Rumors have been circulating that “Stone Cold” Steve Austin is looking to return for one more match. According to the master of the Stone Cold Stunner, his neck is 100% and he would like to have one more great match. Now, this leads to the inevitable debate… If the Texas Rattlesnake was to return for one more big match, who should he face?
To start I will explain who Austin shouldn’t face. In reading a few on line forums about the subject, there are a few people who feel that a Stone Cold – Undertaker match at Wrestlemania would be the best way to send Austin and the Undertaker off. To me, that match is a total loss. Sure it may be awesome to see but what it all comes down to is that Austin would either have to lose to the Undertaker in Austin’s last match or Austin wins and ends the Undertaker’s seemingly immortal streak. No one wants to see Austin lose his last match and let’s face it. If someone is going to end the Undertaker’s streak. it should be a younger talent that can build on that accomplishment for years to come for example, the Miz, Jack Swagger or Alberto Del Rio.
Another few superstars that were brought up were old feuds like Triple H and Chris Jericho. Now, i’m not saying matches between he Rattlesnake and these two time-tested ring veteran wouldn’t be show-stealing quality, but let’s face it, been there, done that. Triple H and Stone Cold may have had every possible match there is to have with eachother and the Austin/Jericho feud, as entertaining as it could be with Jericho’s new ultra-smug Holier Than Thou character would be great but it would do nothing to enhance either man’s character.
In my mind there are 2- possibly 3, superstars Stone Cold would do huge business with if he came back for one more match. The honorable mention in this equasion is Randy Orton. Let’s face it, Orton’s new character has a lot of Stone Cold similarities. But due to Randy’s recent face turn, the WWE would have to turn Orton heel to wrestle Austin and I don’t think they would be willing to do that.
The first of these three men, Sheamus, is already a monster heel and his main-event status has already been established. A feud with Stone Cold could make him a top star for the next few years, but his current storyline with Triple H can do the same thing for him. Still the match level between Austin and Sheamus would be fantastic. But if Austin returns, he should use his legendary status to “make” a main-eventer.
This brings me to the Miz. The loud-mouth former reality tv star that has risen from WWE joke to perrenial main-event superstar in a few short years. The only thing holding the Miz back from being a bona-fide top guy is a feud that makes the Miz. By interrupting Stone Cold’s comeback speech with his “really… REALLY?” catch-phrase, the Miz becomes the most hated superstar in the WWE. By taking the former multi-time world champion to the limit,the Miz becomes a viable threat to the WWE title. Especially if Austin come out on Raw the next night and tells the WWE Universe that the Miz put up a helluva fight and that he admires the Miz’s guts and in-ring ability.
My personal pick is CM Punk. The Straight-Edge savior interrupting Austin, noticing that bald head is already there so that it seems as if Austin has already taken the first step. Punk would say that the drinking was damaging Austin, but Punk could save him and together Austin and Punk could run the WWE as the straight-edge society and together they could be better than everyone else. Which would lead to a might Stone Cold stunner and a beer bath for Punk. Their match would be off the charts and it would cement Punk’s role as a dastardly top heel for years to come.
The bottom line (pun intended) is that a Rattlesnake return would be great to both the WWE and Austin. The WWE is struggling, especially with their PG rating. A once-in-a-lifetime Stone Cold return would generate big business for the WWE and would bring back some older fans the WWE has lost recently. And it would give Stone Cold a sense of closure on his historical career and give Stone Cold a proud final match. I guess what I’m trying to say is if you wanna see Stone Cold come back and open up one more can of whoop-ass, gimme a HELL YEAH! And that’s the bottom line, because JUSTICE said so.
