Wrestling fans around the world were thrilled when Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson hinted at the possibility of a major match at WrestleMania 40.
Long before he became a Hollywood A-lister, Johnson was winning over fans as he climbed his way to the top of the WWE.
However, since his 2013 bout with John Cena at WrestleMania 29, he has only had one brief interaction with Erick Rowan that’s best forgotten.
During a recent appearance on ESPN, WWE legend Johnson teased the prospect of facing his cousin, Roman Reigns, at next year’s WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia.
Speaking on the Pat McAfee Show, The Rock said he is “open” to the idea of taking on Reigns and added that there is “potential” for it to happen.
Johnson confirmed a long-standing rumour that the original plan was for him to headline WrestleMania 39 against Reigns earlier this year.
The Rock revealed that he had made a handshake deal and verbal agreement with WWE chairman Vince McMahon and President Nick Khan in early 2022 for the match to take place in April 2023.
Unfortunately, the parties involved could not agree on the next part of the storyline, and the match was called off.
Johnson wanted to give the fans something special, with the idea that WrestleMania 39 would be the start of a longer story, but when nothing could be decided, the match was cancelled.
As a result, Cody Rhodes won the men’s Royal Rumble match from the No. 30 spot and challenged Reigns for the undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
Rhodes and The Tribal Chief clashed in Night 2 of WrestleMania 39, and although it seemed as though everything was set up for The American Nightmare to win, Solo Sikoa interfered and helped Reigns retain.
Since then, it has been widely assumed among wrestling fans that WWE would build Rhodes back up and give him another chance to take on Reigns at WrestleMania 40.
However, The Rock’s recent comments suggest another option may now be on the table.
The 51-year-old Johnson stopped working a full-time WWE schedule in 2003, and after competing at WrestleMania 20 in 2004, he did not have another match for over seven years.
He returned to WWE in 2011 to work a program with John Cena, beating him at WrestleMania 28 before defeating CM Punk for the WWE Championship at Royal Rumble 2013.
Johnson then dropped the title to Cena in the main event of WrestleMania 29, thus completing his return to WWE.
Although The Rock has made several appearances for WWE since then, including beating Erick Rowan in an impromptu match at WrestleMania 32 in 2016, he hasn’t had a legitimate match with build in over a decade.
This is largely due to his focus on other ventures, including his work as a successful Hollywood actor.
He is also one of the owners of the XFL, which played its first season since the relaunch this past spring.
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It was widely assumed that The Rock’s outside interests were the main reason why the rumoured match against Reigns at WrestleMania 39 didn’t come to fruition.
However, he suggested on the Pat McAfee Show that his decision was influenced by creative differences.
WrestleMania 39 would have been a perfect spot for The Rock vs. Reigns since it was close to The Rock’s adopted home of Hollywood.
However, WrestleMania 40 would also be an ideal fit for several reasons. It is a landmark WrestleMania and Philly played host to The Rock’s first WrestleMania main event, where he faced “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in the WrestleMania 15 headliner.
Reigns is in the middle of one of the greatest title runs in WWE history, having held a world title for over 1,100 days consecutively.
Additionally, he has done the best character work of his career as a heel over the past three years.
His character is perfectly suited to face off against The Rock since Reigns claims to be The Head of the Table and the main provider for his family, which is something Johnson could easily challenge.
It remains unclear what will happen to Rhodes if Reigns vs. The Rock happens at WrestleMania 40, but given that it is the biggest possible dream match in the industry, WWE will likely jump at the chance to secure it if Reigns and The Rock can reach a new agreement.
