Jim Ross has weighed in on reports that ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin could be heading back to WWE in the near future.
During a recent episode of Grilling JR, Jim Ross addressed a report from WrestleVotes suggesting Austin has been in discussions about a possible return. It remains unclear whether that would involve a one-off appearance or something more physical in the ring.
Ross made it clear that any comeback would be entirely on Austin’s terms.
“Whatever the hell he wants to do,” Ross said. “That’s not a good answer for this audience. But he has the freedom, creative freedom, to do whatever the hell he wants. And he has earned that right, in my opinion. If anybody has earned the right to work their way in and work their way out or make an appearance here or there, it’s Stone Cold.”
Ross also stressed that Austin would not agree to anything unless he was fully comfortable with it.
“It’s hard to say,” Ross added. “But I can promise you that whatever is decided, Steve will have blessed it. Because he’s just not, he didn’t need the money. He’s been in the business long enough where he knows what he wants to do and he knows what he doesn’t want to do.”
Ross noted that a return tied to WrestleMania would make sense, particularly given Austin’s ties to Nevada.
“So it seems like where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” Ross said. “But WrestleMania seems logical, and it seems real. He would add to the mystique of the build-up to the event.”
He also suggested that even a limited appearance would have value for WWE’s biggest shows.
“If Steve returns for a one-off, or a push to the Royal Rumble, then I say it will be good,” Ross said. “And he will help sell pay-per-views. If you’re a Stone Cold fan from the Attitude Era and so forth, you know he’s not going to come out there and shake hands and mess around. There’ll be some physicality.”
Ross closed by saying he would support whatever decision Austin ultimately makes.
“He deserves fun and happiness,” Ross said. “And he can damn sure get that putting those black boots on.”
Austin last wrestled in 2022, when he faced Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38, ending a nearly two-decade absence from in-ring competition.
When Was Jim Ross Last In WWE?
Jim Ross last worked for WWE in 2018, when he appeared on the pre-show panel for the Greatest Royal Rumble pay-per-view on April 27. Ross left the company in 2019 and joined AEW as a commentator later that year.
Ross had been with WWE in various roles since the early 1990s, most famously as the voice of the Attitude Era.
