WWE Hot Take: There's Only 1 Right Answer For Stone Cold's WrestleMania 41 Opponent

The discussion surrounding "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's opponent at WrestleMania 41 will start with many names, yet should quickly be whittled down to one:

CM Punk.

Given that next year's two-night event, beginning on April 19, takes place in Nevada, this is already an old, tired discussion. Yet it received new life recently because of Austin's particular comments to finish off an interview with Christopher Kamrani of The Athletic.

"I said I won't leave Nevada," Austin told Kamrani. "It's hard to get me out of this state. But…Wrestlemania next year is in Vegas. That's in Nevada."

So there it is. Even former wrestlers are always selling and/or promoting the business, but this one seems pretty obvious.

Which loops everything back to the conversation about opponents for Austin. And in an era of dream matches coming true and careful consideration for long-term storytelling and character work, it really doesn't get any bigger than Punk.

Punk vs. Austin is, after all, one of those ultimate dream matches that fans rightfully thought would never happen, given the former's departure from pro wrestling and the latter's injury history that forced him out of it.

The upcoming 'Mania, quite literally, might be the very last chance to ever see the dream match and avoid filing it away in the never-happened cabinet with the likes of Sting vs. Undertaker.

That right there should end the debate about the plan. Never mind, for what it's worth, just how excellent past hints and teases of a possible feud and match have been:

But the logic includes an important ripple effect on the rest of the WWE roster, too.

Take Punk's outlook, for instance. He's got the best ongoing feud in pro wrestling right now with Drew McIntyre, which will finally see its first match at SummerSlam. Then, he's got a probable feud with Seth Rollins at some point, which could also extend for multiple PLE events such as the Royal Rumble.

Should those two feuds run long enough, Punk naturally moving on to a part-timer like Austin for 'Mania season would make a ton of sense. It would keep him free of the main-event scene and top titles, which gives other Superstars room to breathe. And frankly, whether we like to admit it or not, Punk's injury history over the last few years means this might be a smart move for WWE, at least for the time being.

That way, McIntyre, Rollins, Damian Priest and anyone WWE wants to build up for the next 'Mania (someone like Bronn Breakker comes to mind) will be free to sit in a top title slot for the belt that isn't involved with Cody Rhodes and the Bloodline saga.

It's a little uncanny how naturally it all fits, really. Add to that the fact that Mania is a two-night event now, so Austin and Punk could technically main event the show on Night 1 and still not take away from the mainline, long-running storylines elsewhere.

Of course, one could argue against Punk and in favor of others. Most perhaps wouldn't have predicted Austin going against Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38, but that worked out pretty well, to say the least.

Other ideas might include a match with an upstart such as Breakker so that he can pass the proverbial torch. Or one could swing all the way in the other direction and suggest a retirement match against John Cena, which is already slated for the event. Examples abound, really, including Randy Orton, Rollins or a random safe ring worker like AJ Styles.

But this isn't just about fantasy booking a dream match and handwaving the rest. The components of it are what really make it so alluring. We know the two would put on all-timer promo exchanges. We know, given the psychology and otherwise of the two in the ring, that even at their respective ages, the match would do justice to the hype. We know that the two are incredibly appealing for being so similar.

And we know that while it could be a final sendoff for Austin, it would certainly be a fitting one. Punk seems here to stay again, so a legendary matchup like this wouldn't prevent those other dream scenarios in the ensuing years.

Overall, the last few years have been wild for pro wrestling and others—so why not cap it off with the exclamation point that would be finally getting Austin vs. Punk?