According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, Steve Austin has elected not to take WWE up on their big-money offer for a match at this year’s WrestleMania. After wrestling Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38, Austin has decided he’s not going to go for another round in the ring at WrestleMania 39. Meltzer notes that he’s turned down the opportunity to wrestle.

That said, the wrestling insider has added, “As far as Austin goes, Steve might be at the show. I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised at all. He might do something on the show, but he did in fact turn down wrestling at the show.”

Rumors were that he was offered a match to go up against either Brock Lesnar or Roman Reigns. As fans now know, Cody Rhodes is headed to the main event of the show against Reigns, which would have left Austin and Lesnar as a possibility, rekindling an old storyline from years ago when Austin left WWE because he didn’t want to wrestle Lesnar in an unpromoted match. The two hold no hard feelings towards each other in real life and Austin has since said he handled that situation poorly, but he’s chosen not to bring that drama back from the dead.

Meltzer also notes that Austin would have been able to name his opponent, “but he did not choose to wrestle on the show.” (h/t f4wonline.com)

Was This a Wise Decision?

Some fans will be disappointed to hear Austin won’t be wrestling as his match last year was one of the highlights of the two nights. At the same time, it would make sense that Austin might want to go out on a high note, and even though he looks to be in great shape if he’s not up for wrestling, he’s probably ready to open up a can of whoop ass on someone that says the wrong thing or looks at him funny. There are plenty of candidates in WWE that would fit that bill.

Speaking of wrestlers turning down a chance to wrestle, Meltzer notes that The Rock has declined a match as well. He says, “The same goes for Dwayne [The Rock]. It’s not a swerve. There’s always the idea that it’s a secret but we’re past that point. Dwayne’s not wrestling anybody else unless it’s a three-second match. He did not feel that he had the time to get in the shape that he needed to be in to do a Wrestlemania-caliber main event.”

Next: Two Huge Matches Set For WrestleMania 39 During Monday’s Raw