Chicago Sun-Times: Stone Cold has Flair for the future

Stone Cold Steve Austin no longer is a free agent. The former WWF champ-ion has inked a deal to stay with Ric Flair and WWF "Raw." As a former champion, and a man who singlehandedly carried the company on a few occasions, Austin had earned the right to weigh his options and make a decision on his future rather than have the decision made for him at the draft.

Having earned that right, Austin sat back for two weeks to see how things would shake loose following the split, and after a painful April Fool's joke played on Vince McMahon, he decided to stay with the "Raw" brand.

The good news for Flair is that he gets one of the biggest names in wrestling history on his roster. However, as seen Monday night when Flair refused to cheer Austin's beer and caught a stunner of his own, the Rattlesnake has not changed one bit and intends to be just as independent as he was when McMahon was calling the shots.

HEARD AROUND THE RING: It looks as if HHH will defend his new WWF title belt against Hulk Hogan at the upcoming "Backlash" PPV. It will be interesting to see what the Undertaker has to say after he was granted the title shot by Flair on Monday night. ... Speaking of "Backlash," look for both the "SmackDown" and "Raw" rosters to be on hand for the show that likely will feature a WWF Intercontinental defense by Rob Van Dam vs. the returning Eddie Guerrero. ... Rey Mysterio Jr. could make his return to the wrestling scene Thursday at "SmackDown" as McMahon is committed to rejuvenating the cruiserweight division. ... Bubba Ray Dudley has made an impressive jump into the singles division with his win over Raven to become the new Hardcore champion. His teammate Devon has been given the push by McMahon to become a superstar on his own as well, but I don't think we have seen the last of the Dudley Boys as a tag team just yet. ... Look for free agents such as The Godfather, Hugh Morris, Funaki and Chavo Guerrero to be featured on "Metal," "Jakked" and "Heat" in the coming weeks as they audition for a possible second draft down the road.

HOTLINE: I will reveal two more matches added to the "Backlash' card, as well as Chris Jericho's plan to exact revenge on HHH and regain his undisputed WWF title. It's on the hotline: (900) 454-SLAM ($2 per minute).