Now that "Stone Cold" Steve Austin is gracing the cover of the WWE 2K16 video game, there has been a lot of speculation that the Hall of Famer will compete at WrestleMania 32 in his home state of Texas.
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With WrestleMania 32 emanating live from AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, and Austin saying in the past he may return to the ring, several fans believe the WWE 2K16 cover is a sign of things to come.
Austin has denied that he will return to the ring for the first time since WrestleMania XIX in 2003, but the WWE has been known to try and swerve its legions of fans in the past.
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If Austin does return to the ring, here are three possible opponents for the Texas Rattlesnake at WrestleMania 32 on April 3, 2016.
3) Hulk Hogan
It's a long-shot and something that probably should have happened in 2002, but Steve Austin was the face of the 'Attitude Era' while Hogan ushered in 'Hulkamania' to put the WWE on the map in the 1980s and early 1990s.
After Hogan departed the WWE in 1993, it struggled to find a Superstar to carry the torch and change the landscape of the business again, until Austin came around.
During the famed 'Monday Night Wars,' Austin was the key reason the WWE took back control of the ratings by wrestling it away from Hogan and his nWo, which put WCW on the map at the time.
Austin and Hogan were two of the key figures in that head-to-head war during that time period, but once WCW went under, they never met in the ring.
These are two of the biggest stars in the history of the industry and while Hogan's health and age may hold him back, this match would be pretty surreal between the two biggest stars the WWE ever produced.
It seemed destined to happen at WrestleMania X-8 in 2002, but The Hulkster wrestled Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in a legendary match instead.
2) John Cena
While Austin eventually took the ball from Hogan there was another long layoff between game-changers after Austin hung up his boots in 2003, but Cena reached the pinnacle of his profession by becoming WWE Champion in 2005 and has since then been the No. 1 face of the franchise for the last decade.
Though Cena has his many detractors, there's no denying the impact he's had on the business with his merchandise sales and his give-it-all mentality.
With Austin being the biggest name of the 'Attitude Era' and Cena taking the torch during the days of 'Ruthless Aggression' and staying on top all these years later, it would only be natural for the past face of the WWE to meet up with the present on the grandest stage of them all.
Cena is arguably at the peak of his career as he's made the United States Championship mean something through open challenges and he's had arguably the feud of the year with Kevin Owens the last couple of months.
His matches on RAW -- especially recently with Cesaro -- have put the WWE's flagship show back on the map as well.
Cena vs. Austin would make a lot of sense in a lot of ways and the Cena haters could come out in full swing when he takes on the Texas Rattlesnake.
1) Brock Lesnar
The seeds were planted by Austin and Paul Heyman on their podcast last month, and if The Beast took on The Rattlesnake, it could conceivably sellout AT&T Stadium.
The only concern with this type of clash would be Austin's health as if he did return to the ring, the WWE might want him to face a safer opponent -- especially with Lesnar injuring the Undertaker when he ended The Streak at WrestleMania XXX.
Austin vs. Lesnar would be a lot of fun and would be an interesting battle since Lesnar emerged on the scene in 2002, just as Austin's career was winding down.
Having Austin and Heyman go back-and-forth on the Hall of Famer's podcast was fun enough, but just imagine a whole two months of buildup with the two loudmouths going back-and-forth on the microphone.
The match of course would depend on Austin's health, but no one would ever forget Lesnar and Austin going head-to-head on the grandest stage of them all at WrestleMania 32.
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