At WrestleMania 40, Cody Rhodes challenged Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Championship. With The Rock and The Bloodline repeatedly interfering on Reigns' behalf—it was "Bloodline Rules," after all—the American Nightmare got a helping hand from a few allies, including The Undertaker.
It's been widely reported that Stone Cold Steve Austin was originally supposed to be in the Deadman's spot, having one final clash with his old foe, The Rock, on the Grandest Stage of Them All.
Talking to Chris Van Vliet, the Texas Rattlesnake broke his silence on why he ultimately turned down the offer to be part of Rhodes getting to finish his story in Philadelphia. "Things just didn’t line up," Austin explained. "I had other things going on. I remember when they pitched that to me, I said, 'Dude, I got some things going on. I don’t see myself being there.'"
"That was way in advance. It was a possibility that I could have been there had I chosen to go there. I had other sh*t going on."
"WWE is this multi-billion dollar corporation. I got a metal shop that we’re sitting in. Sometimes the multi-billion dollar company has an idea that the dude that has the metal shop just doesn’t work for. So it didn’t work," Austin continued, before going on to address his physical health a year after having a total knee replacement surgery on his left knee.
"I was limping around so bad, and I didn’t know I was limping," the WWE Hall of Famer recalled. "People would ask me, 'What’s wrong?' I said, 'What are you talking about?' [They said] 'You’re limping.' I didn’t know, because I don’t watch myself walk."
"I’ve always wondered what arthritis felt like. Man, I found out firsthand. And it’s chronically over time, years and years and years of it," he said, confirming that he now no longer walks with a limp. "It’ll change your personality. It just puts you in a state of mind where you just want some relief."
Finally, pushed on whether he could now step back into the ring for WWE, Austin seemed surprisingly positive about the possibility. "I could still do it. I’m not advocating for nothing, so I’m not selling a match here. You asked me, 'Could I?' Yes. Probably not. But you say never say never."
It's previously been reported that WWE is eager to give Austin a proper send-off when WrestleMania heads to Saudi Arabia next year. You can hear more from the former WWE Superstar in the player below.