Aside from the return of CM Punk, no WWE moment in recent months has inspired a bigger “it’s all happening, fam” feeling than The Rock making his Roman Reigns reference on the Jan. 1 episode of Raw. A match between the two has been speculated about for several years, and this is the best sign yet that it could actually take place in 2024 — especially since Mr. Johnson has been hinting that this wasn’t a one-off appearance.
The obvious place for a Rock-Reigns bout would be WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia to ensure it’s on the biggest possible event. The fly in the ointment for that plan is Cody Rhodes, who really needs to finish the story so we don’t all have to hear another year of that phrase being brought up on a regular basis.
With that in mind, speculation turned toward February’s Elimination Chamber event in Perth, Australia. The thinking was two-fold: Perth had reportedly asked WWE if Dwayne Johnson could be involved in the show, plus it would clear the deck for a Rhodes-Reigns rematch in Philadelphia.
While that could still happen, one well-connected insider doesn’t see it. In his most recent issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required), Dave Meltzer throws some cold water on The Rock’s chances of heading Down Under and proposes an alternative possibility for a WrestleMania main event.
Regarding the Reigns vs. Rock match, while I presume it’s WrestleMania (and could possibly be a three-way with Rhodes but I don’t think that will come out until many weeks from now), what we did have confirmed is the Australia rumors aren’t accurate. Reigns is not even scheduled for the show. He’s never been advertised and there are no plans for him for that date right now
Maybe we’ve been focusing on the wrong man’s schedule the whole time. Reigns is in the “special attraction” phase of his career and hasn’t been working every premium live event. He will be in action at Royal Rumble, where he will face AJ Styles, LA Knight and Randy Orton in a Fatal Four-Way. But he hasn’t been advertised for Elimination Chamber, and having him sit that show out would be in line with his usage over the past 18 months or so.
Suddenly a Triple Threat match starts to make a lot more sense. It would allow Reigns to not only be in the ring with Rhodes and The Rock at WrestleMania, but a finish could be concocted where Johnson looks good but the American Nightmare is the one to actually dethrone Reigns.
The next few weeks should be very telling, as should the Men’s Royal Rumble match at the end of this month. WWE definitely has some tap dancing to do to take advantage of this particular set of circumstances, but any time fans are clamoring to see more than one challenger get their shot at its top star, it’s a very good problem to have.