Will Stone Cold Steve Austin ever wrestle again? ‘Well, never say never. If the stars align again, hell, I mean, it could happen again, right?’ the 58-year-old retired WWE superstar says

WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin may have been forced to retire from in-ring competition from the WWE in 2003 due to accumulating neck and knee injuries, which is what made his match against Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38 such a pleasant and nostalgic surprise. Ol’ Stone Cold might not be ready to permanently hang up the black trunks and the smoking skull vest just yet though — according to a recent interview on Ryan Satin’s “Out of Character” podcast, the Texas Rattlesnake isn’t entirely ruling out a return to the squared circle.

“Well, never say never,” Stone Cold said. “If the stars align again, hell, I mean, it could happen again, right?”

Austin also revealed what the impetus for his return at WrestleMania 38 was, with the event taking place in Dallas, a locale that holds special meaning to him, being a big proponent for his comeback.

“Well, part of the pitch was you know, I did start my career in Dallas, and for you know, all these years to pass by, to go back to Dallas, Texas, where it all started in Jerry’s house, AKA AT&T Stadium, that’s a huge building and it would be an honor to play there, to work there, and so that was a big draw to start and finish in Dallas,” Austin explained.

Austin also pointed out that WWE superstar Kevin Owens was always in the conversation regarding likely opponents he might face in his return to the ring. He also praised Owens’ consummate professionalism regarding Austin shaking off ring rust and throwing punches that might have been a little too stiff in their match at WrestleMania 38.

“I turned them down several times until they kept coming back with different creative. K.O. was always in the conversation,” Austin continued. “I was down with that because I love that guy. He’s awesome. On the inside, I was knocking his head off so many times because I didn’t throw a punch in 19 years. I told him when we got finished, I said, ‘Dude, I cannot believe you didn’t give me a receipt out there.’ That’s the good-natured heart of K.O. He was thrilled to be out there and I was thrilled to be with him.”

To prepare for his comeback match, Stone Cold claims he did nothing in the ring to prepare. He did however, try out fellow WWE superstars’ training routines, such as the regimens of Edge, Sheamus, Bryan Danielson and Becky Lynch.

“Zero in-ring training. I was doing cardio,” Stone Cold explained. “Here’s an inside tip for you. I love Sheamus. He’s got a great YouTube channel, the Celtic Warrior workout or whatever he calls it. I got on there. I watched Edge’s routine. I watch Daniel Bryan or Bryan Danielson or whatever his name is. I watched his training routine. But the one that really got me was Becky Lynch’s comeback routine. So I did Becky Lynch’s routine over and over and over again and then I invented my own out of that. So I was training hard at my house, but I didn’t have a ring. Once I got to Dallas, I got there three or four days early because I always do, I ran the ropes a lot with Drew Gulak, who’s absolutely wonderful. He’s a great talent, super guy, and very intuitive in the ring. We did a lot of crisscross stuff, locked up, grabbed a headlock, did a couple of spots, and just a little bit of that and I was gassing. When I tell you I’m in good shape, I was. But doing cardio at the house, as hard as I was working out, it’s not the in-ring activity. It’s very specific, cardio is. So like when K.O. comes in or Drew, they’re Road Warriors. They’ve been on the road. It was short notice, but as hard as I worked out, I still wasn’t in shape because they were doing a specific task.”

Will Stone Cold Steve Austin ever wrestle again? When asked if there was anyone he regrets not being able to share the ring with more extensively, the name John Cena came up.

“Working with him would have been a real highlight,” Austin said. “I had a bunch of highlights. It would have been a real special thing because there’s something about John that people get so invested in his matches. He’s a very special talent. It would have been great to have a match with him. But will it ever happen? No, but I think very highly of John.”

Will Stone Cold Steve Austin ever wrestle again? Who would you like to see the WWE Hall of Famer step into the squared circle with one last time? Let us know in the comments.