Conor McGregor Teases WWE Spot; JR on Stone Cold's Return; WWE Rumors on Pat McAfee

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

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McGregor Teases WrestleMania Appearance

UFC megastar Conor McGregor spoke with MMA reporter Ariel Helwani on Thursday and dropped a potential WWE-related tease in the process.

Helwani tweeted a photo of himself and McGregor with McGregor holding the Money in the Bank briefcase:

The tweet included the caption, "Next stop … 'Mania?" leading to speculation that McGregor could have some involvement with the upcoming WrestleMania 39 event at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on April 1 and 2.

WWE even added some fuel to the proverbial fire by tweeting the eyes emoji in response:

The 34-year-old McGregor is among the biggest draws and greatest fighters in UFC history, owning a 22-6 professional record with 19 wins by way of knockout. He is also a former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion.

McGregor's success has waned in recent years, as he has lost three of his past four fights, and he hasn't fought since UFC 264 in July 2021 when he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier.

While the Irishman has been attempting to work his way back into the fold at UFC, it is unclear how much longer he intends to fight.

Several former MMA stars have made a successful transition to WWE in the past, including Ken Shamrock and Ronda Rousey, and McGregor may have the personality to exceed both of them.

WWE has long loved celebrity involvement, especially at WrestleMania, so there is little doubt the company would welcome McGregor with open arms if he wants a role on the Grandest Stage of Them All.

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JR Talks Stone Cold Potentially Appearing at WrestleMania

AEW commentator and WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross commented this week on the possibility of fellow Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin having some involvement with WrestleMania 39.

Speaking on his Grilling JR podcast (h/t WrestlingInc's Ross Berman), Ross said the following about why he believes Austin hasn't officially been made part of the WrestleMania card to this point: "It just tells me they haven't come up with the right idea that makes him happy."

JR added that he believes Austin would be at WrestleMania "if offered a spot on the card," but he speculated WWE "didn't come up with an idea that he was high enough on."

If WWE and The Texas Rattlesnake do come to terms on some sort of agreement, Ross expects it to be a segment of some kind rather than a match.

Austin had been retired from in-ring action for 19 years before making his return last year at WrestleMania 38. Austin had been advertised for an appearance on The KO Show with Kevin Owens, but it turned into a No Holds Barred match instead, with Austin winning.

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestlingInc's Eric Mutter) reported the 58-year-old Austin had been offered a WrestleMania match against Brock Lesnar but turned it down. He also reportedly turned down a match against Roman Reigns, although it is unclear if that would have happened at WrestleMania.

More recently, Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp (h/t H Jenkins of ThirstyForNews.com) reported that WWE had made additional WrestleMania pitches to Austin, including a match or segment with LA Knight.

If Austin is open to doing something a bit less extensive than the lengthy match he had last year, a segment with an entertaining heel like Knight ending in a Stone Cold Stunner could satisfy all parties involved.

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McAfee Reportedly Not Returning to WWE Commentary Soon

Former NFL punter and current multimedia star Pat McAfee became a beloved figure during his year as a color commentator on SmackDown alongside Michael Cole, but he may not make his return to the announce table in the near future.

According to Meltzer (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), Wade Barrett's role as SmackDown color analyst is now "permanent" and WWE has no plans for McAfee to return "as of right now."

McAfee stepped away from his SmackDown duties in September 2022 to take a role on ESPN's College Gameday with the expectation that he would return to WWE once the college football season was over.

While McAfee did make a surprise appearance at Royal Rumble in January as a commentator alongside Cole and Corey Graves, he has not been back on SmackDown.

That has led to some speculation that McAfee may be done with WWE completely, but the host of the Pat McAfee Show tweeted Thursday that he still has "massive" plans in the world of WWE:

Whether that means an eventual return to commentary or in-ring action isn't yet known by anyone other than McAfee and those within WWE.

McAfee has wrestled a handful of matches in WWE, and he has impressed with his athleticism each time. That included a win over Austin Theory last year at WrestleMania 38.

It is likely a bit late in the game for him to have a match at WrestleMania 39 unless WWE does something impromptu.

Even if he doesn't wrestle, WWE would unquestionably love to have him and his star power at WrestleMania in some capacity.

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