The celebration of 3:16 Day yesterday meant that the legend that is Stone Cold Steve Austin returned to our television screens on Monday Night Raw.But it was in circumstances that no-one expected to see this time last week.Due to the coronavirus pandemic, SmackDown was moved from Detroit last Friday night to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.That show took place behind closed doors, with only 'essential personnel' in attendance, and there were a couple of matches thrown in with promos from the likes of Roman Reigns - and WWE filled time by replaying a match from Elimination Chamber.The very same thing occurred on Raw, and with three hours to fill WWE decided to air the WHOLE men's Royal Rumble match from January - but the final segment came about and Stone Cold was ready to roll.
With no crowd to play to, Austin still climbed all four turnbuckles to give his salute and gave himself a beer bath in the middle of the ring, and declared that 3:16 Day would be a national holiday from now on.We got a hilarious segment with Raw commentator Byron Saxton rating Austin's rules for 3:16 Day from his booth, and he was then invited down to the ring by the Texas Rattlesnake for a beer.And the inevitable happened - Saxton was hit with the Stone Cold Stunner after sinking a Steveweiser, and he sold it brilliantly!
That wasn't the end of it though, as 'The Man' Becky Lynch joined Austin in the ring to drink a few Broken Skull ales herself, which is very fitting considering her character arc of the last 18 months.
What WWE fans didn't see after Raw went off-air though was that the Street Profits - Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford - joined Austin and Lynch in the ring.
And they both suffered the same fate as poor Byron - Stunners all-round for the Raw Tag Team Champions!
There's only two people you'd guarantee entertainment from even when there's no crowd in attendance - one of them is The Rock and the other man proved his worth to the business last night, and that was Stone Cold Steve Austin.
The whole show itself may have been a strange experience, but if Raw and SmackDown are to continue inside empty venues, then segments like this are very much needed.