The Rock Blasts Cody Rhodes; Stone Cold Praises CM Punk; WWE Rumors on Drew McIntyre

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

---

The Rock Warns Cody Rhodes

Ahead of his scheduled appearance on Friday's episode of SmackDown, The Rock seemed to fire a warning shot of sorts in the direction of Cody Rhodes on Tuesday night.

In an Instagram post, The Great One shared a video of himself and undisputed WWE universal champion Roman Reigns walking backstage after the WrestleMania Kickoff press conference in Las Vegas and included the following caption:

"Hear the rumble, hear the rumble. Run for dem life, when we step into the jungle. You f--ked around and found out quick, didn't you boy? You, your little friends and all your crybabies have no idea what's coming. The world's on notice. People's Champ + Tribal Chief."

Two weeks ago, The Rock made a surprise appearance on SmackDown and seemingly stepped up to Reigns after Rhodes announced he would not be facing The Tribal Chief at WrestleMania 40 despite winning the men's Royal Rumble match for a second consecutive year.

At the WrestleMania Kickoff media event the following week, Reigns chose The Rock as his opponent at The Show of Shows, but Rhodes stormed out and changed his mind by picking Reigns as his 'Mania opponent.

Reigns took some shots at Rhodes' family, and The American Nightmare struck back, which prompted The Rock to slap Rhodes across the face.

A furious Rock confronted WWE head of creative Triple H backstage, telling him to "fix" the situation.

On last week's SmackDown, The Game was defiant and made it clear that Reigns vs. Rhodes would be the match at WrestleMania 40 despite The Rock's apparent desire to be The Tribal Chief's opponent instead.

Despite the initial Rock vs. Reigns tease, the cousins now appear to be on the same page and working together, meaning there could be some major fireworks this week on SmackDown, especially if Rhodes is involved.

---

Stone Cold Open to Potential Match vs. Punk

Two years after making his in-ring return, WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin isn't ruling out another match, and he seems intrigued by at least one potential opponent.

Speaking to ESPN's Marc Raimondi, he was asked about CM Punk, and he both spoke positively about him and left the door open for a possible match in the future: "I like Punk, and I think Punk likes me—so, as long as he can take a [Stone Cold] Stunner. I consider him a great friend, a great guy, and a great wrestler who's had a great career. We'll see."

Austin retired after losing to The Rock at WrestleMania 19 in 2003 due to injuries, and he remained retired for nearly 20 years before making his in-ring return at WrestleMania 38.

At that event in Arlington, Texas, The Texas Rattlesnake faced Kevin Owens in the main event of Night 1 in a No Holds Barred match. Austin did more than anyone could have expected in the match, and he came away victorious.

While the 59-year-old doesn't seem to necessarily be pushing for another match, he didn't shoot down the idea of wrestling again when asked about it by Raimondi, saying:

"I said I'd never get in a ring again unless all the stars aligned. And for some reason, somehow, they all did. And at the age of 57, I headlined the first night of WrestleMania. I never thought I'd do that. If you'd have told me that when I retired in [2003], I'd have said, 'You're crazy.' So I'm not gonna sit here and say no to anything, because you never say never in this crazy business of sports entertainment."

Austin vs. Punk has long been viewed as a dream match, and it was an encounter that was teased a time or two during The Best in the World's first stint with WWE.

It never happened, but now that Punk is back with the company, the match is again a possibility, provided WWE can convince Austin to lace up his boots one more time.

Punk is currently out of action with a torn triceps, but Punk vs. Austin is a WrestleMania match through and through, so perhaps there is at least some chance of them clashing next year at WrestleMania 41.

---

McIntyre Reportedly May Have Re-Signed with WWE

Recently released promotional material suggests WWE may have come to terms on a new contract with Drew McIntyre, or at least gotten him to agree to a short-term extension.

According to PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson, the Scot is being advertised for a WWE event in Italy in May despite the fact that his deal had been believed to be expiring shortly after WrestleMania 40 in April.

McIntyre's contract has been reported on regularly over the past year, and there has yet to be a definitive report that he has re-signed despite the fact that his deal is due to expire soon.

Advertising The Scottish Warrior beyond April means he could have quietly signed a new deal with WWE and is set to remain with the company for the long haul, but it is also possible he signed a short extension about one month or so in length, which isn't an uncommon occurrence in pro wrestling if both sides want to finish a storyline.

Over the past several weeks, McIntyre has been a hugely important figure on WWE programming, oftentimes interacting with top Raw stars such as Rhodes, Punk and world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins.

The 38-year-old has been portrayed as the top heel on the red brand, even attacking Punk after he announced his triceps injury.

Punk vowed to come after McIntyre once he returns, and it seems unlikely WWE would have had him say that if the Scot wasn't going to be with the company next summer.

McIntyre is also favored to win the men's Elimination Chamber match on Feb. 24 and challenge Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 40, and it's difficult to envision WWE putting him in such a big spot if a new contract isn't in place.

---

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below.