The biggest question in the minds of most wrestling fansat least since CM Punk effectively walked away from the industry for the UFCis whether or not Stone Cold Steve Austin will ever return to the squared circle. Like so many contemporaries before and after him, Austin was given the ultimatum of facing a lifetime of terrible aches and pains--and possibly much, much worse--by continuing to wrestle... or he could mosey on down the road into retirement. When your neck is screaming in pain, the decision is practically made for you. Rewind to SummerSlam 1997, when the man involved in wrestlings all-time greatest tragedy, Owen Hart, gave Steve Austin a sitting tombstone piledriver. The move was uncharacteristically unsafe from Hart, who remains one of the most talented and undervalued workers in the history of the business. It broke Austins neck at what was then the height of his popularity, and was deemed a worst case scenario for the WWF. However, Austin's non-wrestling interviews and vignettes made his character somehow soar to even greater heights on the pop culture register, and he avoided getting the required surgery for several years in order to strike while the iron was hot. The Rock emerged as a dominant presence in 2000 during Austins absence in recovery, setting up the eternal feud that will go down as one of the most talked about in the history of wrestling, and possibly the best. Arguably the two most popular wrestlers of all time, locked in a feud where Austin continually came out on top at the grandest stage of them all, WrestleMania. But Austin is as old school as they come, and when his time was dwindling down he knew it was time for The Rock to finally come out on top. At WrestleMania XIX, with OMR (One More Round) emblazoned onto his leather vest, Austin and The Rock tore the house down one final time. Stone Cold took his lumps and walked out of Seattle, Washington with little fanfare after the loss. Just as quickly as he burst onto the scene, he was gone like a bat out of hell in traditional Stone Cold fashion. The abruptyet fittingend, which was never dubbed a retirement match, has left fans clamoring for one final bout for years. Austin is in terrific shape and looks to be in top condition, which only fuels the speculation of the Texas Rattlesnake striking one last time. Until then, well all be left a little blue that we havent enjoyed the send-off that, while perhaps not fitting of the Stone Cold persona, would undoubtedly be what Steve Austin deserves.
David McCutcheon is an American freelance journalist and writing consultant. Over the course of sixteen years, he has written for the likes of IGN, Future US, GamesRadar, PlayStation Magazine, Shout! Factory, and many others in the fields of video games, movies, and more. He lives in St. Louis, Missouri with his wife. You can find him on Twitter @ZoopSoul.
