Kevin Owens

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin retired from professional wrestling in 2003 following an epic encounter with The Rock at WrestleMania XIX, but Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select has revealed WWE has made overtures to him for a return to the ring at this year's Granddaddy of Them All.

Per the report, Kevin Owens would be the opponent.

While there is reason to be excited about the potential return of the Attitude Era icon, Austin must resist the urge to step back into the squared circle and damage what was a storybook ending to one of the greatest runs in sports-entertainment history.

Preserve the Legacy

Austin's career ended 19 years ago with a loss to The Rock on wrestling's biggest stage. It was the dramatic conclusion to an epic trilogy of WrestleMania encounters, and afterward, he walked up the stage, saluted the fans and never competed again.

Best of all, no one knew at the time that they had witnessed the end of his in-ring career.

The toughest SOB in WWE history walked away, not with the pomp and circumstance of a Ric Flair or Shawn Michaels, but with a no-nonsense exit reflecting his character. Since then, the final image fans have had of Austin as a competitor was that encounter with The Rock.

Returning for a rushed match, even if the opponent is the excellent Owens, tarnishes that legacy.

The story would be thrown-together, the match would be shoved onto the card rather than being built to gradually. The program would be just another one on a show full of them rather than providing fans and Austin himself the return scenario they deserve.

It would feel too much like a cash-grab from a guy who has always been very protective of the Stone Cold character and what it would take to get him back in the ring.

Yes, Wrestlemania is in Dallas, Austin was a big part of the initial advertising and fans would love to see The Texas Rattlesnake open up a can of whoop-ass.

That can be accomplished without forcing an actual match that, at this point, would only end up disappointing an audience who long pondered if they would see their favorite antihero back in the ring. 

The Alternative

The last time WrestleMania rolled through Dallas, Austin joined Mick Foley and Shawn Michaels for a harmless segment that led to him dropping all three members of The New Day with Stone Cold Stunners.

The exchange between the 57-year-old and Owens would certainly be more intense, but it would follow the same format without promising a match.

KO taking to the ring to degrade Texas, happy that he did not have to compete in front of them, would raise the heat level. The sound of glass shattering and Austin stomping to the ring before coming face-to-face with Owens would be a moment, and we know there is nothing more WWE likes than to create moments.

A back-and-forth between two great talkers would captivate the audience before a Stunner puts KO's lights out and Austin opens a beer, flips a couple of middle fingers and stands center stage at AT&T Stadium.

Give the Texas fans their hometown hero, let the audience soak up another electrifying appearance by Austin and give Owens the rub of being involved with him in such a significant segment.

Austin doesn't have to rush into a match that would not be strong enough from a heat perspective to warrant a return to the ring and, if management is so intent on doing the match with Owens, you have a jumping-off point for what will be an enormous Los Angeles show the following year.

Anything is better than throwing together a match with only six weeks of the build when we are talking about one of the most iconic performers in entertainment history.

Once that genie is out of the bottle, there is no going back and Austin will be judged based on how "worth it" the decision to return proves to be. Make sure it's the right call beforehand and save everyone involved any disappointment.

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from WWE and AEW.

Jericho, Owens Go Back and Forth on Social Media

Sunday marked the five-year anniversary of the "Festival of Friendship," the instant-classic segment that saw Kevin Owens turn on Chris Jericho to build their WrestleMania 33 feud. 

Owens commemorated the anniversary by changing his Twitter profile picture to the moment Jericho realized his name was on The List, with Jericho responding with an ominous threat:

Out of all the talent that left WWE for AEW, Jericho seems the most likely to eventually find his way back in WWE. The future Hall of Famer has kept a strong relationship with most people in the company, most notably Vince McMahon.

Jericho seems more than happy where he's at with AEW at the moment, but it would be a surprise if he didn't wind up doing one last retirement run in WWE when his name gets called for a Hall induction.

It's worth noting that Jericho's contract with AEW was set to expire in January, but the company had a one-year option to keep him until 2023. There has been no announcement of Jericho signing an extension, so the soonest we could see the two in the ring together is a year from now—especially now that Owens is inked to a long-term deal in WWE.

Vince McMahon Happy With Current Product

Well, that makes one of us.

While the overwhelming majority of fans would say WWE has qualitatively struggled in recent years—especially amid the emergence of AEW—Vince McMahon, the most important internal voice, doesn't seem to agree.

“In his mind, he doesn’t think anything is wrong,” Mike Johnson of PW Insider wrote (via Wrestling Inc). “The company made a billion dollars last year, so there’s a billion reasons for him to shrug off any criticisms. We are told he pushes and presents what he likes and wants and nothing else makes a dent in that vision. That’s why the shows are presented the way they are and that’s why nothing is going to change anytime soon, if ever.”

WWE does, indeed, continue to rake in record revenue—a move that's made it a massive success for Wall Street investors.

Those consuming the product won't assess quality by dollars and cents, but they've continued to watch WWE programming despite growing frustrations. The Royal Rumble live event was one of the lowest-rated in history among fans despite being the most-watched event since WWE moved to Peacock.

There's a disconnect WWE needs to fix.

Lita Talks Becky Lynch Match

Lita has not had a proper one-on-one match in WWE since dropping the women's championship to Mickie James at the 2006 Survivor Series pay-per-view. While she's made occasional appearances in a ring since then, her match against Becky Lynch at the upcoming Elimination Chamber match will be the first time she's been responsible for carrying 50 percent of the workload in over 15 years.

Lita recently sat down with Denise Salcedo and spoke about WWE approaching her for an in-ring return. 

“They hit me at a great time, right after the match,” Lita said, per Wrestling Inc. “Literally like, sweaty, like right coming out, ‘what do you think about facing Becky in a couple of weeks?’ And I was like, ‘what? Yes. Oh s--t, did I say yes?’ I didn’t have a chance to doubt or think about all the reasons I shouldn’t face Becky, or all of the reasons I wouldn’t be ready or what could possibly go wrong. All I thought of is what could possibly go right, committed to that and haven’t looked back. Like, ever since, 'yes,' I wasn’t like, ‘oh wait, what am I doing?’ No, I’m just like, ‘no, no, no. That time has passed. The time now is to think about how it’s going to go good.'”

It's likely that Lita will be one-and-done against Lynch, especially given her appearance is mainly because she's a relic of the Attitude Era and Saudi officials have long pushed WWE to bring back legends for their events in the country. 

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Details on Zayn's New WWE Contract

Sami Zayn reportedly signed a new contract with WWE around the same time as his real-life friend Kevin Owens.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Michael Perry of Ringside News), Zayn re-signing coincided with him working with Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar on SmackDown.

Owens announced he had signed a new deal with WWE in December, and Meltzer noted that while people in WWE believed Zayn had re-signed as well, it was never publicly confirmed.

The 37-year-old Zayn seemed to essentially confirm his new WWE deal in a tweet Thursday:

Zayn has been among the top heels on SmackDown in recent months, and he has been involved in some significant storylines.

In November, Zayn won a battle royal to become the No. 1 contender for Reigns' Universal Championship. That led to multiple interactions with Lesnar, who bullied Zayn into taking his title match before the Day 1 pay-per-view.

Lesnar savagely attacked Zayn before the match against Reigns, allowing The Tribal Chief to easily retain.

Zayn quickly rebounded, however, winning a gauntlet match to become No. 1 contender for Shinsuke Nakamura's Intercontinental Championship.

If Zayn is able to beat Nakamura when their match happens, he will become a three-time Intercontinental champion in addition to a former NXT champion.

As of now, Zayn is feuding with Jackass star Johnny Knoxville, who will be part of the Men's Royal Rumble match. Given how WWE treats celebrity involvement, that should guarantee some big moments for Zayn in the Rumble.

McIntyre Rehabbing in Hopes of WrestleMania Return

Drew McIntyre is reportedly putting in extra work in an effort to be healthy enough to be part of the WrestleMania 38 card.

According to Meltzer (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), McIntyre has been doing rehab and decompression therapy on his injured neck.

Meltzer added that McIntyre's rehab schedule is reminiscent of John Cena's when he was working his way back from injuries as an active WWE Superstar with McIntyre doing "double sessions six days a week."

It was also noted that McIntyre is "pretty insistent" he will be back in time for WrestleMania on April 2 and 3.

McIntyre has not wrestled since the Day 1 pay-per-view on Jan. 1 when he defeated Madcap Moss. After the match, Moss and Happy Corbin attacked McIntyre backstage and trapped his neck inside a steel chair.

Following that angle, Meltzer (h/t Mukherjee) reported that The Scottish Warrior had been dealing with a legitimate neck injury for months.

Based on Meltzer's reports, it seems unlikely that McIntyre will be part of next weekend's Royal Rumble pay-per-view, which would be a significant loss for WWE.

As one of the top babyfaces on SmackDown, McIntyre would have been a strong contender to win the Men's Royal Rumble match and challenge Reigns for the Universal title at WrestleMania.

Failing that, WWE would undoubtedly love to have McIntyre available in any capacity for the biggest show of the year in April.

Lita Possibly Staying Beyond Royal Rumble

WWE Hall of Famer Lita has been announced as a participant in the 2022 Women's Royal Rumble match, but that may not be all she does for WWE from an in-ring perspective.

According to Meltzer (h/t Perry), Lita may be back as a short-term regular wrestler because of the depth issues WWE is having in the SmackDown women's division.

Lita appeared on last week's episode of SmackDown and was confronted by SmackDown Women's champion Charlotte Flair. Lita discussed her desire to win the Women's Royal Rumble match and have one last run in WWE.

Charlotte criticized Lita and tried to attack her, but Lita got the upper hand by taking The Queen out with a Twist of Fate.

The 46-year-old Lita has not competed in a match since the Oct. 29, 2018, episode of Raw since she teamed with Trish Stratus, Sasha Banks, Bayley and Natalya against Mickie James, Alicia Fox, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan.

That was one night after Lita and Trish beat Mickie and Alicia in a tag team match at the all-women's Evolution pay-per-view.

SmackDown is short on top female Superstars currently, as Sasha and Bayley are injured and Toni Storm recently quit the company.

Because of that, utilizing Lita from the Rumble through WrestleMania at the very least could be an ideal way to keep things interesting on the blue brand.

Lita is a four-time WWE Women's champion and one of the most popular female wrestlers in the history of the company, and WWE could potentially get more eyes on the product by making her a regular performer in the coming months.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below.