WWE Hot Take: Hopefully We Just Saw Vince McMahon's Last in-Ring Appearance

When one tried to project the absolute top moments exiting WrestleMania 38 before the event happened, Vince McMahon's legendary botching of a stunner from "Stone Cold" Steve Austin wasn't high on the list. 

Yet here we are, with the 76-year-old chairman and chief executive officer of WWE going endlessly viral for a huge (botched) moment—and one that hopefully signals the end of his in-ring career. 

That's meant in the nicest way possible, of course. McMahon bumbling through one major-botched spot is a funny, if not charming moment. A second and...things get out of hand. 

It would appear Vince himself would agree, too. According to Fightful (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), he knows his sell of Austin's stunner was "terrible," but in the end, it entertained and had fans laughing. 

Call that summation the understatement of the century. 

A short play-by-play for those who have somehow missed the clip.

Austin, a night removed from his in-ring return nearly two decades in the making, interfered with McMahon's big moment during a match against Pat McAfee. After the usual beer-me awkwardness with Vince, Austin went to hit the stunner. 

Except, Vince took the kick to set up the move and started backpedaling faster than an NFL cornerback covering Tyreek Hill, to the point Austin—who didn't run at all during his match the night before—had to sprint just to catch his elderly victim (and might not have if Vince hadn't bounced off the ropes) and finish off the move. 

The finish was more of both guys collapsing together before Austin popped back up, unable to stop himself from cracking up. 

It's that funny: 

The whole ordeal sort of self-explains why that probably needs to be the last of Vince as an in-ring performer or wrestler. Besides the botch, he doesn't really have any close connections with any other current Superstars like he did Stone Cold or Undertaker, anyway. And to his credit, had Austin not shockingly returned, he probably wouldn't have been in the ring at all. 

If it's any consolation to all involved, fans included, everyone knows Vince has been pretty awful at selling stunners from the very beginning. That his final sell was the worst of all is, if nothing else, pretty fitting. 

All the funny stuff aside, we do have to touch on how poorly it made McAfee look in spots. Admittedly, it's an eye-of-the-beholder thing. Some fans are going to wave it off and give it a mulligan—he was humoring everyone and selling for a legend. There will undoubtedly be some fans that discredit McAfee as a challenger to other Superstars though after throwing himself into Vince's arm and then doing flips. 

But it was a little jarring to see McAfee's budding stardom shine against Austin Theory before selling for Vince. Most of it looked bad, and then McMahon turned around and did that, which only made things worse. 

Keep in mind this strictly refers to Vince the in-ring performer, not the boss personality or—dare we wish for it—Vince the Superstar manager. He's still a genius in terms of live crowds and psychology. Attaching him to Theory for good and even bringing him out as a full-time manager could work wonders for both theory and a company that continues to have a hard time creating new main-event Superstars. 

The fact we're even writing about a 76-year-old man's in-ring performance is a testament to Vince's staying power and willingness to put himself at risk for fans. It would have felt strange to see Stone Cold back but without an interaction with McMahon given their storied history.

And in an odd twist, things going off without a hitch might've ended up less memorable compared to this stunner botch that will go down in history. So much so, WWE would be wise to just embrace it like Austin did for the hilarious moment it was, as opposed to attempting video-editing wizardry and pretending it didn't happen. 

It did, and it was glorious, but it also needs to signal the last time Vince steps into the ring as an actual wrestler. If that's really the end, it was a fitting one on many levels, especially with it coming against Stone Cold.