As reported earlier, WWE has reportedly made a significant overture towards WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin for a match at WrestleMania 38. There’s no word on if Austin is interested in wrestling his first match in almost 20 years, but WWE is hoping he will come out of retirement for The Grandest Stage of Them All in his home state. The report also noted how word from within WWE is that at the very least, most expect Austin will have some sort of physical role at WrestleMania, but some do believe he will wrestle a match. It was reported a few months back that WWE wanted Austin to appear for some sort of role at WrestleMania in Texas, but now they want him to come out of retirement.
In an update, PWInsider reports that WWE first reached out to Austin in late December or early January to gauge his interest in doing something at WrestleMania 38. WWE reportedly pitched the idea of having Austin return to the ring for one night only and compete in his home state of Texas as a one-time send-off in front of a massive crowd. There was also the idea that Austin’s involvement would help boost WrestleMania ticket sales.
It was noted that in the weeks that have followed WWE reaching out, there has been zero confirmation within WWE that Austin has agreed to physically wrestle on The Grandest Stage of Them All. We noted before that WWE has discussed Austin having some sort of role at WrestleMania 38 going back several months, and PWInsider confirms that WWE has always planned and intended for Stone Cold to be a part of the show in some fashion, even if he doesn’t wrestle.
The talk of Austin possibly doing something physical at WrestleMania started making the rounds among some sources in early January, according to PWInsider, but it was described by one source as a “Hail Mary idea,” and it wasn’t clear if anything would pan out beyond the idea being tossed to Austin. The same source, in early January, hoped that an Austin return storyline would kick off at the Royal Rumble in late January, but that obviously did not happen.
It was also noted that as of today, Austin still has not committed to wrestling.
The current Kevin Owens vs. Texas storyline has led to more speculation and rumors on Austin possibly doing something with Owens at WrestleMania 38, especially given how Owens uses the Stone Cold Stunner as a finisher these days. That storyline pushed forward on tonight’s RAW, as seen in the video below, but there’s no word on where they are headed with it.