history, Undertaker would be the more likely option since there’s no telling whether or not WWE would have ultimately won the Monday Night War without the Stone Cold Steve Austin character. For that reason, you can absolutely make a case that Austin is, in fact, the greatest WWE Superstar of all time.