Stone Cold Shoots on GOAT List, Missing WWE WrestleMania 40, CM Punk, Goldberg & More
WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin addressed several topics during a wide-ranging interview on Tuesday, including his picks for the greatest wrestlers of all time.
Appearing on Insight with Chris Van Vliet (beginning at the 1:07:17 mark), Austin refused to name his Mount Rushmore of pro wrestling, noting that his "list is greater than four" due to the sheer number of legendary performers who impacted the business:
Austin named Shawn Michaels and Eddie Guerrero as "1A and 1B" in terms of the greatest in-ring performers of all time. He also mentioned Hulk Hogan, Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker and John Cena in his GOAT conversation.
The Texas Rattlesnake divulged that Ric Flair is his favorite wrestler of all time, calling him the "greatest traveling world champion of all time."
Earlier in the interview, at the 59:51 mark, Van Vliet asked Austin about WrestleMania 40 and whether there was ever a possibility that he could have appeared at the show.
WrestleMania 40 was headlined by the WWE Championship match between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes, and there were several run-ins by legendary performers, such as Cena, The Rock and The Undertaker.
Fans speculated after the event that there may have originally been plans for Austin to be in The Undertaker's spot since his involvement with The Rock arguably would have made more sense.
Austin did not confirm any exact plans, but he did say that WWE had made a pitch to him regarding a WrestleMania 40 appearance. It didn't come to fruition, though, as Stone Cold noted that he had prior commitments.
At the 1:09:18 mark, Austin discussed some of the biggest opponents he never had a chance to face off against during his career. CM Punk, Hogan and Goldberg were among the names mentioned.
Austin acknowledged that he and Punk teased a match in 2012 while doing promotion for the WWE '13 video game, but it never came to fruition. At that point, Austin hadn't wrestled since 2003, and he had recently undergone surgery on his knee.
With Punk back in WWE since November 2023, a dream match between him and Austin is still one that is talked about by fans. Austin did end his 19-year retirement to face Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38, and Austin indicated to Van Vliet that he is capable of having another match, although he isn't planning or expecting to have one.
During the Attitude Era and Monday Night War between WWE and WCW, Austin and Goldberg were the faces of their respective companies for a period of time, and a match between them was always a topic of discussion among fans.
Goldberg finally joined WWE in 2003 as Austin was retiring. When asked by Van Vliet why a match between them never happened, Stone Cold said, "I think we pitched it when he first came in, but he wasn't at the level that he needed to be."
Austin suggested that Goldberg first needed to "get over" with the WWE audience like he did previously in WCW, but by the time it happened, the possibility had passed and Austin was no longer an active wrestler.
While there were and still are unquestionably some potentially iconic matches involving Austin that didn't happen, he had a legendary career regardless, mixing it up with the likes of Bret Hart, The Rock, The Undertaker, Triple H, Michaels and so many others.
