Report on why Steve Austin didn’t make an appearance at WWE Wrestlemania 40 despite rumors

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin was one of the legends rumored to appear at the WWE Wrestlemania 40 PLE. As seen during the March 25th 2024 edition of RAW, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson attacked Cody Rhodes at the end of the broadcast. While Rock was attacking Cody, a WWE production truck was seen in the background that included images of Austin and John Cena. In another tease, Paul “Triple H” Levesque also sent out a post about Wrestlemania Sunday’s main event at 3:16 PM Eastern time.

While Cena appeared in the Wrestlemania main event, Austin did not. In regards to Austin’s absence, Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com noted the following…

“I think a lot of people expected Steve Austin to come out next and take out Rock with a stunner, and then Rhodes would start hitting Cross Rhodes and win the title. Undertaker’s gong hit and he choke slammed and took out Rock. Austin was the person originally earmarked for that spot, but in the end they couldn’t reach a financial agreement and Undertaker was put in his place.”

Earlier this week, The Miz commented on Undertaker taking Austin’s spot at Wrestlemania.