"Unreasonable pride that he's got" - Former Universal Champion reasons why Stone Cold Steve Austin is returning at WrestleMania

WWE Superstar Kevin Owens recently discussed why he was the one to pull Stone Cold Steve Austin back into the squared circle.

Stone Cold had his last match at WrestleMania XIX against The Rock; The Bionic Redneck lost to his longtime rival in an instant classic. Since then, Austin has made several appearances on WWE TV, but he hasn't competed in an official match.

Speaking on WWE's The Bump, Owens argued that Stone Cold's pride for Texas might the reason why he agreed to appear at WWE WrestleMania 38. The former WWE Universal Champion also recounted his long history with Stone Cold Steve Austin.

"There's nobody like me, and Steve Austin obviously knows that," said Owens. "Or maybe it's this unreasonable pride that he's got for Texas. My history with Texas really struck a chord with him. But Steve and I have a lot of history actually. I met him at an airport in 2005 when I was an independent wrestler just trying to make my way. I remember asking him for advice and he gave me a piece of advice that changed the entire trajectory of my career. Years later, I was on his podcast. Some years later, I asked him if he'd be okay with me using the Stunner. He was more than happy to tell me I could, to give me his blessing. So there's a lot of history there and I think it's unfortunate that my issues with Texas seem to have rubbed him the wrong way. But the important part is that he accepted my invitation." (from 51:38 onwards)

You can watch the full show here:

Kevin Owens will not back down from a fight with Stone Cold Steve Austin

During the interview, Kevin Owens mentioned that he was very happy when he saw Stone Cold's acceptance video on social media. Owens also warned that The KO Show at WrestleMania will not turn out to be what Stone Cold is expecting.

While he reiterated that The KO Show is a talk show, he also made it clear that if Stone Cold Steve Austin came to WrestleMania looking for a fight, he would be happy to oblige.

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While using the quote from this article, please credit WWE's The Bump and add a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcript