At Survivor Series, Bill Goldberg made his return to the ring in a match against Brock Lesnar. At 49 years old, Goldberg hit Lesnar with two spears and a Jackhammer before pinning him for the lightning-fast victory. The following night on Monday Night Raw, Bill announced that he would be participating in the 2017 Royal Rumble match as he looked to add one more match onto the end of his career.
With Goldberg making a comeback, the rest of the WWE Universe has been hoping to see some of the biggest stars from the Attitude Era make a return to WWE programming in the near future. One of those guys is former WWE champion “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
Austin hasn’t wrestled since he was beaten by The Rock at WrestleMania XIX in 2003 due to multiple knee injuries and a serious neck injury. Now 52-years-old, Steve has been getting requests from fans to return to the ring, but it doesn’t sound as if he has any interest in coming back, according to Wrestling News Source.
“I’m 52, and I get these emails all the time asking why I don’t come back.” Austin recently said on his own podcast. “They’ll say, so and so did it. Goldberg did it, and you know what, I’m happy for all my friends that are making comebacks. Bill [Goldberg] going in and beating Brock Lesnar was awesome, setting it up for WrestleMania 33 in Orlando, but I’m not making no comeback.”
“I had someone cuss me out on the email the other day saying that they hated my guts because I wouldn’t do it a comeback, but listen, I’m done. I rode off into the sunset in 2003, whenever it was, after WrestleMania 19; came back for a couple of appearances, but I’m done, and I’m happy being done, and I don’t want the pressure of having another match on my shoulders, because I don’t have to have another match because I’m satisfied with the career that I had. I appreciate everyone that had supported my career. Pro wrestling has spring boarded every endeavor that I am involved in right now, and I love the business, and the WWE and all the organizations that I work for, but man, I’m done.
“It’s like when we did that last DVD, but I’m enjoying my time outdoors and the things I want to spend my time with right now that I am passionate about, like learning how to do Long-Range Shooting for example. I’m working on stuff that I want to do, and I really don’t want to go back to the business. The wrestling business is now for the younger generation that is in there right now, and you do it for as long as you can, and you then ride off into the sunset and adjust accordingly. I’ve adjusted accordingly. I have so many great memories of the wrestling business. I’ve worked real hard to get to the top, and how many flukes and breaks to have happened that had allowed me to have the success that I did.”
“For Goldberg and everyone else that wants to make a comeback, man, I sit there and watch, and I am cheering for them, and wanting to see great matches, and wanting people to cheer for them, and like them, but I’m done brother, I really am. I’m happy that I am done because I’m happy with where I am at right now in my life. I’m done, I don’t need a comeback; end of story.”
For those of you hoping to see “The Rattlesnake” make a return to the ring, it sounds like you’re out of luck.