Steve Austin On Why He Stopped Wrestling & Relationship With Hulk Hogan

A never before heard interview featuring Steve Austin aired on the latest edition of the Sam Roberts’ Wrestling Podcast. Austin discussed a number of wrestling-related topic at the time such as why he left the ring and his relationship with Hulk Hogan. Below are the highlights courtesy of WrestlingInc.

Why he stopped wrestling:

“The reason I got out of professional wrestling was because my body said, ‘hey Steve, you’ve had enough.’ And, like I tell everybody, and it’s also true, I could get a couple of more years out of my body. I could, but why? I had a very physical, aggressive style; I took hard, fast, quick bumps; the piledriver in ’96 or ’97, whatever it was, took its toll. Now, I’m 100% as far as doing normal human being stuff, but it was time for me to ride off into the sunset and preserve my health. And I want to live an active life for 10 to 20, 30 more years doing the stuff that I do, riding my dirt bikes, four-wheelers, and the outdoor stuff that I love to do for a long, long time. And it was just time.”

The relationship between him and Hogan:

“Me and Terry [Hogan’s shoot first name] don’t trade phone calls. We’re not the best of friends. We’re not enemies. People say what they want to say or try to stir up animosity. I don’t hold anything against the guy. At the end of the day, we’re two of the guys. We’re pro wrestlers. We have a lot of things in common, [and] a lot of things that aren’t in common. But he does what he does and I think it is what it is. That’s all I can say.”