"Stone Cold" Steve Austin has once again shot down a rumor that he is training hard to return to the WWE for WrestleMania 31, though it appears the promotion has plans for an Austin vs. CM Punk match sometime in the WWE before the "Best in the World' quit the company.
Wrestlingheadlines.com reports that Austin once again denied rumors of a return on March 29, 2015 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on a recent episode of his Steve Austin Show podcast.
Austin said there is little to no chance of him returning to the WWE to wrestle at the Show of Shows though he hinted that if he did return Brock Lesnar would be staring at the lights.
According to the report, the WWE also had tentative plans for an Austin vs. Punk match a few years ago, but obviously it never came to fruition.
Per the report, the WWE was really working toward a Punk vs. Austin match and during Punk's WrestleMania XXVIII match with Chris Jericho, the WWE had a deliberate camera shot from behind Punk for his entrance in the same way they filmed Austin's entrances when he came out for big matches.
The shot was reportedly filmed because the WWE wanted to use the entrances in promotional materials for the potential match while it would likely have also been used in the vignette airing before the bout. Austin has mentioned in the past that he'd love to face Punk if he were to ever come back.
Punk seems to be retired from wrestling ever since he walked out on the WWE back in January, going so far as to tell a reporter during the AP Music Awards that he was "never ever" returning to the squared circle.
The rumors of an Austin return have flown around ever since the WWE Hall of Famer casually mentioned on his Steve Austin Show podcast that he was currently training for a return to the ring. Fellow WWE Hall of Famer and Austin's good friend Jim Ross recently shared his two cents on the matter on his blog at Jrsbarbq.com, saying he didn't believe Austin would be back.
Austin has been inconsistent in his responses about a comeback as he told radio host Sam Roberts he had no hunger to return the squared circle during SummerSlam weekend while he hinted to PWTorch recently that he could return at WrestleMania 31 or 32.
Austin hasn't wrestled for the WWE since a 2003 encounter with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson at WrestleMania XIX in what was the final battle of their WrestleMania trilogy.
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