WWE Rumors: Hall Of Famer And Former World Champion Reportedly Returning To Television After Pandemic

According to a tweet from WrestleVotes, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin will reportedly return to WWE television as soon as there are crowds in arenas again. The plan is to celebrate his career similar to the way in which the company honored Triple H’s 25th anniversary on an episode of Friday Night SmackDown earlier this year.

The report also noted that a “slew of merchandise” will be released to coincide with the occasion. However, the company also hopes that the legendary superstar’s appearance will draw high ratings for whichever show he’s slated for.

Austin made his debut back on January 8, 1996. If this is an anniversary event, it’s highly likely that he’ll be on the January 4 or January 11 episodes of Monday Night Raw. These dates make the most sense for a celebration.

Austin was scheduled for a celebratory appearance back in March, but the show just happened to be scheduled during the start of the pandemic. After the Hall of Famer was booked to appear, WWE had to begin airing shows from the Performance Center and Austin still showed up and cut a promo in an empty room.

A separate report from WrestlingNews.co noted that this is part of many plans that are reportedly in the works to boost WWE’s post-pandemic viewership. The belief is that the promotion will produce pay-per-view quality shows to bring back fans who have stopped watching recently.

Brock Lesnar might compete on the first Monday Night Raw with fans back in attendance. He is still one of the company’s top marquee talents, and his presence will undoubtedly attract viewers.

Lesnar hasn’t been on television since WrestleMania 35, where he lost the World Championship to Seth Rollins in the main event. As The Inquisitr recently reported, there were reportedly plans to bring him back for SummerSlam, but they were scrapped due to the fact there won’t be a crowd there.

There have been rumors of Lesnar being booked in a feud with Bobby Lashley in the near future. Lashley has been booked strongly of late, and this match would undoubtedly intrigue wrestling fans who have wanted to see it happen for years. The match was teased for SummerSlam, but it’s been put on the backburner due to Lesnar’s set absence.

Lesnar’s return should also feature a Paul Heyman cameo. While Heyman was released from his position as the executive director of Raw back in June, he’s still employed as the advocate of “The Beast.”