Stone Cold Steve Austin Talks WWE WrestleMania, Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns, More

Stone Cold Steve Austin’s last wrestling match took place in 2003, but even after 13 years away from the ring, the WWE Hall of Famer is still recognized as the most popular Superstar in the history of the wrestling business.

Now, instead of running the show every week on WWE programming, Austin is now the host of two wildly popular shows on CMT called Broken Skull Challenge and Redneck Island. Airing on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET and Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET, respectively, Austin has the chance to showcase the natural charisma and toughness that made him a star in wrestling.

Austin sat down with Ring Rust Radio to discuss whether he will be at WrestleMania 32 and what his role will be, his thoughts on Roman Reigns as the next top guy, his advice to Daniel Bryan following his retirement and more.

The biggest question surrounding Austin is what kind of role, if any, he will play at WWE’s biggest pay-per-view of the year. As a Texas resident, the WWE Universe expects Austin to be at AT&T Stadium in Dallas for WrestleMania 32.

Austin spoke candidly about the situation, saying, “As far as my role, I don't know yet. I haven't talked to anybody about it. I expect to be in Dallas, Texas, and I expect to do something, I just don't know what it is.”

While Austin’s role has not been revealed, the main event of the show was cemented after WWE Fastlane 2016, as Roman Reigns will challenge Triple H for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

As the headlining match inside a stadium that WWE is looking to fill with 100,000 fans, there are questions about whether Reigns is ready for such a prime-time position on the card. Austin has headlined WrestleMania several times, and he knows what it takes to be on the elite level:

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When you're the main event of the card and all those people come, that's a gigantic reason to come when you want to see Stone Cold and The Rock, and you know it's good to be a special moment. Roman Reigns isn't quite there yet, but he will be one of these days, so he does have a great opportunity if he ends up taking on Triple H or whoever they put in the ring with him. They got work to do.

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If anyone can speak to the situation Reigns finds himself in, it would be Austin. He sees how far Reigns has come as a Superstar and knows what his long-term potential is. After Fastlane, though, it’s make-or-break time for Reigns at WrestleMania.

Austin also finds himself in a similar situation as the now-retired Daniel Bryan. After Bryan walked away from wrestling due to concussion injuries—Austin was dealing with a litany of serious injuries—a parallel can be drawn between the end of Bryan’s and Austin’s careers.

When asked about Bryan’s situation and what advice he would give him, Austin stated:

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Moving forward my advice to him is I don't think he needs much advice. Daniel Bryan is a very smart kid, he is very passionate about some of the green projects he's involved with that we talked about on my podcast about two years ago. I don't know him real well, but I talked to him while he was at home on his hiatus from the business. He will find another way just like I did. I remember when I was going to have to ride off into the sunset, my good friend Paul Orndorff looked me in the eyes and said, 'Steve there is life after wrestling,' because a lot of us don't think there is. We don't have an exit strategy from the business. I asked him, 'There is?,' and he said 'Damn right there is.' That's the only thing I told Daniel Bryan as well, is that there is life after wrestling.

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As hard as it was to say goodbye to Stone Cold or see Bryan walk away, the health of the Superstars is most important. Selfishly, most people want one more match from both Bryan and Austin, but the memories we already have are more than enough to build a legacy.

Austin is living proof that there is life after wrestling, as the 51-year-old continues to build his reputation as a well-respected television host, a podcaster, a beer-maker and more, on top of the work he still does from time to time for WWE.

For the fans that grew up watching Stone Cold at the forefront of wrestling every Monday night, a teased appearance at WrestleMania 32 has everyone anticipating his theme music playing and the possibility of a Stunner.

Regardless of his role, Austin’s appearance is destined to be one of the highlights of WrestleMania 32.

For more wrestling talk, listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics or catch the latest episode in the player above (some language NSFW).