WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin walked out of the company in 2003 and left pro wrestling behind him. He'd later return in various on-air roles but didn't compete again until facing Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38 in 2022.
That was a memorable bout but sadly, it hasn't opened the door to any further matches featuring the Texas Rattlesnake.
Way back in 2011, Austin crossed paths with CM Punk in a brief backstage segment that teased the possibility of a match somewhere down the line. It didn't happen, though we got a glimpse at what it could have looked like when both men promoted the WWE '13 video game and had a war of words moderated by Jim Ross.
During a recent interview, Austin was asked about his relationship with Punk and whether he thinks they could ever step into the ring together. "There are so many potential great matches, I'd have to draw a blank stare and think for five minutes," he said. "But yeah, would [Punk] be on the list? Of course."
"Me and Punk are friends from way back, there was a picture back from, you know, probably in my heyday," Austin recalled. "He's a lot younger than I am, and we got a picture together, and so I think, you know, he was a Stone Cold fan back in the day, and I'm a CM Punk fan."
Austin took to social media earlier this year to reveal that he's undergone knee replacement surgery. His knees were always an issue while he was wrestling and contributed to his decision to walk away from the professional wrestling business.
"Knee's doing good, I'm about 13 weeks out. It really takes about a year for these things to fully heal up, so it's still a little bit tender," Austin explained. "Just got back in the car and started driving [again]."
"If I can just keep my knee together – that's my break leg – just going to do the best I can, but the knee's doing solid; I'm out of pain 'cause they cut all the arthritis out when they put that new joint in there," he added.
We don't anticipate seeing Austin ever step back into the ring for another match, unfortunately, though there are rumblings he could make a surprise appearance at WrestleMania 41 next month. We'll have to wait and see but he was sorely missed from the Show of Shows last year.
Check out the full interview with Austin in the player below.