2012 will turn out to be a massive year for WWE regardless of how WrestleMania 28 turns out. The event alone will set the benchmark for ‘historic’ matches within the company. On one side you have The Rock making a monumental comeback to face-0ff against the biggest superstar of the current generation, John Cena. But on the other hand, there’s a strong possibility that The Rock’s equal counterpart, Stone Cold Steve Austin, may lace-up his boots for one final round of ass-whoopin in Miami, Fl. If you want to know why I think Stone Cold will have One More Match, gimme’ a Hell Yeah! Or…you could just read more after the jump.
It is all but confirmed that The Undertaker has quietly, and unofficially, retired. There’s a huge possibility that the Deadman will have his final match next year at the Grandest Stage Of Them All, and proudly walk into the sunset with a 20-0 blazing above him. Then there’s The Rock vs John Cena, arguably the biggest match since The Rock vs Hulk Hogan. It’s Icon vs Icon. It’s the stuff legends are made of. No matter how the match turns out, it will become the ‘image’ of WrestleMania for years to come. With all these historic matches taking place and Attitude Era superstars returning for one final go-round in the ring, it’s very possible that WWE and Stone Cold could be working on a deal to have the Texas Rattlesnake ‘whoop someone’s ass backwards’ next year.
Hulk Hogan challenged Austin last week via the Internet, stating that he noticed Austin gearing-up for something big in the near future. And it’s true. While I’m almost certain Austin will never want to end his career with Hulk Hogan, the Texas Redneck has definitely been different lately. He was active on WWE programming thanks to Tough Enough, he’s showing some of that “roughneck” attitude that we haven’t seen for a while now, and when he hosted Raw a couple of weeks ago as the Special Guest GM, he literally owned the place and ‘toughened-up’ on the superstars. Add to this list the fact that Austin is in terrific shape, I’d say someone’s really, really hellbent on kicking someone’s backside next year. Maybe it’s the fact that The Rock is back for more, or maybe it’s just Austin itching to feel that adrenaline again. Either way, it’s great news for the fans!
Now before anyone starts a debate on why he can’t make a comeback at Summerslam or make a long-term comeback, lets be honest with ourselves. Austin has achieved everything he had set out to achieve in the business. There’s just no competition for him anymore. There’s no reason for him to go out and beat on kids half his age to prove a point. That doesn’t make him Austin, it only makes him a bully. It’s also why guys like The Undertaker feud against superstars with similar resumes and / or experience. So if Stone Cold was to have one more match, it should be against someone who has either earned their status in the company OR someone from Austin’s era. This leads me to believe that The Undertaker may have his final match against Stone Cold Steve Austin next year.It’s a far-fetched idea and one that may never happen, but if you look at the build-up to this event and considering that this may be the final battle for both Austin and Taker, it only makes sense to book something as huge as this. It definitely beats being a Special Referee for a match as ridiculous as Jerry Lawler vs Michael Cole, or a lousy Hair vs Hair match between two megalomaniacs, or coming out to deliver a Stunner to harmless comedians like Santino. If Stone Cold decides to strap on the boots and put on the vest, it’s got to be for an epic reason, and I can only think of three scenarios. Either he battles Randy Orton and mirrors the intensity of The Rock vs John Cena, or he battles CM Punk in a ‘dream match’ situation, or he takes on someone who he has built a reputation with for years : The Undertaker. Of course, he could take on guys like Triple H and Chris Jericho but I don’t see that really happening.
If it’s not the 3 scenarios above, I’d rather not see Austin return. It’s bad enough that he has had some of the stupidest contests with guys like Goldust and The Coach on lackluster PPVs like the now-defunct Cyber Sunday, but making him have a match against someone like Drew McIntyre or Sheamus (not that they’re bad, they’re just not ready to headline yet)will only botch the entire scenario.
Personally I’d love to see Stone Cold go head to head with his arch-nemesis, The Undertaker. It’s safe to say that there is no way The Streak is going to end at this point, so Austin will probably end up losing this battle. There is absolutely no shame in losing to someone like the legendary Undertaker, let alone at WrestleMania in a match for the most coveted winning-streak in sports entertainment. It’ll be a match of epic proportions, one that’ll probably be greater than The Rock vs John Cena in terms of in-ring performance.
In the end though, it’s all up to Austin and if he feels the drive to get back into the ring. If it’s there, great. If it’s not, so be it. If it truly does happen, then WrestleMania 28 will potentially be the greatest WrestleMania of all time.
“And that’s the Bottom Line, Cause’ Stone Cold Said So!”
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