There are many pro wrestling bouts which fall into the category of "dream matches." Imagine Shawn Michaels vs. Seth Rollins at their respective peaks or Roman Reigns vs. The Rock before the latter headed to Hollywood?
However, one match which never happened that everyone still talks about is CM Punk vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin.
They were each in WWE at very different times, but their in-ring work and ability on the mic would have undoubtedly made any sort of feud a true classic. Now, following Austin's in-ring return at WrestleMania 38 for a match with Kevin Owens and Punk's shocking WWE comeback, it may finally become a reality.
According to Fightful Select, "There were several in the company pushing for the possibility of CM Punk to take on Stone Cold Steve Austin. So much so that we’re told that Punk had even had discussions about the possibility."
People in WWE are said to be optimistic about making this happen and it sounds like Punk is 100% on board. Ideally, the company wants to get the Best in the World in the same room as the Texas Rattlesnake to start talking over ideas (despite some heated backstage interactions in the past - like the one below - there's nothing but respect between these two).
Any match with Austin would be somewhat limited given how long he's been retired, but that match with Owens proved there's potential and this would be a huge draw for WWE...with WrestleMania arguably the perfect place to make it happen. We'll see.
In other news, we recently told you about WWE's plans to pit Punk against Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Well, Dave Melzer has shared an update on the situation in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
"For right now, the plan is to take a lot of time before getting there. The feeling right now is that will be gigantic at the time they choose to get there. Whether it results in [Paul] Heyman leaving Reigns for Punk and Punk going heel and Reigns face, which was the speculation we got, there are multiple different ways to approach that."
He'd go on to add that, right now, it's looking like we'll see Cody Rhodes vs. Reigns and Rollins vs. Punk at WrestleMania 40. These are all exciting prospects, anyway, and we're intrigued to see what WWE has planned for the former AEW star, especially as his promo didn't set the stage for any future clashes.