WWE: STEVE AUSTIN ANNOUNCES HE IS DONE AS A WRESTLER; HEALTH CONCERNS LED TO WALKOUT LAST YEAR

Credit goes to 1wrestling.com

In an interview on www.WWE.com discussing his new on air role as Co-General Manager on Raw with Eric Bischoff, Steve Austin disclosed he is done as an in-ring performer.

"In this business, I've learned never say never....But I would say probably 99.9 percent out of 100 that you'll never see Rock and Stone Cold in the ring again....."I'm not wrestling anymore. That was my last match."

Austin cited his long-time neck problems as the reason for the retirement. He noted he had several MRIs prior to Wrestlemania, but didn't discuss them because "I'm Stone Cold Steve Austin." Those problems were actually the primary reason he walked out of WWE last year.

"I've got some serious problems in my neck. It's too long and too complicated to discuss. But a lot of the reasons I walked out of this company seven or eight months ago were things I didn't want to talk about at the time because we had WrestleMania coming up. The biggest reason I walked away was because my health is going downhill so badly, and I can't compete at an acceptable level to me, and at a risk factor that's high enough to me. Everything I do in that ring is very dangerous and makes me go even further downhill. It's potentially something where I could end up being a quadriplegic. That was the biggest reason I walked out. The creative and the political issues were just icing on the cake -- the straw that broke the camel's back."

Austin said that while he will not rule out the possibility of a match down the line, as of right now, the condition of his neck isn't going to allow that and he doesn't want to work below the level of what is expected of him.

"I refuse to go out there anymore, perform at a substandard level and have people judge me on what I'm putting out right now. I had a hell of a run. I'm completely satisfied with it." Austin told the WWE website.

Austin also discusses his new role and his thoughts on the final match with The Rock at Wrestlemania XIX in Seattle, calling it an "emotional" match.

I read that article on the WWE website. It surpised me very much to read that. I thought that he was back to being a wrestler and I didnt know that he had these problems. I think that the WWE made a good decision by letting Stone Cold stay with the WWE and by letting him have a role in the WWE other than being a wrestler. It is going to be pretty fun to see him and Bischoff work together in the weeks to come.

That is a shame as he has been a great wrestler over the years...At least he admitted he was not up to the job anymore,I'm not that surprised his body has taken a battering over the years..

At least he still has a job in the wwe

Dont feel bad for Austin. I mean the guy is rich!!