Stone Cold Steve Austin is one of the greatest WWE icons of all time.

A staple of the Attitude Era, The Texas Rattlesnake retired from professional wrestling in 2003, when he was beaten by The Rock in his final match at WrestleMania 19. 

Unlike many WWE legends, Stone Cold has actually stayed retired. He's never been tempted to return for 'one more match' as so many of his fellow stars do. 

But that doesn't mean Vince McMahon hasn't tried to convince him to come back in the past. 

Speaking to Chris Jericho on the latest episode of his Broken Skull Sessions Podcast, Austin explained why he'd always turn the boss down. 

"I think Vince tried talking me into coming back a couple of times. But you know Chris, I love the business so much - I can’t say I love it more than anybody else, I can only speak for myself," he said.

"But I just love the damn business, and it hurt me so much to leave it. And to me, going back for one match, being like man, why? What am I proving? What are they going to remember? 

"It ain’t about the money. It took me a long time, damn near three years to get over the fact that I left the business."

Austin then suggested that he would have had to put in serious work - a three or four-month camp - just to get into shape for one final WrestleMania match. 

"If you’re really going to make a comeback, let’s say it was gonna be a high-profile match at WrestleMania. 

"'Taker, when I talked to him, he trained all year or recovered from having surgery, and then trained for a three or four-month camp to get ready for one match.

"So, I would really have to undergo a three or four-month camp. I’m one of those guys where I don’t have an addictive personality, but I’m addicted to the wrestling business.

"All of a sudden, if I’m gonna put in all that hard work and get back to being around the ring, being around the business, that is one of my number one passions in my life – to get hooked on it again just for one match and to me, it would have been so anti-climactic."

Stone Cold concluded that a WWE return just wouldn't have been worth it when he thought about 'the big picture'. 

"Go out there and do it, and then whatever the finish was. And then the people go home, but what does it all mean in the big picture?

"Stone Cold had a comeback, and the match was a three and a half on Meltzer’s five-star rating. 'It ain’t great enough,' and even if I crushed it, what would it mean? 

"If I couldn’t be 110 percent Stone Cold Steve Austin, it just wasn’t worth doing. I just said, ‘Man, stay away.’ And I’ve stayed away."

You've got to admire Austin for staying retired, despite McMahon's offer to return.