With the WWE gearing up for the last of the "Big Four" pay-per-views of the year with the Survivor Series on Sunday Nov. 24, the groundwork and speculation for WrestleMania has begun and the rumor mill is swirling as to who may be returning for the spectacle that is WrestleMania 30 in New Orleans on April 6. Some names that have been flying around the past few weeks are possible returns by Bill Goldberg, Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Reports indicate that WWE has a lot of interest in bringing Goldberg in for one more match at WrestleMania 30. F4WOnline.com reports that WWE owner Vince McMahon is interested in bringing in Goldberg to spike the buy rate of WrestleMania and to capitalize on the momentum created by WWE's Goldberg DVD that was released earlier this month.
While the sides have yet to agree to a comeback for one of the most popular WCW Superstars in the late 1990's, one possible opponent if he did opt to come back could be Paul Heyman's newest client, Ryback. The two could have a battle of the monsters as a high-profile attraction for the WWE's biggest pay-per-view ever.
Many fans mock Ryback and chant "Goldberg" at him to insinuate that he ripped off his character, so the two squaring off could very well be feasible.
The one thing that will be fresh on everyone's minds is that Goldberg's last match on the grandest stage was contested against another monster in Brock Lesnar, in what was a total flop as the crowd at Madison Square Garden a decade ago at WrestleMania XX realized both combatants were leaving the company after the match and cared more about the referee "Stone Cold" Steve Austin than the actual match.
Austin has found himself in the midst of WrestleMania rumors as well and fans have clamored for one more match from the "Texas Rattlesnake," and with this being a special milestone WrestleMania, the WWE has talked about putting him in a match against one of its hottest rising stars in CM Punk. Punk has expressed his frustration in the past over never being in the main event for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania before and was vocally upset last year about not closing the show despite the fact that he was in a high-profile match going after the Undertaker's undefeated streak.
The WWE may not care too much about upsetting Punk when they know how much a match pitting him against Stone Cold could draw, but it's up to Steve Austin to ultimately make the decision on returning, and last month he didn't seem too keen on coming back.
"The chances are pretty slim to be frank about it," Austin said on The MMA Hour last month per WrestlingInc.com. "It took me three years to get the business out of my system. Withdrawal would be a good way to put it. I got through those three years, and hell, it's been eleven years since I've been in the ring."
That being said, Austin could be playing coy instead of revealing that he has plans to return, though his last match took place at WrestleMania XIX in 2003 against The Rock.
Hogan meanwhile, has teased a return to the WWE ever since his contract with TNA expired. Hogan wanted to grapple with Punk at the show, but WWE was reportedly thinking about either putting Punk in a title match or against Steve Austin in the dream match scenario. It was reported that Hogan wanted to re-sign with TNA since WWE offered him a significantly lower pay grade and turned down his desire to face Punk.
Still, Hogan recently took a picture holding the WWE Championship and said he was "thinkin..thinkin..thinkin..." and PWInsider reported that Hogan has been training like a madman" to return to the WWE. He also said recently he and Triple H have had some welcoming chats.
"He just welcomed me with open arms. He said if ever I decide I get the itch to come back home, the door's open," Hogan stated per WrestlingInc.com.
While all of the above names are just rumors, they make for an interesting six months leading up to the WWE's biggest pay-per-view of all-time with WrestleMania XXX emanating from New Orleans.
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