Stone Cold Steve Austin Set For In-Ring Return?

Stone Cold Steve Austin could be set for an in-ring return.

According to Fightful Select, who broke the news of CM Punk AEW talks last summer, have reported that WWE are attempting to bring back Steve Austin for a match at the upcoming WrestleMania, and are said to have made him an offer.

The report states that Austin is expected to be involved in a physical role at the very least, and many on the WWE roster feel that Kevin Owens’ recent anti-Texas promos are designed to set up some kind of confrontation or match between him and Stone Cold.

Fightful were also able to confirm that this was discussed as far back as January, and Kevin Owens is the opponent internally.

This year, Mania is set to take place in Austin’s home state of Texas inside Dallas’ AT&T Stadium, making it a fitting place for Austin’s in-ring return were it to happen.

The venue has been home to three WrestleMania’s in the past, including Mania X-Seven. The show was headlined by Stone Cold vs The Rock, which concluded with the infamous handshake between the Rattlesnake and his long-time foe Mr McMahon.

A separate report from PWInsider states that WWE reached out to Austin in late December/early January to gauge his interest in doing something at the show, with the idea being that it would be a one-time send-off in front of a large Texas crowd, which would of course help boost ticket sales. The company needs to move in the area of 200,000 tickets to sell out both nights.

Interestingly, Austin built a new wrestling ring on his Nevada ranch last August, which he may have used to get back in ring shape.

With that said, as of this writing, PWInsider notes that Austin has yet to commit to a match.