Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Kevin Owens Planned for WrestleMania

Fightful.com broke the news last night that WWE has made overtures to Stone Cold Steve Austin for a match at WrestleMania 38 on April 2 and April 3 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. WrestlingObserver.com confirmed the plan is for Austin to wrestle Kevin Owens.

Austin’s final match occurred at WrestleMania 19 in 2003, where he lost to The Rock. Austin’s retirement stemmed from a neck injury due to bungled piledriver from Owen Hart at SummerSlam 1997.

WWE has made offers to Austin over the years for an in-ring return, but he always declined. However, this rumor is not chalked up to the typical offer and refusal. The story has enough steam behind where it could happen.

The big question is if Austin is indeed wrestling a match at WrestleMania, why now?

Many variables come to mind when deciphering why the biggest superstar in wrestling history will lace’ Em up again after a prolonged absence. The answer could be as simple as ‘They always come back, eventually.”

However, the economics of the situation paints a clearer picture.

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Shane McMahon Out at WWE

Shane McMahon won’t be winning employee of the month in WWE. RingsideNews.com reported that all creative plans for Shane have been dropped and he was “quietly let go” by his father, Vince McMahon, and is “out of the company.”

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Toni Storm Leaves WWE: Burnout and Talent Mismanagement

WWE ends the year with one more talent departure as Toni Storm is no longer with the company. Fightful.com broke the news yesterday afternoon, and Wrestling Observer reported that Storm quit due to burnout.

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Nia Jax is ‘Highly Unlikely’ to Wrestle Again

Former WWE star Nia Jax noted on Twitter she changed her handle to Lina (Savelina) Fanene. That’s not a new ring name but her real name. She also said it is highly unlikely that she will ever wrestle again, and it’s not hard to understand why.

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Lessons from Survivor Series

Another Survivor Series has come and gone, and after Raw the following night, we finally know who stole Vince McMahon’s 100 million dollars golden egg. Yep, that’s right. Paid promotion disguised as a “Whodunit” was the big takeaway from one of WWE’s big four events.

It’s not surprising that Survivor Series laid an egg (Pun intended). The build leading up to the show was the laziest and uninspired for a major pay-per-view, perhaps ever. Typically, the finished product ends up quite good with poorly built WWE shows…Not this time.

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WWE Releases John Morrison, Hit Row, and More

The thinning of the WWE roster continues as the company released 8 wrestlers last night after releasing 18 wrestlers two weeks ago. The newest group of releases are all from the main roster. Some of the talents haven’t been used in any meaningful capacity for months, while others were called up to the main roster last month.

The complete list includes John Morrison, Top Dolla, Ashante “Thee” Adonis, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, Tegan Nox, Drake Maverick, Shane Thorne, and Jaxson Ryker.

Let’s break it all down.

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Lethal is All Elite: What Does It Mean?

The first defection from Ring of Honor was revealed on Saturday night at AEW Full Gear. Former ROH World Champion Jay Lethal declared himself “All Elite” in an interview with Tony Schiavone, and he challenged Sammy Guevara to a TNT Title match tonight on Dynamite.

Last month, ROH announced they’re going on hiatus after Final Battle on December 11. The promotion informed talent that the company wouldn’t have their contracts renewed and can immediately work wherever they want.

Lethal talked about singing with AEW at the Full Gear media scrum, stating, “It all happened so quickly, a few days ago.” Lethal also stated he had about a month left on his ROH deal and would not be at Final Battle pay-per-view.

Despite ROH’s hiatus announcement, many feel the promotion is closing for good. Sadly, it’s a safe assumption to make based on history. Many promotions, small and big alike, have had to cease operations with the hope of coming back, only to be never seen again.

It’s a tale as old as time in the wrestling business.

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What WWE/ROH Releases Mean for The Industry

Ring of Honor (ROH) announced two weeks ago that their parent company, Sinclair Broadcasting, is shutting down the promotion after December’s Final Battle pay-per-view and will take the first quarter of 2022 to reimagine ROH. All talent will be released from the contracts at the end of the year but can work wherever they want immediately.

As a result, over 50 wrestlers are on the open market. Then, last Friday, WWE released 18 wrestlers, thus making the realm free agency a more competitive place. With approximately 70 talents vying for contracted work, the belief that ROH’s hiatus is a permanent vacation, and AEW and Impact signing many of WWE’s prior releases, there are not enough spots to go around.

Worse, for an elect few, their careers are irrevocably altered or over.

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Late to the Party Review: KOTR, Queen’s Crown, and G1 Climax Finals.

Welcome to our late to the party review of the G1 Climax, Queen’s Crown, and King of the Ring finals. One tournament finale triumphed while another one ended in disaster. Then, there was one that was just, meh.

QUEEN’S CROWN: Zelina Vega defeated Doudrop to become the inaugural Queen’s Crown winner. It was a slow and plotting match that failed to resonate on an engaging level. I’m not sure if it was the massive size discrepancy between the two.

Perhaps their ability to move around the ring comfortably was hindered by the long sleeve shirt and pants they wore instead of their wrestling gear per Saudi law? While Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, and Bianca Belair didn’t have that problem in their Triple Threat Match, it’s different strokes for different folks.

Vega’s Queen’s Crown coronation on Raw and rematch with Doudrop was her longest televised segment in over a year. Vega looks the part and is good on the microphone. If WWE sticks with booking her as a serious character long-term, they will get a good return on the investment. I would have bet the farm she would lose to Doudrop due to WWE’s 50/50 booking. Surprisingly, she did not, which is promising.

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King of the Ring & Queen’s Crown Update: 4 Remain

WWE revealed the King of the Ring and Queen’s Crown brackets last Friday as all first-round matches are in the books. The right-hand side of the semifinal bracket will occur on SmackDown with the other half on Raw.

King of the Ring saw Sami Zayn beat Rey Mysterio and Finn Balor topple Cesaro. On Raw, Xavier Woods defeated Ricochet in a fun matchup, and Jinder Mahal pinned Kofi Kingston.

In the Queen’s Crown, Carmella beat Liv Morgan while Zelina Vega pinned Toni Storm. Shanya Baszler made quick work of Dana Brooke and Doudrop over Natalya in somewhat of an upset.

The finals of both tournaments will occur at Crown Jewel.

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