Will Stone Cold Steve Austin open another can of WWE whoop-ass at WrestleMania 38? If there's one thing fans can expect at WWE's yearly WrestleMania pay-per-view (other than elaborate entrances and suspect booking), it's an influx of returning legends from past eras. Though WWE's core fanbase may bemoan the company's nostalgia addiction as they watch yet another aging star hobble around the ring narrowly avoiding injury, the strategy is shrewd marketing. WrestleMania is WWE's Super Bowl - the event everyone watches while pretending they've been keeping up the entire year - and stars from WWE's acclaimed Attitude Era appeal to that casual viewership.
Stars from WWE's acclaimed Attitude Era don't come much bigger than Stone Cold Steve Austin. Joining WWE (then WWF) in 1995, Stone Cold didn't take long to switch from his campy Ringmaster gimmick to the hard-nosed, beer-guzzling, vest-wearing "Stone Cold" persona. Fans were immediately drawn to the new Steve Austin, and the Texas Rattlesnake racked up a total of 6 world championship titles - a number that would've undoubtedly rose higher were it not for a career-ending neck injury that forced Stone Cold to retire in 2003. The WWE Attitude-era legend has remained a sporadic onscreen presence ever since - even delivering a select few Stone Cold Stunners - but has never competed in a proper match.
That could all change if WrestleMania 38 rumors are to be believed. According to multiple sources, WWE wants Stone Cold back in the ring at 2022's Showcase of the Immortals. According to the original Fightful report, if Vince McMahon can't have Stone Cold putting in a shift between the ropes, he'll settle for Steve turning up in a less formal capacity, but making Stone Cold's in-ring comeback more likely is WrestleMania 38 taking place in the wrestler's home state of Texas.
The opponent fans might immediately anticipate Stone Cold could face at WrestleMania 38 is Kevin Owens. Recently on a hot-streak alongside Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens cut a promo on February 14th's edition of Monday Night RAW, referring to the folks of Texas as "a bunch of Redneck morons." WWE is also building a "will-he-or-won't-he" storyline around Owens getting a match at WrestleMania 38. The stage is perfectly set for Stone Cold Steve Austin to swoop in and give Kev a surprise opponent, then, as (arguably) WWE's biggest-ever babyface, defend the honor of his home state. Kevin Owens' character and move-set both draw heavily from Stone Cold's well of influence, and the Prizefighter even adopted the Stunner as his finisher in recent years, further proving him the obvious opponent for Steve Austin in 2022.
The big question mark, of course, is Stone Cold's physical health. The injuries that forced Steve Austin to retire in 2003 were serious, deriving from a botched Owen Hart Piledriver at Summerslam 1997, which resulted in WWE banning the technique altogether. To this day, you'll rarely see a Piledriver on WWE television. While we've seen the likes of Bryan Danielson (now AEW) and Edge make miraculous comebacks from injury, both were able to return still in their prime wrestling years. Stone Cold Steve Austin, on the other hand, is now 57-years-old. Kevin Owens is perfect as a safe-pair-of-hands opponent, and Stone Cold's return would be huge for both WWE and its fans (not to mention Steve himself, most likely). Should his health check out, everybody wins. If Austin's lingering injury problems risk being exaggerated by working a full match, however, most WWE fans would be content with the Texas Rattlesnake giving his home state a glass-shattering entrance and a single Stunner for old time's sake.
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