WWE WrestleMania 38 Rumors on Austin vs. Owens, Lashley, Andre the Giant Battle Royal

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

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Austin vs. Owens Card Placement in Flux

Despite rumors and speculation otherwise, the KO Show segment involving WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin and Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38 reportedly may not go on last on Night 1.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), people within WWE have said the plan is for Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey for the SmackDown Women's Championship to be the main event of Night 1.

Meltzer added the match order is constantly changing, however, and will likely continue to do so until the day of the show on April 2.

There remains ambiguity with Austin and Owens' involvement since it is being billed as a segment despite previous reports that it was going to be a match.

Austin has not competed in a match since WrestleMania 19, which was 19 years ago. Stone Cold is 57 years old and would likely have some ring rust to knock off in the event of a match.

It seems possible that WWE could still turn Austin vs. Owens into an impromptu match, but at the very least, there figures to be a lengthy brawl punctuated by a Stone Cold Stunner and a beer bash.

Putting the segment in the main event slot makes sense given that Austin is one of the most popular WWE Superstars of all time and a Texas native, so he will undoubtedly receive a huge ovation from the live crowd at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

If Austin vs. Owens is not an official match, however, it would be understandable for WWE to want to put a match in the main event, and if that happens, Flair vs. Rousey is a strong candidate given the star power of both performers.

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Lashley Not Yet Cleared for WrestleMania

While Bobby Lashley is rumored to be competing at WrestleMania 38, his status reportedly isn't set in stone.

According to Meltzer (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News), WWE is planning to have Lashley face Omos at WrestleMania 38, but Lashley hasn't yet been medically cleared for the match.

Meltzer noted that Lashley injured his shoulder during his match against Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble. There was some belief that Lashley would require surgery, but that hasn't happened.

WWE protected Lashley at Elimination Chamber, as he dropped the WWE Championship without ever entering the match. Seth Rollins powerbombed Austin Theory through Lashley's pod, which led to WWE reporting that Lashley had suffered a storyline concussion.

Lashley has not appeared on WWE programming since then, but WWE also hasn't said anything about Lashley being ruled out for WrestleMania.

Meanwhile, Omos has been a dominant force on Raw, scoring several victories in recent weeks. He beat both Apollo Crews and Commander Azeez in a handicap match on Monday's Raw, and afterward he cut a promo about how no one could beat him on Raw or at WrestleMania.

Lashley would be a logical opponent given his own dominance in the form of two WWE title reigns over the past year, but it appears as though nothing is official regarding Lashley vs. Omos.

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Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal May Be Off WrestleMania

WWE reportedly may not be holding a Battle Royal on the WrestleMania card for the third consecutive year.

According to Meltzer (h/t Bhupen Dange of Ringside News), there has been "no talk" internally regarding the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal or the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal taking place at WrestleMania 38.

The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal was first contested at WrestleMania 30 and was last held on the WrestleMania card at WrestleMania 35. Meanwhile, the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal took place at WrestleMania 34 and 35.

Neither was held at WrestleMania 36 since it was held in front of no fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal took place on the final episode of SmackDown before WrestleMania, and the women's event was once again absent.

In an effort to get more women on the card, WWE held a gauntlet match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship No. 1 contendership on Night 1 with the winners facing the champions on Night 2.

There is another multi-team WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match scheduled this year with Carmella and Queen Zelina defending in a Fatal 4-Way against Sasha Banks and Naomi, Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan, and Natalya and Shayna Baszler.

Meltzer previously reported that there had been talk within WWE a few weeks ago of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal being on either the Raw or SmackDown before WrestleMania, but WWE has not said anything publicly about the match.