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WWE is rumored to be planning Stone Cold Steve Austin's return to the ring for a match at WrestleMania 39. Plenty of WWE fans have speculated online about who Austin might face in April, but there are also plenty of wrestlers on the roster who aren't worthy of wrestling The Rattlesnake.
Austin last wrestled in the main event of Night One at WrestleMania 38. Stone Cold toppled the Texas-hating Kevin Owens to send the crowd home happy at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. This was Austin's first match in 19 years, having last wrestled The Rock at WrestleMania 19 in 2003.
This year, Stone Cold has quite a few potential challengers for The Show of Shows. But let's review five WWE Superstars who Austin shouldn't wrestle on The Grandest Stage of Them All in 2023.
#5. WWE legend & Hollywood icon The Rock
It would still be a big deal if The Rock battled Stone Cold at WrestleMania in 2023. However, the feud came to a close in the Ruthless Aggression era, and with Austin going 2-1 at 'Mania against Rock, why run that back? With so many potential dream matches for Stone Cold in 2023, why go back to what was already done 20 years ago?
Rare part-time wrestlers like Rock and Austin are usually paired up with full-time performers who'll help guide them through a modern-day WWE match. WWE shouldn't risk tarnishing the legacy of the Austin vs. Rock feud by gambling with what could be a subpar match in the current year.
WWE fans don't want another 'Undertaker vs. Goldberg', after all.
#4. "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes
With all the signs pointing towards Cody Rhodes coming back as a babyface, it wouldn't make much sense for a returning hero to clash with a beloved rattlesnake.
Cody vs. Stone Cold is definitely a dream match, but without a heel turn for Rhodes, it's unlikely that it'll happen at WrestleMania 39. The American Nightmare likely won't turn heel unless his comeback tour tanks, which is certainly a possibility.
But considering the success of last year's comeback for Cody, it's easy to bet on Rhodes when it comes to him having a successful babyface run in WWE. The company already has its top heel in the form of Roman Reigns, and they'll need a counterpart babyface in the mold of Cody Rhodes.
Rhodes is rumored to face either Seth Rollins or Roman Reigns at the grand spectacle in April, and there have been no reports or indications that The American Nightmare will battle The Texas Rattlesnake at the Show of Shows.
But that doesn't mean Austin vs. Cody won't be an epic encounter if it were pulled off properly. WrestleMania 39 just doesn't look like the best time to book that match.
#3. Former WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens
In 2022, Kevin Owens managed to pull Stone Cold out of retirement for one more match at WrestleMania. While the match turned out to be a success, Austin should go with a different opponent when WrestleMania 39 comes around.
KO provoked the beer-swilling Texan while playing a heel role in 2022. But this year, Owens is a full-fledged babyface who is clearly more interested in toppling Roman Reigns rather than angering the Bionic Redneck.
At 58 years old, Austin doesn't have many potential matches left in his wrestling career. If The Rattlesnake is wrestling again, he ought to go against a fresh opponent rather than someone he wrestled a year prior.
#2. WWE RAW Superstar Omos
Omos is an intimidating member of the Monday Night RAW roster, but he's too green to be trusted with a high-profile match against someone of Stone Cold Steve Austin's caliber at WrestleMania.
Austin would be best suited to wrestle an experienced in-ring worker who can help the veteran pull off a respectable match at 'Mania. The Nigerian Giant is more accustomed to one-sided squash matches, and virtually no one is calling for Omos vs. Austin at WrestleMania.
If Austin were to beat Omos, he might cause further harm to the giant's mystique. If Omos were to beat Stone Cold, it could end up hurting The Rattlesnake's momentum.
The company could possibly book matches like Steve Austin vs. Brock Lesnar or Roman Reigns sometime in the near future, and Stone Cold losing to Omos may take away the impact of him putting over higher-profile performers after WrestleMania 39.
#1. Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion Jimmy Uso
Unlike his brother Jey Uso, WWE didn't experiment with Jimmy having a top-level run as a singles wrestler. Jey became "Main Event" Jey Uso in the fall of 2020 while Jimmy was on the shelf and not permitted to wrestle.
The Usos ought to be defending their tag titles rather than battling a 58-year-old legend at WrestleMania. Unless the company has serious plans to push one of The Usos as a main-event singles competitor, neither of them should be booked to go one-on-one with Austin in April 2023.
Jimmy and Jey are currently rumored to be battling Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 39 with the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship on the line. That sounds more realistic than Jimmy going blow for blow with a rattlesnake.
