Steve Austin on the Cover of 'WWE 2K16' Sends Wrong Message About WWE's Future

Stone Cold Steve Austin will grace the cover of WWE 2K16. The choice is sure to generate interest in WWE's popular video game franchise among its nostalgic fanbase.

But what about the future?

Landing the cover of WWE 2K16 is not as pivotal as, say, a WrestleMania main event. But as I mentioned on this week's PodNasty Wrestling Podcast, the cover is representative of WWE's biggest stars and whom the promotion depends on to drum up sales.

The last three WWE personalities to appear on a WWE 2K cover were The Rock, John Cena and now Austin.

WWE is currently in a transitional period of new main eventers and first-time world champions. It's no secret that Roman Reigns is being groomed as WWE's next top star. Names like Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose and Rusev are also up-and-coming talents who are new to the main event scene.

Game	WWE Superstar	Age when WWE Superstar appeared on Cover
WWE '12	Randy Orton	31
WWE '13	CM Punk	34
WWE 2K14	The Rock	41
WWE 2K15	John Cena	37
WWE 2K16	Stone Cold Steve Austin	50

Using stars of the past to promote its video game franchise sends the wrong message about WWE's current  mission statement. And as WrestleMania 32 approaches—the company will look to fill a 100,000-seat arena for that event—a familiar pattern of WWE leaning on the Attitude Era will likely continue.

WWE took positive steps forward this past year as it looks to cement fresh, new faces as perennial main event stars. WrestleMania 31 ended with upstart Rollins shockingly cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase for his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

But in order to truly move forward with a young core of wrestlers, WWE needs to commit to promoting them as main eventers until fans get used to seeing them at every turn.

Using old names for new products and special events is a contributing factor to WWE's post-WrestleMania lull during which Raw's audience shrinks immensely once the part-time stars are gone.

The May 27 edition of Raw, just over one month after WrestleMania 31, garnered a year-low rating, per James Caldwell of PWTorch. The show reached another year low just two weeks ago for the June 29 edition, per Caldwell.

WWE's formula of relying on established legends is creating a culture where fans feel they can pick and choose when to watch weekly WWE programming. The culture trickles down to the WWE Network, where shows like Jerry Springer Presents WWE Too Hot for TV and The Monday Night War focus on the 1990s boom period.

Credit: WWE.com

The cover of WWE 2K16 could have been used as a symbolic passing of the torch. By choosing an up-and-coming star, WWE could have educated its audience that a new era is upon us.

But the old guard remains entrenched in current WWE programming with no signs of slowing down.

 Alfred Konuwa is a featured columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @ThisIsNasty and subscribe to his weekly wrestling podcast.