Stone Cold Steve Austin is recovering from surgery (Picture: Bill Watters/Getty Images)
WWE legend ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin has undergone major knee surgery to finally fix an issue caused by his wrestling career.
The 60-year-old Hall of Famer has been struggling with his knees since his college football days, while his professional wrestling career only caused more damage.
In October last year, the so-called Texas Rattlesnake – who returned for a one-off retirement match against Kevin Owens at WrestleMania in 2022 – revealed his left knee was in such a bad state that he needed surgery.
This week, he has confirmed he underwent a successful total knee replacement towards the end of 2024.
He wrote on Instagram: ‘I am 7 weeks post op on a Total Knee Replacement. My left knee was on its last leg, and I have been putting this surgery off for years.’
He revealed that his post-op X-rays ‘show everything is healing nicely’, but he caused his own setback after being too ‘aggressive’ with his recovery.
The Texas Rattlesnake has been struggling with his knees for decades (Picture: Instagram/steveaustinbsr)
He has finally had the procedure (Picture: Instagram/steveaustinbsr)(Picture: Instagram/steveaustinbsr)
He explained: ‘Before starting PT, I came out of the gate aggressive and started walking way too soon and too far and really p***ed off my new knee.
‘Total Knee Replacement is a year long healing process, so I don’t know what the hell I was thinking.
‘Swelling is still an issue, but things are healing up nicely and getting solid.’
He’s now back training again, although he noted his workouts aren’t too ‘heavy’ at this point, adding: ‘No squats…’
His last match was against Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38 (Picture: WWE)
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Providing his recovery continues to go well, Stone Cold is keen to compete in The Mind 400 off-road race in Las Vegas this spring.
Fans had been hoping he’d be making an appearance at WrestleMania 41 in Sin City in April, but his surgery could have halted any plans to show up.
‘I do spend several trips a year in Las Vegas,’ he teased last summer.
‘So, to think that WWE’s biggest signature pay-per-view event is 400 miles away, in a state that I live in, that I’m going to be there, make a couple of appearances.’
Stone Cold is one of the biggest names in wrestling history (Picture: Moses Robinson/Getty Images)
He insisted the deal would have to work for both sides, both for his own business and the creative idea itself.
He added: ‘I’ll be promoting my beer if they, WWE, reached out and said, “Hey, maybe you want to do something.” I’d be happy to do it as long as it makes sense.’
Meanwhile, Austin’s longtime friend and fellow Hall of Famer Mick Foley recently teased his own in-ring comeback as an entrance into the Royal Rumble on February 1.
Mick Foley has teased a Royal Rumble return (Picture: Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
The 59-year-old star, who officially retired over a decade ago, opened up about his remarkable weight loss on his YouTube channel, having lost around 100lbs.
‘I did it the old-fashioned way, it was really a three-step process,’ he said. ‘Healthier eating, working out, and I cheated.’
He added: ‘I went to a doctor, they saw me at over 370 pounds and suggested I could use a little help in the form of Wegovy. I know some people call it cheating, I just thought it was levelling the playing field.’
Foley joked he was taking a call from Triple H (Picture: WWE/Getty Images)
He joked that appearing in the Rumble was a ‘pretty big leap’ based on what he’d said about his fitness, but then a phone rang as part of the YouTube video.
‘Hold on, let me get this. Hm, 203? Hello? [Triple H’s theme song plays]. Hey Hunter. No, I’m doing good. You saw me in the Nightmare Rumble? I have lost some weight, yeah,’ he quipped.
‘I have been working out. Royal Rumble? Let me call you right back. Thanks, Triple H.’
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