True legends have come and gone in WWE , but it couldn’t ever be easy for them to retire and walk out of the ring forever. Stone Cold Steve Austin still works out, is in great shape, and still does a lot in the world of professional wrestling. He hasn’t had a match in more than 16 years and his decision to retire wasn’t an easy one, but he’s now revealed who told him that it was simply time to quit.
There have been plenty of rumors flying around lately that Edge and other retired superstars will be heading back into the ring. Over the years, there has been a lot of speculation that Steve Austin would return for one more match, but it simply hasn’t ever happened and likely never will.
Austin still works with WWE with Broken Skull Sessions where he sits down with legends and current superstars to talk about life and other topics. He also appears for the company at times and has even been physical in the ring, but his retirement came at a time when it needed to happen.
Near the end of his career, Austin said he spent a lot of time relaxing and just living life. He said that walking away from the business was hard and he spoke with Dale Earnhardt Jr. who said it was just knowing the time had come to quit.
While speaking with Bleacher Report , Austin said that Earnhardt told him there was no doctor who would tell him to quit. He just knew that his injuries had caught up to him and that was what Austin had to do as well.
“A doctor didn’t look me in the eyes and say, ‘Steve, you must retire now.’ It was a decision I had to make for myself. When you’re flying high, and you’re this bad*ss, tough-ass Stone Cold guy, and all your peers are just as tough as you, and you’re riding down the road doing something you’re so passionate about and you love so much, it would be anybody’s dream to live that kind of life.”
Stone Cold said that it was “extremely hard to deal with” making that decision back then, but it isn’t any longer. He said that it has been so long that he no longer misses wrestling as it is something you just have to get used to and accept.
Right now, Stone Cold Steve Austin is working on a number of other projects and he’s happy with how his life has turned out. If he hadn’t made the decision to step away from the ring and retire, things may have turned out quite badly for him. His injuries would have worsened and his life wouldn’t be as good as it is now, but leaving WWE was still very difficult for him to do.