Steve Austin Beats Kevin Owens In Return Match

Steve Austin returned at WrestleMania 38 and defeated Kevin Owens in a “No Holds Barred” match.

Fans immediately launched into chants of “We want Austin” as Owens got the festivities started with the “KO Show.” Owens took his time running down Austin as fans clamored for the return of the Texas Rattlesnake.

Austin eventually returned, wearing his signature Austin 3:16 t-shirt, cutoff jeans, black wrist tape and double knee braces. After saluting the crowd, Austin rode an ATV down to the ring to confront Kevin Owens.

Despite initially saying he was not here to fight, Owens later challenged Austin to a no-holds barred match at WrestleMania 38. Austin promptly accepted in a profanity laced response, calling for a “g—d damn ref.”

The two brawled in an impromptu match to the tune of mandatory “You still got it!” chants for Austin.

After a 10-minute match/brawl, Austin kicked out of a Stunner from KO only to return and deliver a Stone Cold Stunner of his own for the win.

MORE FROM FORBESWWE WrestleMania 38 Results: Winners, News And Notes From Night 1By Alfred Konuwa

Steve Austin Return Rumors Led to WrestleMania 38 Speculation

During the February 14 broadcast of WWE Raw, reports began to surface that WWE was pushing for a Steve Austin return. While WWE clearly wanted the Texas Rattlesnake to come back for one more match, it was unclear whether Steve Austin would be willing to do so after being away from the ring for almost 20 years.

Between WrestleMania, and WWE’s massive deal with the nostalgic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, wrestling has seen the returns of Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, Goldberg and even Shawn Michaels. With the company struggling to create stars in-house, WWE continues to rely on stars from the past during big-money shows.

Kevin Owens Trolls Texas, Calls out Stone Cold Steve Austin

Though reports of a potential Steve Austin comeback hit the web on February 14, one week earlier Kevin Owens had begun cutting promos about his disdain for Texas. Owens’ promos continued to gain intensity until finally calling out Stone Cold Steve Austin to appear on the “KO Show” on the March 7 broadcast of WWE Raw.

The challenge was never advertised as a match, but there were hints that this would be more than the garden-variety Stone Cold cameo that fans have already seen at past WrestleManias, including the last time WrestleMania was in Texas at WrestleMania 32.

Steve Austin’s own response suggested his confrontation with Kevin Owens could be a match.

“Whether you want to call this a KO Show, a match, a fight, a brawl, whatever. I will guarantee you this: In Dallas, Texas, where I started my career, at WrestleMania, Stone Cold Steve Austin is gonna open up one last can of whoop-ass on you, Kevin Owens. And that’s the bottom line, because Stone Cold said so!” said Austin in a response to Owens’ match.

Austin was said to be in “fantastic shape” leading up to the match. Austin walked fairly gingerly on his surgically repaired knees, but he was effective in his role and overdelivered in what was initially advertised as a talk show segment. Austin looked very close to his vintage form, though he chose to wear a t-shirt and cutoff jeans throughout the crowd-pleasing brawl. Though Austin hid his limitations by brawling, he still took multiple risky bumps, including a suplex on the outside.

What’s Next for Stone Cold Steve Austin?

While most will assume this is only a one-off, as long as any legendary wrester is alive in WWE, there’s no such thing as a one-off. In a recent promo this past Monday on Raw, Roman Reigns called out Stone Cold Steve Austin in what could be a tease of a dream match down the road.

WWE has placated Saudi Prince Muhammad Bin Salman with several appearances by WWE stars of the past during Saudi shows, since the prince grew up as a fan of WWE during the Attitude Era. There was no bigger star during that era than Stone Cold Steve Austin, and for those reasons alone an appearance in Saudi Arabia simply can’t be ruled out.

With WWE making tens of millions of dollars for every trip to Saudi Arabia, the promotion will be in a position to entice Austin for future matches with a lucrative payday. Given how great Austin looked in his return to physical action, one has to also wonder if this will lead to an “itch” to return to the ring on a part-time basis.

WWE is set to return to Saudi Arabia for WWE TLC.