Stone Cold Steve Austin Couldn't Compete at WrestleMania For Sad Reason
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"Stone Cold" Steve Austin made his presence felt during WWE WrestleMania 41 weekend in Las Vegas this past April, adding another prestigious honor to his legendary resume. Marking his second induction, Austin, alongside Bret "Hitman" Hart, saw their iconic WrestleMania 13 Submission Match enshrined in the WWE Hall of Fame as an "Immortal Moment."
This special recognition followed Austin's initial solo Hall of Fame induction in 2009. Austin appeared on both nights of the main WrestleMania 41 event. On Saturday, he stood alongside Hart and the other Hall of Fame inductees recognized on stage.
For night two, Austin made a characteristic entrance on his ATV to announce the weekend's combined attendance figure to the stadium crowd. However, his appearance wasn't without incident as an unplanned mishap saw the ATV strike the ringside barricade, briefly knocking over a fan who fortunately appeared to be uninjured.
While fans were ecstatic to see the Texas Rattlesnake, his roles during the weekend were notably non-physical. As Austin later explained, this was due to physical limitations stemming from recent major surgery.
Throughout his wrestling career, Austin famously wore knee braces to manage injuries sustained over the years of competing and a serious knee injury from his days in football. Austin underwent total knee replacement surgery late last year.
More news: WWE News: Steve Austin Reveals Real-Life Vince McMahon Confrontation
Speaking about his condition during WrestleMania weekend on The Ariel Helwani Show, Austin provided candid details. "I was just happy to be there. I had a knee replacement about four months ago," he shared.
NEW YORK - MARCH 28: Wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin speaks at the press conference held by Battle of the Billionaires to announce the details of Wrestlemania 23 at Trump Tower on March 28, 2007...
NEW YORK - MARCH 28: Wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin speaks at the press conference held by Battle of the Billionaires to announce the details of Wrestlemania 23 at Trump Tower on March 28, 2007 in New York City. More"For a total knee replacement to heal up 100%, you're looking at about a year. That was on December 4th. I don't squat anymore, I'm doing some Hindu squats along with my workouts, but I haven't even tried to run yet. I don't even know if I can run, not that I run a lot to the ring."
He estimated his physical readiness at the time was far from complete: "I would imagine about I'm 30-35% of capacity. I did what I could." This recovery status directly influenced his limited role at the event. "Just to be involved in the show, go out there and announce the attendance, that's what I did. That's about all I could do," Austin confirmed.
He also mentioned that talks about his involvement were understandably vague due to the surgery. "Earlier in the year, not really discussions, just brief, 'Hey, if you want to be there, maybe we can figure you in.' I said, 'I'm getting my knee replaced. We'll see what happens when that time comes.' Time came and I can't do much."
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