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When “Stone Cold” Steve Austin took the ring at WrestleMania 38 for an episode of The K.O. Show, WWE fans weren't sure what to expect from “The Rattlesnake.” Though the segment wasn't officially billed as a match, it was the final segment of a stacked WrestleMania card that included Vince McMahon's return to in-ring action, so there's no way it wouldn't at least include some physicality, right?
Fortunately, Austin did not disappoint, as, after he exchanged some pleasantries with the ever-affable Kevin Owens, the duo decided to duke it out between the bells in one of the most compelling matches featuring a man with two knee braces that dazzled fans the world over.
The bout had a little bit of everything. Floor spots, stunners, ATV spots, and in the end, Austin got the win and about two dozen beers.
If that was the final time fans got to see Austin in a “real” match, it was a nice way to say goodbye to a star whose career ended far too early. But, apparently, the match went over so well that Paul “Triple H” Levesque wants to run it back and tempt fate with a second bite from “The Texas Rattlesnake.”
According to Sean Ross Sapp, Austin has been offered a second comeback match, presumably at WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles, California, and based on some recent workout videos that have surfaced online, it sure looks like he's getting ready to return to in-ring action. But who would the match be against? While there isn't any concrete reporting on the topic, it's not hard to come up with a list of Superstars who would be fun fits in the ring.
3 – Kevin Owens
Would it be blasé to have Kevin Owens wrestle Austin again in his second comeback match? Yes; Austin had so many historic rivalries that feeding him Owens again would be an unusual choice.
But recall, if you will, that Owens suffered an injury recently against Austin Theory at a house show and will be out for the foreseeable future as a result. If the first Austin-Owens match was about putting over Austin in his big return, the sequel could even the score and relaunch Owens as a legitimate main event-caliber performer who could then challenge for the championship in the not-too-distant future. And what better way to set up Austin-Owens 3 at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia? Book it, Trips.
2 – Triple H
If WWE doesn't want to put Austin against a current Superstar and instead wants to tickle the nostalgia strings of a legacy bout, it's hard to pin down a perfect opponent for him.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is about as close as it gets, but something tells me he'll be a little preoccupied come WrestleMania 39 against a certain “Head of the Table.” Bret Hart is a good contender, too, considering he had a five-star match with Austin at WrestleMania 13, but “The Hitman” hasn't wrestled a match in over a decade, and he doesn't seem too eager to get back in the ring outside of managing FTR due to his medical issues.
No, if Levesque wants a legacy match for Austin, his best option might be to pick up the phone and call… himself.
Now yes, Levesque is technically retired from in-ring competition, as he suffered a major heart attack and had to leave his boots in the center of the ring as a result; it's entirely possible Levesque never sets foot in a wrestling ring again, and that honestly would be best for his health. Then again, Vince McMahon famously wouldn't ask a wrestler to take a spot he wouldn't take himself, as evidenced by his fall from the performance center's perch to teach Rob Gronkowski how it's done at WrestleMania 36. So if Levesque wants Austin to work a slow-paced, falls count anywhere match that's high on outside the ring brawling, props, and maybe even some outside interference, who better to take part in the match than “The Game” himself? The spectacle would be huge, as would the pop, and Levesque would get his retirement match in the same way Austin did at WrestleMania 38.
1 – CM Punk
Realistically speaking, there's no way CM Punk wrestles Steve Austin at WrestleMania 39. If “The Best in the World” is truly done with AEW, and is in the process of a contract buyout, there's no way Tony Khan would let him leave without some sort of non-compete clause that would prevent him from wrestling for WWE for quite some time, presumably through Mania season at the very least. We also don't know if Punk would even want to return to WWE, as he doesn't exactly have the best relationship with the company and has suffered two big injuries in the 2022 calendar year.
With all that in mind, could you imagine the pop that match would get? It has long been known that Punk wanted to wrestle Austin, and many noted that the match at WrestleMania 38 had serious CM Punk vibes, so the prospects of taking what many view as AEW's biggest draw and putting him in a match against one of WWE's all-time biggest stars is the kind of flex that would justify the exorbitant price that the match would cost. If WWE wants to make WrestleMania 39 the biggest Mania of all time, CM Punk vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin would go a long way in securing that title.
