Steve Austin is not enough to save WrestleMania season

It’s WrestleMania season and that means big surprises and breaking news will come in hot up until the big annual show. Wild news broke last night, as Fightful Select reported that WWE is “making overtures” for Stone Cold Steve Austin to have a match at WrestleMania. Understandably so, social media was on fire with speculation and excitement. But after nearly 20 years away from the ring and the current state of WWE, Steve Austin may not be enough to spark excitement in what WWE has to offer.

First things first, anytime the sound effect cue of glass breaking hits, the fans will pop. The cheers will be deafening, as they should. Austin is a Hall of Famer in every sense of the word. The multiple-time champion was one of the leading forces behind the Attitude Era, the most popular time in WWE’s history. Having him back will spark a lot of nostalgia and grab headlines as lapsed fans will be interested in seeing what their long-gone hero has returned to do.

But there are questions that loom. Can WWE capitalize on the immediate boost in excitement? Is the current state of booking in WWE such a drain that even Austin can’t save it?

There’s a lot to complain about when it comes to WWE’s booking practices today. All the complaints roll up to the point that WWE is struggling to create new stars. Instead, the company continues to lean on past acts and part-timers to draw eyeballs, but these practices continue to harm the talent that is present on the show week in, and week out.

Look back to John Cena’s recent run with the company, leading to his match with Roman Reigns. From July through September, WWE had access to one of its biggest stars in recent memory. An individual who was heading into a breakout show, The Peacemaker. Instead of featuring him on SmackDown each week in some type of match with a talented, young performer, WWE kept him in dark matches, failing to take advantage of his ability to build stars. Now, the company is struggling to get names like Cena or The Rock involved in any sense.

It’s understandable why so many people would be excited about a potential return for Stone Cold Steve Austin. But the other side of the coin is full of apprehension thanks to how WWE booking has completely denigrated the product in recent years. Sadly, the “let it play out” crew may have a point this time around.