In the main event of WrestleMania 38 night one, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin returned to in-ring competition for the first time in nearly 20 years when he defeated Kevin Owens in a No Holds Barred Match. Although the bout was one of the highlights of the weekend, leading up to WrestleMania it was unclear whether Austin would get physical, with WWE advertising a "KO Show" segment between both men instead of a match. In a recent interview on"The Ariel Helwani Show," Austin reflected on the build up to WrestleMania 38, explaining WWE didn't want to announce a match between Owens and himself to avoid disappointing fans.
"We were in uncharted waters when they came up with that. It was getting pretty close to the time that it's going to be WrestleMania ... I trained like a son of a b***h to get in shape for that match and when you don't have a ring or you're not doing cardio, specific activities like running the ropes, picking somebody up, slamming them, doing wrestling activity, your cardio is just not there ... I wasn't in that kind of condition. I looked good, but my gas tank wasn't there." Austin said. "If you'd had built it as such, those would have been high expectations to live up to. So then you overdeliver on something that's unexpected."
Austin also mentioned that he was winded during his match with Owens, but reminded himself to keep sipping beer throughout the main event in order to quench his thirst, admitting he still felt out of shape. That said, "The Rattlesnake" claimed that he's at peace with his WrestleMania 38 contest with Owens being his final match.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The Ariel Helwani Show" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
