When John Cena becomes the first man to defeat Rusev at WrestleMania XXXI, the tearful hero is vindicated. The following night on Raw, a panel of wrestling's all-time greats -- including Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Bret Hart, and Steve Austin -- all assemble to congratulate the new United States Champion. Hogan declares Cena the greatest WWE superstar of all time. Flair and Hart agree, but when the microphone is passed to Austin, he's not convinced. "Hell, son, you've done just about everything... but you ain't beaten 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin." Cena chuckles and agrees, but the night's main event -- a Cena-Rusev title rematch -- ends with Rusev getting the pin after Austin gives Cena a Stunner. From then on out, Cena makes it his mission to get Austin in the ring. Austin doesn't appear on WWE TV until SummerSlam, where he refuses, telling Cena he's retired. "Wow," says Cena. "At least The Rock stepped up. When did 'Stone Cold' lose his balls?" Austin stops in his tracks and turns around, getting nose to nose with the 15-time world champion. He tries to kick Cena in the gut, but Cena catches his foot, then hoists him up for an AA. Austin slides out and hits a Stunner, leaving Cena lying again. Cena continues to do everything in his power to coax Austin into a match. Like Reigns, he's still a babyface, but he doesn't endear himself to the WWE Universe with his taunting of "Stone Cold." "You can still fight, so what are you scared of? You think you're gonna break your neck again? I don't do it that way, and I respect you too much to hurt you... I'll even take it easy on you, if you want," says Cena, smiling. This gets to Austin, who agrees to meet Cena at the Royal Rumble. They get into another confrontation, and this time, Cena avoids the Stunner and hits an AA. He goes to continue the assault, but stops, shakes his head, and leaves. That, in the end, is what Austin can't take -- whether Cena's mercy was a mind game, or genuine pity for the aging "Stone Cold," Austin is driven by the insult. He agrees to meet Cena at WrestleMania XXXII, and tells him, "If you had the chance to kill a rattlesnake, you sure as hell shoulda taken it! Now, it's your ass that's dead meat, and that's the bottom line, because 'Stone Cold' said so!"
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
