On November 14th it was reported that WWE not only had an interest in Stone Cold Steve Austin wrestling again, but they had offered him a deal to do. It had earlier been noted that the man himself was incredibly happy with how his comeback against Kevin Owens went at WrestleMania 38, especially as it was his first match in 19 years.
There has been comment from Austin on these reports, although he has posted a series of workout videos on social media, looking in tremendous shape.
A Return For Steve Austin Is Being Discussed
Official news remains thin on the ground, but this was also the case when Austin agreed to return for the match against Owens in Dallas, Texas. That being said, writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer noted that a match has been discussed, with any ideas kept secret. Meltzer adds that there are two schools of thought regarding a potential match, one would see Austin work with a younger star, while the other would be a ‘dream match’ scenario with John Cena, Brock Lesnar or CM Punk.
“There has been a lot of talk in recent weeks that Steve Austin would be willing to do another match at WrestleMania this year. All we know for sure is that there is smoke to the fire and something is in the discussion phase. The ideas being discussed internally that are being kept secret.
One of the obvious ideas would be the idea of using one of the younger guys to work with Austin, like Owens last year, to carry the match with the idea the person would be elevated by being in with Austin, something like a Corbin or Theory type heel. It’s an easy brawl, Austin goes over, but it’ll also be weaker than last year since they’ve already done something like it last year. The other and better idea for this year is the dream match scenario. The three obvious options here are Cena, Lesnar and Punk.”
Meltzer reiterates that while a match with CM Punk might be the biggest and most intriguing option on the table, the star’s issues with AEW make this very difficult at present. Austin and Punk famously teased a clash over ten years ago, but the WWE Hall of Famer wasn’t looking to wrestle again at that point. The report states that a match featuring Austin on one night and the long rumoured Roman Reigns vs. Dwayne Johnson clash would make WrestleMania 39 the most watched of all-time.