Backstage WWE and AEW Rumors: Latest on Cody Rhodes, Stone Cold and More

On this Road to WrestleMania, the buzz around the wrestling world is less on the event itself and more on two men who will have a definitive impact on the annual extravaganza: Cody Rhodes and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

We have yet to find out what, if any, role Rhodes will play in the show but one industry insider has an update on what initial plans are/were with WWE.

The other, Austin, accepted Kevin Owens' invitation for The KO Show as part of the festivities in Dallas but what, exactly, are his feelings about the feud and the creative behind it?

Find out the answer to that question and more with this collection of rumors and innuendo from the pro wrestling world. 

While we all await the inevitable return of Cody Rhodes to television somewhere and at some time, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported that the plan for The American Nightmare was for him to square off with Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 38 and that, according to one source within WWE, that has not changed.

The same report stated some in AEW assume the deal with WWE is dead and that he will return to AEW, but there was no concrete information to support those claims. Sapp did reveal that there will be "something worth looking out for" in the Hollywood trades.

Despite the weekly reports, it appears as though Rhodes' future remains shrouded in mystery.

There are numerous options, any number of different stories and directions he can go in once he makes his choice and all of it would be newsworthy.

That the WWE source is under the belief that nothing has changed regarding plans for the second-generation star to come in and face Seth Rollins at WrestleMania sounds like a much more solid bit of information than whatever the AEW source was suggesting and Sapp called it as such.

With the Road to WrestleMania rapidly drawing to a close, WWE will have to pull the proverbial trigger on Rhodes' debut if that is the direction things are heading. Unless that is, Rollins issues an open challenge in Dallas and the former AEW star accepts.

Jim Ross said on his latest Grilling JR podcast that when he talked with good friend "Stone Cold" Steve Austin about his upcoming WrestleMania 38 appearance with Kevin Owens on The KO Show, the Hall of Famer was less-than-enthusiastic about his role.

It is not difficult to see why Austin might feel that way.

For what is sorta-kinda, maybe being hinted at as a match, or fight, the creative has been weak. Owens targeting the state of Texas and Dallas, in particular, is hardly a quality emphasis for Austin's first real feud in 20 years. 

The Texas Rattlesnake is an icon, a legendary figure in sports and entertainment whose retirement match in 2003 came against The Rock. He could not possibly have had a better exit from the squared circle. The first hint that WWE wants him to return is for...a talk show? Kind of a match? Against Kevin Owens, a great performer in his own right, sure, but with a story that is sub-par for both stars.

Of course, Ross works for the competition and while that has not prevented him from calling a spade a spade in the past, one does have to approach his claim with a certain level of skepticism.

Hopefully, Austin's return is fantastic, the crowd loves it and Stone Cold finds it worthy of his decision to stomp a mudhole one more time. It is just unfortunate that an epic storyline could not accompany it.

Andrew Zarian of Wrestling Observer Live tweeted that speculation is Sycho Sid will be inducted into this year's WWE Hall of Fame, joining The Undertaker and Vader.

Sid is a two-time world champion and one of the most captivating big men in wrestling history. A character that always had command of his facial expressions and body language, he rose to stardom in the late 1980s and was a centerpiece in WWE at a time when the company was shifting its attitude to what fans would flock to during the Monday Night Wars.

His matches with Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, The Undertaker and a WrestleMania VIII main event against Hulk Hogan remain the best of his WWE work while he was a multi-time world champion in WCW and a star for that promotion through its demise.

He absolutely deserves his place in the Hall of Fame and to enter alongside two of his fellow heavyweights is fitting.