WrestleMania 39: Five main-eventers who will miss biggest 2023 WWE PLE

Goldberg tp not return to WWE for WrestleMania 39 (image courtesy WWE)

Bengaluru, February 14: WrestleMania season is that time of the year when lots of legendary or major part-time WWE Superstars make their way back to Raw/Smackdown programming to be a part of the event.

No matter whether they're retired or not, WWE always finds a way to insert these veteran names into the match card. In the last few years, such names like The Undertaker, Triple H, Kurt Angle, and Batista featured in their final matches at the biggest pro-wrestling stage.

WrestleMania 39 in Hollywood was supposed to be one similar returning occasion for many but except for WWE Hall of Famer Edge, no other legends are expected to perform at the show. A few regular roster members will also be excluded from the event due to separate reasons.

At a glance, these are the five bonafide WrestleMania main-eventers who are confirmed to miss the 2023 edition:

5. AJ Styles

The Phenomenal One suffered a ruptured ankle at a WWE Live Event, earlier this year and he's going to be out of action for several months to follow. With no recovery timeline set for him, he will miss WrestleMania 39.

4. Randy Orton

Since dropping the Raw Tag Team Championship with Matt Riddle in May 2022, The Viper was sidelined from WWE TV due to a back injury. It forced him to undergo lower back fusion surgery, afterward.

At one point, the injury reportedly almost ended his wrestling career but thankfully, he is recovering well and also gearing up for a comeback.

But with WrestleMania 39 season continuing in full force, there's possibly no space available to insert Orton into a compact storyline. Hence, the popular belief is that he'll return on the post-Mania edition of Raw/SmackDown.

3. Goldberg

The former WCW franchise player last wrestled at the WWE Elimination Chamber 2022 premium live event in Saudi Arabia, where he unsuccessfully challenged Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship.

After that match, the legend underwent shoulder surgery and is currently a free agent. Goldberg is ready for a comeback and could've been booked in a WrestleMania match but for some reason, the Chief Content Officer Triple H opted not to call him back to TV.

2. Stone Cold Steve Austin

Perhaps, the most popular WWE Superstar of all time, Stone Cold Steve Austin came out of retirement after 19 years at WrestleMania 38 and defeated Kevin Owens in his home state of Texas in a No Holds Barred Match.

Recent reports have claimed that WWE offered Stone Cold a match for the WrestleMania 39 PLE, against Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns for the title.

The other match option for him was to feature in a once-in-a-lifetime match against Brock Lesnar after Steve walked out of their previously scheduled match in an episode of Raw in 2002 due to creative differences.

Unfortunately, Austin turned both these matches down despite being in good shape and he is not going to wrestle at the biggest event of the year in Hollywood.

1. The Rock

Speaking of Hollywood, The Rock was obviously the obvious choice for the main-event spot at WrestleMania 39. For the past year, he was heavily rumoured to challenge his cousin, Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns for the title.

But a busy filming schedule as well as the re-launch of XFL won't allow him to be in the match. The Brahma Bull reportedly has no time to prepare himself for a full-fledged wrestling match and he's not returning to action until at least, next year.

Story first published: Tuesday, February 14, 2023, 14:40 [IST]

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