With the biggest show of 2022 rapidly approaching, will WrestleMania have Steve Austin? Plus, it seems some lines are being drawn in AEW & WWE of late.
Will WrestleMania Have Steve Austin?
We know WrestleMania 38 will be in Texas next year…but will WrestleMania have Steve Austin?
Per reports, WWE wants the Texas Rattlesnake to be involved on their biggest show of the year.
Whether he will or not remains unknown at this point.
Obviously, Austin loves Texas, so having him involved is logical. He was filmed for some of the hype vignettes for the show already.
But, could WrestleMania have Steve Austin, in a far more significant role?
source: custom, @365Wrestle twitter screenshot
Per WrestleVotes, as picked up by Ringside News…
Talked to a few different source this weekend & heard the same thing, WWE is very interested in having Steve Austin as a part of WrestleMania this year in Dallas. Not in a wrestling role, but a meaningful part of the event outside of just appearing. Up to creative at this point.
— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) December 20, 2021
Over the years, we’ve seen plenty of special hosts, from Alexa Bliss, Hulk Hogan, The Rock and even Gronk.
Hosting is “easy”, but this certainly does not seem to be a hosting gig. It would be very interesting to see what WWE might have in mind for the Hall of Famer.
Lines Being Drawn In AEW & WWE
Things are getting interesting in professional wrestling, and it seems like lines are being draw in both AEW & WWE.
What kind of lines, exactly?
Loyalty, to be blunt.
For much of the year, the positive momentum has been overwhelmingly AEW.
The company has grown a lot since it’s inception. Overall, the product has generally improved.
Of course, along the way, AEW has also been adding a plethora of talent.
Some of that talent had been cut loose from WWE.
Tony Khan had made comments about one of WWE’s numerous recent rounds of releases.
source: custom, @nerdist twitter screenshot
In it, Khan called into question just how legitimate WWE contracts actually were, considering that the company can release talent and stop paying them effectively at any time.
For what it’s worth, the notion of the release is not exactly new, nor exclusive to WWE.
In most major sports, a player under contract can be released at any time and for any reason. What is different?
The pay. If a player is released, their former team is on the hook, until or unless someone else claims their contract.
Not so with WWE.
But after the week Tony Khan and his family have had…not so with the Khans, either.
For reference, Khan and his father own the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. That team just fired head coach Urban Meyer.
In doing so, team management have indicated they will not be paying the balance of Meyer’s contract.
Sound familiar?
Seems that move has not gone under the radar. Wrestlers have caught the duplicity, and things are likely getting interesting.
Specifically, per Andrew Zarian, lines are being drawn. While the initial tweet has been removed, the commentary below still holds true:
With that said there seems to be a divide happening between talent in both companies.
Spoke to multiple sources yesterday & they feel like many would not go to the other side if there was an opportunity.
“Either you’re team WWE or team AEW for many.” https://t.co/R9OWjhkihP
— Andrew Zarian (@AndrewZarian) December 18, 2021
So, everything goes well…until it doesn’t.
And while AEW contracts are not Jacksonville Jaguars contracts, the ownership is the same, and wrestlers are paying attention.
It seems like lines are being drawn by both AEW and WWE. On the heels of the big Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn moves recently, this might be a shift that WWE needed.
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