Steve Austin On WrestleMania 31, If He'll Be There Next Year, Relationship With Vince McMahon

Stone Cold Steve Austin was the subject of a feature on Sports Illustrated today, and spoke about several subjects, including his relationship with Vince McMahon, and next year's WrestleMania. Here are the highlights:

On plans changing at this year's WrestleMania:

"Vince called and said, 'Here's the set-up, Hulk Hogan's going to come out and he'll cut a promo. All of a sudden, they're going to hit The Rock's music. He'll go out and cut a promo. All of a sudden crash, it's Stone Cold's music, and you'll go out and cut a promo ? then bam, we start WrestleMania XXX.' That's the way it was pitched to me. The Rock and I were in the building the day before in the green room, Dwayne and I were laughing and shaking hands and hugging, just shooting the breeze. I said to him, 'What are we doing tomorrow?' All The Rock knew, he told me, was that he was the last one out to the ring. I said, 'They told you that you were going to be the last out? That's real interesting, 'cause they told me the same damn thing.' I'm thinking to myself, 'This is bull,' this is not what I was sold, this is not what I bought. But I said, 'I'm just going to let this thing slide. We're here and there is no use in making a stink about it.'"

His relationship with Vince McMahon:

"At times he's been like a father figure, a brother, a mentor, a best friend, and an enemy. That was a short window of time when I say enemy, but we were at odds every now and again. This is a high-stakes business that is extremely personal."

Possibly being at WrestleMania next year:

"There was no creative for me at WrestleMania XXXI. Now with WrestleMania XXXII coming up in Texas, I would be pretty damn sure I'm going to be there. It's my home state and it just makes more sense."

Austin also opened up on his run, his nixed plan at WrestleMania 30, and a lot more. You can read the full feature at this link.