WWE Rumors on Stone Cold, SmackDown Changes; Gable Steveson Spoils WrestleMania Spot?

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.

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Texas Rattlesnake in 'Fantastic Shape' Ahead of Potential Return

For weeks, WWE has been telegraphing the potential in-ring return of Stone Cold Steve Austin.

While it won't be a full match, WWE has announced that Austin will "confront" Kevin Owens on The KO Show on the first night of WrestleMania 38. 

The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer (via Sai Mohan of Wrestling Inc) reported the WWE Hall of Famer is in "fantastic shape." To that end, Meltzer said fans should expect an entertaining "brawl all over the place" that goes beyond Austin simply delivering his patented Stone Cold Stunner to Owens.

Austin hasn't had a singles match since his loss to The Rock at WrestleMania XIX in March 2003. Fans have long held out hope the 57-year-old would get to a place physically where he might be able to enjoy one last run.

His appearance on The KO Show should be enough to satisfy the WWE Universe.

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Alterations Made to SmackDown Shortly Before Show

According to Fightful Select (via Wrestling Inc's Robert Gunier), Madcap Moss was originally supposed to be in the six-man tag match on SmackDown where Drew McIntyre, Erik and Ivar defeat Happy Corbin, Jinder Mahal and Shanky.

However, Moss was replaced with Shanky on the day of the show.

There was also a change regarding the extent of Ridge Holland's involvement.

Big E suffered a broken neck on March 12 when he inadvertently landed on his head from a belly-to-belly suplex by Holland. Fightful Select reported an earlier plan for SmackDown would've seen Holland reference the injury in a promo. Instead, he only had a match with Kofi Kingston, which saw him pick up the victory.

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Steveson Potentially Spoils WrestleMania Arrival

Gable Steveson has already signed with WWE and been drafted to Raw. The company clearly has big plans for the 21-year-old freestyle wrestling star. When Steveson makes his full WWE debut nevertheless remains up in the air. 

In a since-deleted tweet, he indicated he'll be attending WrestleMania 38:

That could mean a few different things. Steveson may only be at the show to watch as a fan or from a position backstage. He had a front-row seat for WWE Day 1 in January. 

Or, more importantly, WWE might be looking to have him square off with a Superstar in the ring to tease a major match down the road.

Steveson's tweet didn't represent much of a spoiler, though, since the end of his collegiate career over the weekend accelerated his inevitable transition to pro wrestling.

The Minnesota star collected his second national championship and left his shoes on the mat following the match.

There's no question now as to what's ahead in his future.