Ahead of WrestleMania 40, reports indicated that WWE had reached out to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin with the idea of bringing him in for a surprise appearance on the grand stage. Evidently, those plans did not materialize, as the Hall of Famer was nowhere to be seen on either night of WrestleMania 40. During a recent interview with Adrian Hernandez's "Unlikely," Austin confirmed that he was indeed in talks about potentially coming to WrestleMania 40, but the timing just didn't line up with his personal schedule.

"It was close [to happening], and they certainly reached out to me. We had conversations, but my wife and I had some things going on and I didn't need to go to Philly at that time," Austin said. "I have said, I missed that Mania and Philly was a good town for me back in the day and I appreciate those fans. Couldn't make it down on that one, but WrestleMania [next] year is in Vegas ... I hope to be there [next] year."

As Austin pointed out, next year's WrestleMania 41 premium live event will emanate from Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, which marks the first WrestleMania to take place in the Las Vegas area since 1993. Austin himself has some history in the vicinity, notably facing Triple H in a Three Stages of Hell match at 2001's WWE No Way Out. The following year, Austin and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson battled Chris Jericho and The Undertaker on "WWE Raw" in Las Vegas, albeit in a losing effort.