WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin walked out of the company in 2003 and left his in-ring career in the dust. He'd later return in various roles but didn't compete again until facing Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38 in 2022.
Fans have hoped to see him back in the ring ever since, though it's never seemed an overly likely prospect. The Texas Rattlesnake also appears to have limited interest in putting his body on the line at 60, having recently undergone total knee replacement surgery. Ultimately, it seems the moment has passed for one last match.
Or has it? WCW icon Goldberg will step back into the squared circle to battle World Heavyweight Champion Gunther at Saturday Night's Main Event next month, and Fightful Select is now claiming that Austin is open to the idea of competing again.
According to a new report from the site, he's indicated to several people that he "might have one more in him," and was open to the idea of discussing another match during his appearance at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas earlier this year.
The report adds that WWE wanted Austin to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39 in 2023, only for it to fail to come to fruition.
The WWE locker room is said to be excited by the idea of his potential return, though, and one name has been "tossed around internally quite a bit" as a potential dream opponent for Austin: CM Punk.
The door is open, but whether the WWE Hall of Famer decides to step through it is another matter.
Earlier this year, Austin was asked about his relationship with Punk and whether he thinks they could ever step into the ring together. "There are so many potential great matches, I'd have to draw a blank stare and think for five minutes," he said. "But yeah, would [Punk] be on the list? Of course."
"Me and Punk are friends from way back, there was a picture back from, you know, probably in my heyday," Austin recalled. "He's a lot younger than I am, and we got a picture together, and so I think, you know, he was a Stone Cold fan back in the day, and I'm a CM Punk fan."
We'll see what happens, but this is an exciting prospect that would make for one heck of a WrestleMania main event when the Show of Shows returns to Sin City next April.