By James Caldwell, PWTorch columnist

Mr. Kennedy might be injured right now, but he's still promoting WrestleMania 25 in Houston next April. One of the key stars expected to be part of the event is Texas-native Steve Austin, and Mr. Kennedy confirmed he will be at Mania.

"As always, you can expect appearances from celebrities, from wrestlers past," Mr. Kennedy told Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald. "Stone Cold Steve Austin will be at this year's WrestleMania. That's already a given."

Kennedy is still rehabbing his injured shoulder and his expected return date is Feb. 28 with six months of recovery required. He hopes to be back for WrestleMania, but he's not sure what his role will eventually be in WWE.

"Dr. James Andrews did my surgery and said it was going to be a long, slow road to recovery, about six months," he said. "Right now my projected return date is February 28, but I could end up coming back early, or it could take a little bit longer than that, but I'm hoping for an early return."

Kennedy was asked about his constant injuries and he said he's trying to remain positive despite so many starts and stops. "The human body is bound to get injured every once-in-a-while, and unfortunately, I've had a couple of setbacks, but I definitely don't let that cast a gloomy cloud over me. I try to always make something positive out of it," he said.

Regarding the upcoming release of his "Behind Enemy Lines III" movie, Kennedy says WWE fans will get to see a different side of him. He hopes it will transition him into more movie roles.

"I would like to hope other movies are in my future," he said. "I have a lot more to offer than just beating people up in the ring on Monday nights or Friday nights or whatever the case may be."

Kennedy says Vince McMahon saw an early copy and he was pleased with the movie. WWE has now decided to do more straight-to-DVD releases because they've done well selling DVDs of their theatrical releases.

"Vince, himself, said, 'OK, why am I spending $20 million on movies when I can get this kind of a movie for $5 million,'" Mr. Kennedy said. "I know a lot of our previous movies didn't do so well in the box office but really cleaned up when they came out in DVD. So we're taking out that extra step and going right to DVD, and I think it's going to be a success."

Caldwell's Analysis: Good interview from Mr. Kennedy, but it's pretty risky to step out on a limb and confirm Steve Austin is booked for WrestleMania - whether it's in the ring or simply for the Hall of Fame - when WWE hasn't announced him yet. Very interesting to hear Kennedy confirm that.

RELATED STORY at PWTorch.com: Steve Austin movie update.

DISCUSSION POINT: How should Steve Austin be used at WrestleMania? Check in below with your thoughts on Austin's role at Mania.

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