Booking Stone Cold at WWE WrestleMania 39 Amid Rumors

There are few WWE Superstars in the history of the business who made the level of impact Stone Cold Steve Austin did during his run at the top.

With a whole new generation of wrestling fans getting to witness the spectacle of a Stone Cold performance at WrestleMania 38, the attention has turned to whether Austin would return to the biggest premium live event of the year.

Dave Meltzer said during a recent Wrestling Observer Radio that sources believe Stone Cold has turned down the chance to wrestle at the event, but claimed he wouldn't be surprised if the WWE legend were to make a surprise appearance.

"As far as Austin goes, Steve might be at the show," Meltzer said. "I mean, I wouldn't be surprised at all. He might do something on the show, but he did in fact turn down wrestling at the show."

"He was offered [Brock] Lesnar, he was offered Roman Reigns," Meltzer continued. "He could have named his opponent if he wanted to do it with anybody else, but he did not choose to wrestle on the show."

If Austin does perform in some form or fashion at WrestleMania 39, he should be involved in the top storyline in the company. While he may have refused to work a singles match against the Undisputed WWE Universal champion Roman Reigns, he should definitely further the Bloodline angle.

Stone Cold returned to the ring for the first time in nearly two decades last year against Kevin Owens. The segment was booked as Austin guest starring on an episode of the KO Show, but it eventually turned into an impromptu match.

With the two men having a newfound respect for each other after beating each other up, the ideal way to book the return of the WWE legend without shoehorning him into a match would be to have him come to the aid of the now-babyface Owens.

Owens is currently embroiled in a masterful storyline with Reigns, The Usos, Solo Sikoa, Paul Heyman and his former best friend, Sami Zayn. After the latter turned his back on the Bloodline and attached Reigns to close the Royal Rumble, the hope is the former friends reconcile and fight their way into contention for The Usos' tag team championships.

With Reigns and Cody Rhodes likely to main event Night 2 of WrestleMania 39, Night 1 could easily feature a top bout between The Usos and Owens and Zayn. Heyman and Reigns will be focused on Night 2, so the Tribal Chief should task Sikoa with being at ringside to ensure the brother tandem retains their gold.

Just as all hope is lost and the Bloodline has called on Sikoa to interfere and secure the victory, the infamous glass shatter sound effect should hit and Stone Cold should make his way to the ring, leaving the Anoaʻi family members stunned.

With a hat tip to Owens and a stunner for everyone in the Bloodline who made it out to ringside, Austin should help the challengers steal a victory and walk out of Los Angeles as the new tag team champions.

Stone Cold can get on the mic and claim Owens reached out when he knew Sikoa would be at ringside. With the crowd firmly in Zayn and Owen's corner, the three men cracking beers and hitting stunners on the Bloodline again to send the crowd home happy would be a WrestleMania-worthy moment.

The ultimate rub of creating the moment with Austin would cement both men as top stars and worthy of being built around as cornerstones for the Raw or SmackDown brands heading into the rest of 2023 and beyond.

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