8 HUGE WWE Royal Rumble 2023 Predictions You Need To Know

2. The Texas Rattlesnake

Stone Cold Steve Austin
WWE.com

Just what will ‘The Rattlesnake’ be doing at WrestleMania 39? And more pressingly, could the Royal Rumble be where all the clues converge?

Stone Cold Steve Austin always held his career and wrestling in general in such high esteem that he'd as good as ruled out ever returning for an actual match until the industry itself seemed to normalise making the impossible probable.

WrestleMania XIX had been a perfect pro's swan-song, but in keeping with Austin's great instincts, WrestleMania 38 made for an even better comeback. The element of surprise was key then - even when people knew Kevin Owens was eating a Stunner, WWE under-promoting the idea of the bell ringing and Stone Cold bumping in the crowd like it was 1998 - and could the industry icon be using the speculation behind The Attitude Era's other biggest star to hide in plain sight?

The Rumble is back in the Lone Star State, and in the very building where Austin won his first one 26 years ago no less. The match suits his shortcomings too; Stunners and eliminations would blow the roof off the Alamo Dome, and him winning the entire thing would subvert every expectation as well as setting up a prize for the Champion rather than the Challenger on 'The Grandest Stage'.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett