Home

WWE

“I Think I’m Dying, Dying For Sure”: Days Before Wrestling His Final WWE Match, Stone Cold Steve Austin Explained Why He Felt Like A ‘Walking Disaster’

Published 06/06/2023, 3:00 PM EDT

Follow Us

At WrestleMania 19 we saw Stone Cold Steve Austin wrestle for the last time before his return in 2022 to face Kevin Owens. In a spectacular match against Dwyane Johnson aka The Rock, The Texas Rattlesnake retired as an in-ring performer. The reason for retirement was because of his body couldn’t take any more bumps. However, a night before his match at The Grandest Stage in 2003 Austin suffered a major medical issue.

It shocked the WWE Hall of Famer after he thought that was the moment he was about to die. Austin shared his scary experience several years later.

Stone Cold Steve Austin once recalled almost “dying”

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Due to medical reasons Stone Cold Steve Austin retired in 2003 after a match with The Rock. However, the night prior he experienced pain in his chest and assume he was going to die at that moment.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest WWE stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

Austin has mentioned the incident in his 2012 autobiography The Stone Cold Truth. He was at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seattle when this incident happened.

The Rattlesnake narrated, “Damn, I think I’m dying, dying for sure. I’m getting off an elevator on the twenty-seventh floor of the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seattle, the night before WrestleMania XIX, and my heart’s beating so hard, it feels like it’s going to crack a rib jumping out of my chest.”

He further mentioned, “I’m saying to myself, I’m thirty-eight years old and I’m fixing to freaking die, right here, right now. I’m having a damned heart attack! And I’m wondering how the hell it could have happened.”

Furthermore, Austin wrote about thinking of being the “toughest SOB in WWE” when he started feeling pain in the chest. One of his major concerns was the match he had the next night with ‘The Brahma Bull’ which would’ve been in jeopardy if he wasn’t able to compete.

What actually happened to Steve Austin?

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Stone Cold shared he was working out to be fit for the match at WrestleMania. As per his book by the year 2003, he had gone through several injuries, divorce, rehab, and also had left WWE at a point. But the reason for his chest pain was dehydration and he shared how he felt about it.

Austin mentioned, “Physically I look like somebody who deserves the name Stone Cold. But truthfully I’m a walking disaster area. My back, neck and knees are a mess. I’ve got two fused discs in my back and others just barely holding together.”

via Imago

The WWE officials took him to the nearest hospital the next day. He suffered the pain because of consuming too much caffeine. There were concerns that he’ll have the match, but he stepped in the ring and had a wonderful final match with The Rock.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Watch This Story:- Roman Reigns Bloodline to Stone Colds Austin 3:16

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Tushar Deogharkar

2,018Articles

One take at a time

Tushar Deogharkar is a senior WWE writer and analyst at EssentiallySports. With a true passion for pro wrestling, Tushar has consistently provided unparalleled coverage of the sport, never missing an opportunity to share his insights with his readers. Throughout his career, Tushar has covered some of the most iconic rivalries in WWE history, including the legendary feud between The Rock and Stone Cold.
Show More>

Edited by:

Sherjeel Malik