Stone Cold Talks WrestleMania 40; Gervonta Davis Open to WWE; Latest Draft Rumors

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

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Stone Cold Doesn't Rule Out WrestleMania 40 Match

After making his in-ring return at WrestleMania 38 nearly two decades after his retirement match, WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin did not appear at WrestleMania 39 earlier this month.

WrestleMania 40 will be held in Philadelphia next year, and The Texas Rattlesnake is open to the idea of having another match at that event.

In an interview with pro wrestling reporter Chris Van Vliet (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), Austin suggested another match is not out of the question.

"A year away in this business goes like that," Austin said. … "So in the future, I'm not lobbying for it, but could anything happen? Yes. Because I always say never say never."

There were plenty of rumors and speculation about Austin having a match at WrestleMania 39 against opponents ranging from Brock Lesnar to Roman Reigns, but it didn't come to fruition.

In an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), Austin explained he simply didn't have the type of time he needed to get into proper shape due to his commitment to the filming of a television show called Stone Cold Takes on America.

Even without Austin, WrestleMania 39 was a huge success, as fans packed into SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, over the course of two nights.

Reigns defeated Cody Rhodes in the main event of Night 2, plus other matches such as Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens vs. The Usos, Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley, Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul and Gunther vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre received rave reviews.

WrestleMania 40 will be a landmark show for WWE, and if the company can find a way to convince Austin to be part of it, the event could be even bigger than originally thought.

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Gervonta Davis Open to Wrestling in WWE or AEW

Gervonta Davis is an undefeated boxer and one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, but he isn't against potentially transitioning into the world of pro wrestling in the future.

Speaking to Bally Sports (h/t Upton), Davis said he would be "down" to wrestle for WWE or AEW at some point.

As part of the interview, Davis divulged that he was a wrestling fan growing up, naming WWE Hall of Famers Shawn Michaels and Rey Mysterio as his favorite performers.

Nicknamed "Tank," the 28-year-old Davis is a perfect 29-0 with 27 wins by way of knockout during his boxing career. He has also held world titles in the lightweight, super lightweight and super featherweight divisions.

Most recently, Davis faced Ryan Garcia in a battle of unbeatens last weekend and prevailed by seventh-round knockout thanks to a brutal body blow that rendered Garcia unable to continue.

Amateur wrestling and MMA are more common breeding grounds for future pro wrestlers, but some boxers have shown an ability to shine in the world of professional wrestling in the past.

Mike Tyson never had a match, but he was a huge part of the rivalry between "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Michaels leading up to WrestleMania 14, and served as the enforcer for their main event match.

Undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. also had a foray into WWE, beating Big Show in a match at WrestleMania 24.

Even more recently, heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury beat Braun Strowman in a match for WWE in Saudi Arabia a few years ago.

Once Davis accomplishes all of his goals in boxing, he may have the tools needed to follow in their footsteps in WWE or perhaps even AEW.

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Multiple NXT Stars Reportedly Considered for WWE Draft

WWE reportedly has plans in place to call some NXT Superstars up to Raw and SmackDown as part of the WWE draft on Friday and Monday night.

This week, WWE released the list of draft-eligible Superstars for both SmackDown and Raw, and included on the list were "select NXT Superstars."

WWE is keeping the identity of the NXT stars involved in the draft a mystery in an apparent attempt to create some fun surprise moments.

Fightful Select (h/t Upton) is reporting that Ilja Dragunov and the tag team Pretty Deadly have been pitched as call-ups. Fightful also referenced another report that named Tyler Bate as someone who could be part of the draft.

All of the aforementioned Superstars got their WWE start in the now-defunct NXT UK before making the move to the traditional version of NXT.

Dragunov and Bate both held the NXT UK Championship, while Pretty Deadly held the NXT UK Tag Team Championships.

Pretty Deadly also established themselves as one of the top teams in NXT, winning the NXT tag team titles twice.

On this week's episode of NXT, Pretty Deadly was dumped into a body of water by Tony D'Angelo and Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo after losing a match, which seemed like WWE's way of writing them off NXT.

In addition to Pretty Deadly, Dragunov and Bate, the likes of Bron Breakker, Grayson Waller, Cameron Grimes, Zoey Stark, Katana Chance and Kayden Carter feel like strong call-up options as well.

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