WWE WrestleMania 39 rumors: Stone Cold Steve Austin offered big money for main event

WWE reportedly made an “enormous” money offer to Stone Cold Steve Austin for a big main event match.

The Royal Rumble is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 28, which means fans will get a clearer picture as to what the creative plans are for WrestleMania 39 are for this summer. While the belief was that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson would return to the company for a huge match at WrestleMania, a recent report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted that he was considered less likely to appear at the company’s biggest show of the year. The plan was for “The Rock” to take on Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39.

According to Fightful Select (subscription required), WWE made an internal pitch for Stone Cold Steve Austin to face a “huge opponent.” That opponent is Reigns according to Fightful Select, who notes that they were told Austin was approached with this idea, and that it was said to have been for “enormous” money.

It is unknown if Austin accepted this deal, or if this pitched match against Reigns would happen at WrestleMania.

Fightful Select notes that WWE approached Austin with an offer last year, but it “wasn’t as appealing from a financial standpoint.”

WWE reportedly pitched Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Roman Reigns

Austin retired from in-ring competition back at WrestleMania 19. He hadn’t wrestled in another match since he faced “The Rock” for the third time at the biggest show of the year. However, he shockingly had his return match at Night One of WrestleMania 38 last year, where he defeated Kevin Owens in a No Holds Barred match in the main event.

Reigns vs. “The Rock” was planned as a potential main event match at WrestleMania for quite some time. WWE has positioned Reigns as its top star, as he held onto the Universal Championship since Aug. 30, 2020, and won the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 38.

Fans should get a better idea as to who Reigns will face at WrestleMania after the Men’s Royal Rumble match. The winner of that match will face off against Reigns in a championship bout at WWE’s biggest premium live event of the year.

WrestleMania 39 takes place on Saturday, Apr. 1 and Sunday, Apr. 2, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.

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