The Stone Cold Steve Austin rumours are heating up less than one year after his in-ring return at WrestleMania 38.
The last time we saw Austin wrestle was at WrestleMania 19 in 2003. After stepping away from the business for almost 20 years, he didn’t return until April, when Kevin Owens attacked him. His match against Owens would be his final sendoff before retiring from the ring.
In the past seven months, Austin has been training consistently. As a result, there is widespread speculation that he will return to the company.
WrestlingNews.co tweeted a response to WWE‘s report that it has offered Steve Austin another match at WrestleMania 39. The active wrestler will reportedly have to accept their offer of $1 million and wrestle on WWE‘s behalf in Saudi Arabia, where he’d receive approximately 110% of the company’s revenue
The recent WWE burial of Theory indicates that the promotion continues to struggle to create new stars, even when part-timers have headlined WrestleMania for eleven years straight. With Steve Austin’s return rumors suggesting he’ll have no problem main eventing his fifth WrestleMania, whoever is fortunate enough as to be booked against him should expect a battle royale.
Steve Austin vs. The Rock
With the trajectory of Roman Reigns seen as an obstacle to the WWE brand, there are likely some creative ways that WWE is trying to get around it.
But it’s never set in stone in WWE. Plans can change, so two nights of WrestleMania are just another variable that makes keeping up with the predictions difficult – they might be made with different opponents and contenders. As one of the last full-time performers, Steve Austin faced The Rock at WrestleMania XIX, and a rivalry that has been going on for fifteen years is certainly legendary. When The Rock was hosting WrestleMania 27 in 2011 and Austin’s name was mentioned as a possible opponent for him, there was much more hype for that match than what will happen on the card this year when there’s Reigns vs. The Rock at WrestleMania 34.
Steve Austin vs. Logan Paul
Although it would be a great idea for Austin to have a strong opponent at WrestleMania, especially one so similar to himself, there may be no opponent more perfect for him than Logan Paul. As an influencer and celebrity wrestler, Paul is the antithesis of Stone Cold Steve Austin.
WWE doesn’t have a Rock-type star for Paul to feud with; not only would that man be able to carry Austin, he would also be a perfect creative foil to the Texas Rattlesnake.
When Austin was feuding with Logan, he would be able to finally put his character into the world of wrestling and stay in line with his heel-character roots. Plus, Steve Austin is a legend so this match will actually be on-brand.
Steve Austin vs. CM Punk
It’s hard to predict what WWE has in store for CM Punk. They’ve been quiet about their future plans, and it’s hard to guess whether or not they’ll want to continue working with him.
Punk’s already shattered relationship with WWE, and the relationship he shattered with AEW, could instantly create a “fool me once” scenario. But if Punk did return, he could finally have his long-awaited WrestleMania main event against Steve Austin. It all depends on whether or not the ticking pipe bomb that is Phil Brooks goes off before then.
2015 was a big year for WWE as Steve Austin and CM Punk did an interview to promote WWE 13. “Video game, or in a real 20 x 20 ring supplied by WWE; five, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40 minutes.” It doesn’t matter to me,” said Punk.
After a championship match, your belt would belong to Stone Cold Steve Austin. That’s the bottom line, because he said so.
Steve Austin vs. Theory
On the same night Vince McMahon valiantly took the Stone Cold Stunner, Austin Theory followed suit and caught one of the best stunners ever. Theory could be a potential opponent for Austin because of their mentor/rival role, and it makes sense that he would offer Test an opportunity to mutually put himself out there with his reality star mentor.
Unfortunately, this would result in a guaranteed loss for Theory. It’s an idea that WWE would likely never consider, as they’ve dumped in young, up-and-coming stars into this role before with little to no storyline sense. Theory makes the most sense as Austin’s opponent, but it is also the least likely outcome.
Steve Austin vs. John Cena
A matchup between these two living legends almost makes too much sense. Steve Austin and John Cena both played major roles for their generations, and were an integral part of the success that came to each of them.
The combination of Cena and Austin would offer a controversial WrestleMania match that both legends could pull off. This would not only provide the stars with exposure but would also allow them to set up the rematch in a marquee venue like WrestleMania. (In addition to the reappearance rumors of Austin, Cena is expected to appear at this year’s WrestleMania event.)
WWE insider WrestleVotes suggested that John Cena should be there and wrestling, but also stated, “Cena should be there and making this a major pay-per-view event.”
Cena’s last televised match was against Roman Reigns at SummerSlam. He had a dark match a few weeks later in Madison Square Garden.
