Original WrestleMania 41 Plans for Steve Austin Revealed

A major pitch for WWE legend “Stone Cold” Steve Austin at WrestleMania 41 has come to light, and it would’ve put the Hall of Famer in a far more active role than fans saw in April.

During the WWE Unreal series, a behind-the-scenes look at the WrestleMania 41 writers’ room revealed some early booking plans scrawled on a whiteboard. One of those ideas involved Steve Austin stepping in as the special guest referee for a singles match between Drew McIntyre and Bron Breakker.

That plan didn’t go forward. Instead, Austin’s appearance at Allegiant Stadium ended up being a short greeting for fans and announcing the event’s attendance. The biggest memory from that cameo? An awkward ATV entrance gone wrong, with Austin struggling to bring the vehicle to a clean stop at ringside.

The match he was originally linked to also changed significantly. Rather than facing each other, Drew McIntyre and Bron Breakker ended up on separate paths during Night 2. McIntyre defeated Damian Priest in a brutal Sin City Street Fight, while Breakker dropped the Intercontinental Championship to Dominik Mysterio in a Fatal Four-Way that also included Finn Bálor and Penta.

It’s not uncommon for WWE to shuffle plans last minute, especially on a stage like WrestleMania. But having “Stone Cold” in a referee’s role could’ve added an entirely different energy to the event.