Could Stone Cold Steve Austin Return to the WWE Ring?

Steve Austin had Paul Heyman on his podcast this week (audio is below), and the whole thing was pretty interesting for wrestling nerds. Both of them were 1990’s WCW outcasts, and Austin credits Heyman (who at that point went by the “Paul E. Dangerously” gimmick) for helping him refine the promos that would one day make the Texas Rattlesnake the biggest WWE superstar in the world.

In Part 1, they discussed their favorite managers and wrestlers, and broke down what specific aspects of men like Bobby Heenan, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, and a whole host of others made them so successful. They also talked a lot about ECW, and the stable of both ideas and wrestlers that Heyman cultivated which would go on to thrive in the major promotions.

Heyman revealed that after he was let go from WCW, he was burned out of wrestling and was set to take over the morning DJ role at New York’s Hot 97 to compete with Howard Stern before he was chided back into the business by a phone call from Jim Crockett Jr. (For the unitiated, Heyman’s gift of gab is such that he would almost inevitably have become a superstar in the talk radio industry.)

Towards the end — around the 1:30:30-mark — Heyman broached the possibility of Stone Cold coming out of retirement to face Brock Lesnar. Heyman, who manages Lesnar, admits the suggestion of that particular opponent is self-serving: “I say that from a selfish basis, knowing at some point during that push I’d be eating a Stone Cold stunner, and be covered in beer that you would douse me with.”

“Well, that’s a conversation Vince and I need to have one day …,” Austin says, before hitting the stop button and going off-record with Heyman. Austin famously left the WWE multiple times in the early 2000’s — CM Punk’s recent departure is somewhat similar — dissatisfied with the creative direction of himself and the company. While he’s made sporadic appearances since, including at the beginning of WrestleMania XXX earlier this month, it was clear from what was implied in the conversation that he would only consider a return to the ring under very specific circumstances.

Part 1 audio: