Its roundtable time once again here at WWEPreview.com and this week we’re debating the question: If Stone Cold Steve Austin comes back for one last match at WrestleMania XXV, who should his opponent be?

James Mustoe: Well the ideal dream match scenario with Steve Austin was always against with Hulk Hogan or Bill Goldberg. Since neither of those seems very likely right now I would want to bring Steve Austin to ‘give the rub’ to a younger star who would then be around to reap the benefits of the Austin program after Stone Cold had finished his run.

In the grand scheme of things I simply can’t imagine Austin wanting to come out on the losing side of things in his big WrestleMania match so you would have to think up a scenario where his opponent gains just as much from losing strongly than they would from winning, kind of like how Austin received his first big rub from losing at WrestleMania XIII against Bret Hart.

To this end I would make Austin’s opponent CM Punk. A heel turn from Punk at Survivor Series, with Punk putting extra emphasis into the straight edge part of his character would create an ideal foil for the alcoholic redneck that is Stone Cold. Punk and Austin would then be able to have an excellent promo and skit based build up to WrestleMania as both are some of the best interviews in the business when given enough leeway to say what they have to say.

An I quit match at WrestleMania XXV with Punk losing in the same way that Austin lost Bret Hart would both be fitting in Austin essentially putting the up and comer over in the same manner that he was, while also giving newer fans a strong impression of the Stone Cold character. Then after WrestleMania the fans would probably have enough respect for Punk to turn him into an even stronger upper card face than he is now.

Mark Bright: With WrestleMania XXV taking place in Texas, there has been a lot of talk that one of their hometown boys, Stone Cold Steve Austin, will be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame and wrestle one last match at WrestleMania. This has been the subject of much debate online recently, with people throwing out all kinds of dream scenarios.

One big factor is that Austin will want to have a match that will live up to his legacy. That to me rules out Batista, Kane and Big Show as far as the top stars in the company currently, as well as Goldberg should the WWE start thinking the “dream match” route. Hogan is out just because I believe Austin loves the fact that Hogan is desperate to do the match and he can hold it over his head forever. I would also rule out doing a double-babyface match as that would only damage whoever Austin faces, and you want Austin to get a total hero reaction here and not split it, so that would rule out Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Rey Mysterio and CM Punk. I’ve heard some people suggest Punk should turn heel and face Austin but I think he’s doing great as a babyface and see no reason to switch him at least for the foreseeable future.

That leaves four top guys, all of whom can build the match with their promos, all of whom will feed off the crowd’s hatred of them, and all of whom would not look bad when eating a stunner and doing the clean job - which by the way is the only possible way to end a Stone Cold Steve Austin match at WrestleMania XXV. John Cena, Randy Orton, Edge, and Chris Jericho. And yes I know Cena is a babyface technically, but he gets such hatred especially from the smark-heavy WrestleMania crowd that you’d get that reaction and if they make up post-match it could be this generation’s Hogan-Rock.

Orton has the natural programme as the Legend Killer, and that could definitely work, while Jericho has shown in this current feud with Shawn Michaels that he can come up with tremendous promos that fit his situation perfectly, if motivated by a high profile opponent like Austin would undoubtedly be.

But I just can’t look past Edge. I think he’s perfect for Austin’s opponent and that’s who I’m going for. He can cut main event level promos, he can go out there as a heel and NOT play for crowd cheers or make jokes. He will go out there on TV every week and cut epic promos, do incredible character work, and practically have the entire WWE fanbase begging for Austin to come back and kick his ass, give him the stunner, and drink some beer. And Edge is great enough that the loss will not hurt him in any way whatsoever. He is that good right now, and if anyone deserves such a high-profile spot, it’s him.

Phil Lowe: I’m writing this based on WWE avoiding any potential dream matches. The Rock will never return. Hulk Hogan could return but Austin seems happy enough not giving him the match he wants. Goldberg is an outside chance but would likely not be a success even if both guys wanted it.

For me, its one of three people: Edge, Chris Jericho or John Cena. You could perhaps make a case for a match with Undertaker, Shawn Michaels or Triple H, but I think if Austin was to return it would be for a match with a heel. Edge certainly fits the bill. Jericho does purely based on his recent heel work with Shawn Michaels. And while Cena isn’t a heel, in this situation he almost certainly would and we’d have Rock-Hogan from WrestleMania 18 all over again.

Martin Smith: In all honesty, I wouldn’t like to see Austin return. However, if he was to return, then it would surely have to be someone like Santino or Randy Orton.

Let’s face it, Austin isn’t going to come back and tear the house down. There’s a reason he’s been sat at home - his body is well and truly beat up. He would have to show up at WrestleMania, kick a little bit of ass for ten minutes and then wave bye bye. Simple as that.

It’s not going to be a 30 minute epic and it certainly wouldn’t be worth throwing him at someone like Triple H, John Cena, Batista, Edge or The Undertaker. These five need to be in the main event (or close enough to it) and as sad as it seems, I don’t believe Austin could pull off another WrestleMania main event. He would have to be a special attraction who would deliver an ass whooping.

Austin, unlike Flair, won’t be relying on a fantastic final match to cement his legacy. Most of todays audience remember Austin in his prime whereas Flair’s run was in the eighties - he needed that match with Shawn Michaels to be the final piece of the jigsaw. Even if Austin came back, and took on one of the main guys, people would always say “well, his series with McMahon or The Rock was better”. Austin doesn’t need a last match to prove anything.

The reason I went with Orton or Santino was simple. The Santino match would be more of a comedy match than anything and I think it would work well. It would certainly give Santino that extra rub he needs to move up to the main event. If WWE wanted to go the serious route, they could have Orton continue his “legend killer” thing and pin Austin. It really depends how they want to go with this.

The rest of the guys have probably gone for Triple H or Edge or whoever but I can’t see Austin wrestling more than fifteen minutes maximum. Therefore, as a headline attraction, he would flop and I certainly don’t want to remember him for that. WWE need to go the easy route and book a simple match for his finale. Randy Orton and Santino all the way.

Steve McLaren: Who I’m about to suggest probably wouldn’t draw so well, but I’d have Austin face Ted Dibiase Jr. There is an interesting choice for you. Personally, I think Ted Jr. is the next big thing. Now I know people will disagree, but I saw this guy in NOAH last year and for a dude who had only been wrestling for a little over a year I believe, he was really good.

When he popped up in WWE earlier this year, he was pretty generic in his promos; sure, I’ll grant you that. But his team with Cody Rhodes has given him some life, and he has a very old-school everything about him, and quite frankly, I love it. The kid is young, and he is only going to get even better, and a match against Austin would be huge for him.

I know there has been some talk of Ted Jr. eventually ending the Undertaker’s streak at Wrestlemania, so they (the WWE office) must be seeing what I see in him.

An interesting route they could take with Ted Jr. vs. Austin would be to have Ted Sr. comeback and talk about bring Austin into the WWF and what not.