Last night held a special place in the hearts of millions who grew up in the classic Attitude Era of WWF/WWE wrestling. The return of Stone Cold Steve Austin, for the first time since WrestleMania XIX where he took on the Rock, 19 years ago.
At 57 years old, Steve Austin returned to defend the honor of his native state of Texas, after Kevin Owens spent the weeks prior bashing the state. Kevin Owens did an amazing job building up this match after challenging the G.O.A.T. of the wrestling business to a confrontation. Below you can see the challenge, and the response from the Texas Rattlesnake.
As soon as the glass shattered, I immediately went back to the late 90s, when I was a kid watching Steve beat people up every Monday and Thursday night.
The match started out slow, but as it progressed you could Steve’s adrenaline begin to set in, and he began to pick up steam. We all watched Stone Cold hand out one of his classic beatings, even taking a nasty bump when Kevin Owens suplexed him into the concrete floor.
After what was possibly the last Stone Cold Stunner to win a match, Austin pinned Owens and proceeded to crack a few more Broken Skull Lagers, which he had been drinking throughout the entire match.
Thank you, Stone Cold Steve Austin, for one last ride. With how the last few years have treated us all, it was great to see our hero kick ass one more time, and go back to simpler times. Thank you Kevin Owens as well for keeping Austin safe, and selling the hell out of this match. It’s quality talent like KO that makes us forget that the event is essentially a theatric yet athletic spectacle.
I’m excited to see what night two of WrestleMania has in store!
