100 Greatest WWE WrestleMania Moments
31. Steve Austin’s First Match In 19 Years (WrestleMania 38)
WWE got ballsy when promoting 'The KO Show with special guest Steve Austin' as the main event for 'Mania 38's first night. OK, so fans knew they'd end up brawling, but the promotion never explicitly stated 'Stone Cold will be in an official match' during TV's weeks and months before reaching Arlington, Texas. The cat wasn't let out of the bag until Austin and Owens were actually face to face inside the ring.
Concerns that Austin working another match 19 years after his last one would stink the place out were fair. Almost two full decades had passed since 'Stone Cold' worked The Rock at WrestleMania XIX. His body was shot to pieces back then, so what the hell would it be like in 2022?! Pretty good, as it turns out. Those doubting the validity of KO as an opponent for such a heavily-anticipated comeback match would have to eat their words too.
There's a reason why Austin picked Kev. He'd long admired the way Owens honoured the old school WWE main event brawling style and mixed in some modern sensibilities. Also, and this was important, Steve needed somebody who wasn't shy about bumping around for him. His opponent would need to create most of the movement, and KO had no problem doing that.
Their match was a miraculous success. It didn't even matter that Austin went over in the end - that was a thrill for lifelong fan Owens anyway, and the match was good enough that everyone wanted to pop for 'Stone Cold' hitting a home run one last time.
Will it be the last time? Only time itself will tell on that. If it is, then Austin went out on a high.