What happened during Stone Cold Steve Austin's last WWE WrestleMania appearance?

Stone Cold Steve Austin will return to WrestleMania for the first time since 2016 to participate in a special segment with Kevin Owens.

The former Universal Champion, who has bashed the state of Texas at every opportunity, invited The Rattlesnake to join him on The Show of Shows. Owens asked Austin to share the ring with him for an episode of his infamous talk show, The KO Show.

Less than 24 hours after the challenge was presented, Stone Cold took to social media and posted a video declaring that he accepted the offer. He made it clear that he would return to the grandest stage.

For weeks, it had been speculated that the legendary Attitude Era star would lace up his boots once again and wrestle for the first time in 19 years. While some might not expect that to happen on The KO Show, honestly, there's no telling where that particular segment may lead to.

The last time Steve Austin put on his wrestling trunks, he competed in a one-on-one contest against one of his greatest rivals, The Rock. It was the pair's third match on The Grandest Stage of Them All, and on that occasion at WrestleMania 19, The Rock picked up the victory for the first time in their trilogy of matches.

So what happened during Stone Cold Steve Austin's last WWE WrestleMania appearance?

The last time he appeared was at WrestleMania 32, at the same site of the upcoming two-night WrestleMania 38 extravaganza at the AT&T Stadium in Texas.

Austin appeared alongside Mick Foley and Shawn Michaels after the League of Nations vs. The New Day bout. The legends took turns hitting their finishing moves on The League of Nations, with Stone Cold Steve Austin delivering Stunners to King Barrett and Rusev (now known as Miro).

The Texas Rattlesnake turned his attention to The League of Nations' opponents, The New Day. The former SmackDown Tag Team Champions wanted Austin to dance with them. Though obliging for a moment, the Hall of Famer then delivered another Stunner, this time to Xavier Woods.

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What did Stone Cold Steve Austin say when he accepted Kevin Owens' WrestleMania invitation?

While accepting Kevin Owens' challenge via social media, Stone Cold Steve Austin explained why he agreed to the invitation:

"Nineteen years ago I wrestled my last match in a WWE ring. After three Rock Bottoms, 1-2-3, I lost the match and for nineteen years I’ve had to live with that defeat, knowing my time was up. Kevin Owens, I want to thank you. I want to thank you for waking something up deep inside me that I’ve kept buried for nineteen years."

The Texas Rattlesnake continued:

"Ever since you started running that damn mealy-mouth of yours, talking about the state of Texas, the great state of Texas, you got my attention, and why would you want to do that, Kevin? I can think of two reasons. One, you are one dumb son of a b***h, and two, you are fixing to get your a** kicked by ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin. But if you want to call this The KO Show, a match, a fight, a brawl, whatever, I will guarantee you this – in Dallas, Texas, where I started my career, at WrestleMania, ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin is going to open up one last can of whoop-a** on you, Kevin Owens, and that’s the bottom line because Stone Cold said so."

It has been confirmed that the confrontation between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Kevin Owens will take place on Saturday, April 2, live on Peacock and WWE Network outside of the United States.

Do you think the Austin and Owens segment at WrestleMania will result in a match between the pair? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!