‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin returned to WWE at WrestleMania 41, but he was originally set for a much bigger spot than he got.
Steve Austin is a WrestleMania legend, having main evented WWE’s biggest show of the year on several occasions.
The star returned to WWE for the first time in three years at WrestleMania 41, announcing the attendance of the event on night two.
However, WWE: Unreal has revealed its initial plans for Austin at WrestleMania 41, where he was supposed to feature in a match.
Steve Austin was set to referee Drew McIntyre vs Bron Breakker
WWE: Unreal revealed the company’s original plans for the entire event, which included huge matches such as CM Punk vs Gunther, Bianca Belair vs Rhea Ripley, and Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns.
Austin was reportedly set to be the special guest referee for a clash between Drew McIntyre and Bron Breakker.
That match did not end up happening, with McIntyre taking on Damian Priest in Las Vegas and Breakker defending his Intercontinental Championship against Dominik Mysterio, Finn Balor, and Penta.
It is unclear why plans were changed so drastically for Austin, McIntyre, and Breakker, but it would have been an incredible spectacle in Las Vegas.
WrestleMania 41 marked Austin’s first appearance at the event since taking on Kevin Owens in his retirement match in 2022.
Why were WrestleMania 41 plans changed?
The biggest change to WrestleMania 41 happened because WWE decided to book Jey Uso as the Royal Rumble winner.
That meant the star challenged Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship at the event, meaning Punk’s plans had to change.
The Best in the World was inserted into Reigns clash with Rollins, which ended up being the night one main event.
One of the few matches to stay the same from WWE: Unreal’s initial plans were John Cena vs Cody Rhodes.