Although WWE has tried for years to make The Rock vs. Roman Reigns a reality, the match has yet to take place. Fans were on the verge of seeing it at WrestleMania 39 this year, but plans fell through.
The Rock provided insight into the situation in September while appearing on the Pat McAfee Show, noting that the match was locked in ahead of this year’s event, to the point where he made a handshake deal to do it after meeting with WWE in LA.
Unfortunately, things fell apart because they wanted to do something that would change the business and couldn’t come up with anything, so they put the talks on hold for the time being.
He gave fans some hope when he said he’s open to a match with Reigns at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia next year.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the internal belief in WWE is that the company would not turn Rock down if he wanted to do the match. Still, it’s not something they’re considering for WrestleMania 40.
Meltzer stated, “Regarding the stories that WWE won’t do Rock vs. Reigns at Mania if Rock wants to do it, what we were told is this. If he wants the spot I can’t believe WWE would turn him down, but after Johnson turned it down last year, nobody is going with the idea he’s going to do it this year. The match is not scheduled, unlike at this time last year when the match was considered a good shot.”
It was also stated that Rock is expected to be busy once the Hollywood strike ends. Meltzer went on to say, “We were told that Rock is not going to come back and win the title.”
