Wrestling star “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s career in the ring might be over — and that could be a full-body slam for the megamuscled mayhem of the WWF.

The grip-and-groan World Wrestling Federation — purveyor of action-packed scripted ring drama — has built its reputation on creating elaborate storylines to captivate millions of TV viewers.

But the managers of Vince McMahon’s empire — denying that Austin’s injury is part of a script — say his problem is all too real.

They say Austin — who as one of the WWF’s most popular wrestlers is the company’s main meal ticket and a top TV star — is suffering from a career-threatening injury and faces spinal surgery.

“Even if after the surgery the doctor thinks it would be better for him not to wrestle, there’s no doubt in our minds that he would still assume a huge role on our television broadcast,” said Jim Ross, a WWF senior vice president and ring announcer.

The injury — a bone spur on the C4 vertebra — is putting pressure on Austin’s spine. The pressure is causing Austin severe back pain and has caused numbness in his limbs.

“They think that the surgery will relieve the pressure on his spinal cord and Steve will at least have a fighting chance to resume what he’s been doing,” Ross said.

The injury was caused by years of playing amateur football and participating in pro wrestling, Ross said.

It was aggravated during a 1997 grudge match with Owen Hart — the WWF grappler who was killed earlier this year in a bizarre ring accident.

“Steve said he’s got a relapse of the same injury,” a source close to Austin told The Post yesterday.

During a scripted match, Hart was supposed to lift the 250-pound Austin into the air and drop him on his head in a move called a pile-driver. When Hart dropped Austin, he landed wrong — and parts of his hands and legs went numb.

Now, two years later, it appears that the wear and tear of wrestling has inflamed Austin’s spine again.

Last Friday, Austin underwent a medical test called a Mylogram, in which doctors injected iodine-based dye into Austin’s spine. The dye highlights the extent of any damage on an X-ray.

Regardless of Austin’s medical condition, he will continue to be part of the show, WWF spokesman Jim Byrne said. “Steve is under a long-term contract with us, so in one form or another he’s going to continue entertaining all of our fans,” Byrne said.

Two years ago, moments after Austin was hurt, Hart said he knew something went seriously wrong.

“I knew right there that there was something wrong,” Hart said in an archived interview that aired for the first time last week on A&E’s “Biography” series.

“Steve said, ‘I can’t feel my fingers,’ and it went from utopia to hell in a split second,” Hart said.

Austin — the most popular character in the show — has been hurting for several weeks. He did not wrestle on a Nov. 14 pay-per-view event called “Survivor Series,” although he had originally intended to.

Wrestling observers speculate that if Austin had to leave the ring he would still take part in the show as a sideline character such as an announcer, a faux WWF official or a manager.

His work playing a cop on the CBS prime-time series “Nash Bridges” is a good example of Austin’s ability to work as an entertainer out of the ring, Byrne said.

“Although he is a tremendous technician in the ring, some of his most memorable moments at the [WWF] were not wrestling per se, but a performance,” Byrne said.