In the main event of WrestleMania 38 Night One, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin returned to the ring-in competition for the first time in nearly 20 years, beating Kevin Owens in a no-hold bar red match. The match was one of the highlights of the weekend, but it was unclear whether Austin would become physical until Wrestle Mania. WWE was promoting the “KO show” segment between both men instead of the match. In a recent interview on “Ariel Hellwanishaw,” Austin looked back on his build to the Wrestle Mania 38, explaining that he didn’t want to announce Owens and his own match to avoid WWE disappointing fans.
“We were in the unknown ocean when they came up with it. It was pretty close to the time when it became WrestleMania… I trained like ab***h’s son to shape it for that match. It wasn’t there,” Austin said. “If you had built it that way, they would have been high expectations to stay alive. So you’ll embrace something unexpected.”
Austin also said he was caught up in the match against Owens, but recalled continuing to drink beer throughout the main event. That said, “The Rattlesnake” claimed Owens was his final match in his Wrestle Mania 38 contest.
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