New footage has revealed a scrapped plan for Steve Austin to be a part of WrestleMania 41 by serving as the special referee for one of the matches.
July 29 saw the arrival of the new docuseries WWE: Unreal on Netflix, which promises fans a peek behind the curtain like never before when it comes to the previously protected world of professional wrestling. Along with footage from inside the WWE writers’ room, various whiteboards are seen in shot to give fans an idea of what plans were in place at that point in time.
As seen on the whiteboard, one match that was pitched saw Drew McIntyre face Bron Breakker with The Texas Rattlesnake serving as the special guest referee. Instead, MIntyre defeated Damian Priest in a Sin City Street Fight and Bron Breakker lost the Intercontinental Championship to Dominik Mysterio in a match that also featured Finn Balor and Penta.
Other matches that were pitched but ultimately did not take place at Mania were as follows:
- Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins
- Gunther (c) vs. CM Punk for the World Championship
- Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Bianca Belair for the Women’s World Championship
- The Wyatt Sicks vs. Judgment Day
- Jade Cargill vs. Nia Jax for the WWE Women’s Championship
- Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair vs. IYO SKY and Asuka for the Women’s Tag Team Championships
- Bad Bunny vs. Dominik Mysterio
- Rey Mysterio ( with Travis Scott) vs. Chad Gable
- Bron Breakker vs. Drew McIntyre (Special Guest Referee Stone Cold Steve Austin)
- Jey Uso vs. Damian Priest vs. Sami Zayn vs. Sheamus vs. Bronson Reed vs. Ludwig Kaiser – Intercontinental Championship ladder match
- L.A. Knight vs. Jimmy Uso vs. Andrade vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Santos Escobar vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – United States Championship ladder match
What Did Steve Austin Do At WrestleMania 41?
The Hall of Famer made 2 appearances over the weekend in Las Vegas. On night 1, Austin and Bret Hart appeared onstage as part of the 2025 Hall of Fame inductees segment, as their WrestleMania 13 match was honoured at the ceremony. The next night, Austin appeared live to announce the weekend attendance for the event. Unfortunately, Austin’s appearance was remembered for the wrong reasons as he crashed into the barricade with his ATV while making his entrance. After a fan was knocked over, Austin and WWE President Nick Khan made sure the fan was ok.
Featured image: WWE
