Stone Cold Steve Austin: Big WrestleMania Angle Would Excuse Absence at RAW 1000

There is no doubt that RAW 1,000 was one of the greatest spectacles in WWE in quite some time. It featured tons of stars from the past such as The Rock, Shawn Michaels, Brock Lesnar, Bret Hart, The Undertaker and many more, but conspicuous by his absence was "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

Austin was the driving force for the WWE during the Attitude Era as his feud with Vince McMahon almost singlehandedly led to the WWE overtaking the surging WCW and ultimately putting it out of business. Austin is the most important figure RAW has ever seen, but for some reason, he wasn't even present for its most important episode.

Many fans are disappointed about Austin not being there, but he reportedly had a prior commitment as he was filming Grown Ups 2, according to Richard Gray of Wrestling News World. With that said, all will be forgotten if the WWE goes through with a potentially huge angle that could take place at WrestleMania XXIX.

Ever since Austin and CM Punk first had a confrontation over a year ago, the WWE Universe has clamored for a potential feud and WrestleMania match between the two of them. The rivalry would be a natural one, as they are both guys who are willing to speak their minds. But they are also opposites, since Austin is a swashbuckling beer drinker, while Punk is billed as the straight-edge savior.

For a while it looked like it was only a matter of time before something happened between them, but there hasn't been any progress on that front. The first sign that a re-ignition of their feud could take place happened on RAW, however, as Punk allowed Big Show to beat down John Cena and then attacked The Rock when he made the save.

It would seem as though Punk is once again a full-fledged heel, as Jerry "The King" Lawler suggested. He turned his back on the fans when the show ended. Punk and Austin could have had a great program if both of them were face, but there is absolutely no question that heel Punk vs. face Austin would be exponentially better.

Austin has continually said that he has it in him to have another match and has pointed to Punk as the guy he would like to face. At the same time, there has been speculation that Austin believes Punk must be heel to make it work. If that is the case, then what happened at RAW 1,000 may be the first step toward a monster match between the two stars.

There is no telling what will happen between now and next year, but with The Rock announcing he will face the WWE Champion at Royal Rumble, I have to believe that Punk will still be champion by the time that event rolls around. My hope is that Punk continually cuts promos on guys like Rock, Lesnar and other returning stars and says that he won't be overshadowed by has-beens.

This could lead to Austin interfering on The Rock's behalf at Royal Rumble and helping The Rock win the WWE Championship. Cena would then win the Rumble, so we would see Cena vs. Rock II for the WWE Championship and Punk vs. Austin at WrestleMania in New Jersey.

There is probably a lot of poking and prodding that needs to be done in order to convince Austin to do the match, but all of the pieces are in place. He has the perfect potential opponent in place in the form of heel Punk and a great opportunity to get involved. He can say that he respects Rock and the older stars and wants to teach Punk a lesson at WrestleMania.

Austin not being at RAW 1,000 was disappointing, but it may ultimately be for the best. Having Punk deal with both Rock and Austin would have been overkill. He can just worry about Rock for the time being, and Austin can get involved quite easily by costing Punk the strap.

I'm certainly worried that the WWE will fail to pull the trigger on this golden opportunity it has created for itself, but if Punk and Austin are ever going to do battle, it has to be at WrestleMania XXIX.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter and listen to him on Ring Rust Radio.