My message to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin: "Please don't risk an in-ring comeback!"

I really like "Stone Cold" Steve Austin on both a professional and personal level. We first met in his rookie year in 1989 in Texas. He was not "Stone Cold" back then. He was just a tough SOB named Steve Austin.

Over the years, I had the opportunity to report and photograph the amazing career achievements that ultimately molded him into a one-of-a-kind mega superstar. I enjoyed it all until one night at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

It was Summerslam 10 on August 3, 1997. Steve Austin wrestled Owen Hart and won the Intercontinental Championship. While it should have been a fabulous time, it was the worst night of "Stone Cold's" career. I was there capturing photos and have never forgotten what happened.

What happened to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at SummerSlam 1997?

As the capacity crowd watched this exciting match and I clicked away with my camera, Owen got Steve Austin in what appeared to be a piledriver position. As I zoomed in to get the best photo possible, I could see that he was the victim of a botched maneuver.

His head went right into the mat, and I saw that he was knocked senseless. It was terrifying to witness the probable end of this icon's career, but more importantly, his bodily functions.

He could not move and called the referee to let him know that. Years later, he looked back and recounted the horror that happened:

“As soon as my head hit that mat, I was thinking Christopher Reeve. 'Cause I thought I was never gonna walk again, ever. I couldn’t feel anything from my neck down. I couldn’t use my hands yet, but I could turn over and use my forearms to crawl. It took me a long time to straighten my knees to be able to but there was no way I was gonna lay there and let some ambulance or bunch of paramedics carry me out of that ring.And then finally, I can start using my hands. I hit him with the roll-up," Steve Austin said.

Luckily, he did not suffer a fully broken neck. However, it worsened a nagging neck issue he had before this match and aggravated some spinal problems.

A few weeks after the match, on assignment from WWE magazine and Pro Wrestling Illustrated, I met him in Philadelphia, where he was going for a series of follow-up MRIs. Afterward, we sat in a small pizzeria and chatted about his future.

"Not sure Bill what's gonna happen. We gotta see what the MRI looks like, talk to the doctors and take it from there. I don't want to end my career like this but damn I thought I was going to be paralyzed and if the reports are bad I don't want to risk that happening again," Steve Austin told me.

"The Texas Rattlesnake" wrestled for a few more years. He wrestled his final match at WrestleMania XIX against Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

So, it's been 19 years since we last saw Steve Austin compete. Of course, there have been rumblings about him wrestling at WrestleMania 38, possibly against Kevin Owens.

I am very uncomfortable that this may happen. Although we know that superstars protect their opponents in the ring, another botched move could be disastrous.

I don't want that to happen. Don't attempt an in-ring comeback, Steve! But if it's a non-wrestling role for 'Mania 2022, I can't wait to see it!