The hype has been building for more than two years – the thought of a dream match between Roman Reigns and The Rock at a WrestleMania in Hollywood. And WWE really needs to make good on it.
While the COVID-19 pandemic changed the date from 2021 to 2022, the endgame hasn’t changed in fans’ minds. Put Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson – arguably the biggest movie star in the world – in the WWE Hall of Fame and add the final piece of the puzzle to his cousin’s run that is among the all-time best in the company’s history. That and Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch, which doesn’t appear on track to be happening, felt like the locks for WrestleMania 39 at SoFi Stadium.
It’s gotten to the point that every time I mention the possibility of Rock vs. Reigns to my wife – who has tolerated my wrestling obsession for years – I’m met with a response that conveys both being tired of hearing about it and a skepticism it will actually occur.
We will likely find out if it’s happening this Saturday at the Royal Rumble – the show that makes the most sense to kick off Reigns’ road to WrestleMania.
But as the show has grown closer there have been mixed signals with fans looking for any sign they will get what they want. The official Rumble poster was interpreted as having the Rock’s Titan Tron lighting in the background and some even saw the outline of a bull in the top left corner. WWE released new Rock merchandise on its official shop and even put a photo of Rock holding the WWE championship on a tweet promoting a look-back at the end of the last 10 Royal Rumbles. WWE also burned one of its potential big surprises by announcing Cody Rhodes’ return for the Royal Rumble match.
Roman Reigns and Paul HeymanWWEThen there was a report last week from Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer that unless things change very soon, The Rock would not be at WrestleMania because “he won’t have time to get into the kind of [ring] shape he feels he needs to be in to do a main event match with Roman Reigns, but Rock kept the door open for something in the future.” Meltzer did note that this could just be an attempt to try to keep “a secret from everyone.”
Then over the weekend, WWE’s plans for an Acknowledgment Ceremony for Reigns on Raw – which seemed like a perfect jumping-off point for a story with The Rock once he didn’t attend – were changed to the Trial of Sami Zayn. But that reportedly was because Afa, Sika and Rikishi were unable to travel. On Monday came a Fightful report that WWE recently made an big offer to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to face Reigns at WrestleMania. But that can’t compare to Rock vs. Reigns.
Maybe we were naïve to think Rock would step into a WWE ring one more time. The guy has had two matches in the past nine years. He was seriously injured in one and the other lasted just seconds.
Maybe it was wishful thinking to hope The Rock at 50 could be drawn back by the perfect location, opponent and story to say goodbye — not to mention a chance to promote the re-launching of the XFL along the way. Didn’t he watch Austin tear down the house last year in Texas?
Maybe that ship has sailed. Let’s hope not.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson at the 2013 Royal Rumble.Jack Shea/Starshots/BroadimageIf it has, it will still be a loaded card for WrestleMania 39. But there would be a significant level of disappointment and missed opportunity if The Rock doesn’t appear at least in some way at the show. It will leave a giant what-if for both him and Reigns. Even if the match occurs a year or two from now, it won’t quite be the same because Reigns’ historic run will be over by then, his shoulders already having been pinned to the mat, his WWE Undisputed Universal championship status lost.
The time for Rock vs. Reigns is now. Let’s hope WWE delivers and come Saturday night — after Reigns faces Kevin Owens with his titles on the line — we are feeling goosebumps as Rock’s music blares and the real “Head of the Table” stands face to face with the Tribal Chief. Anything less would be a buzzkill.
The Naturals
I can’t say enough good things about the Renee Paquette-“Hangman” Adam Page interview segment as it made use of all of their skills and her standing as Jon Moxley’s wife perfectly. Page was trying to stay upset at Moxley after he made good on his promise by leaving him nearly unconscious in the ring last week. But his humanity peeked through as the warmness and professionalism of Paquette – the person who should be most upset with him — seemed to take him off guard. Paquette’s interview style feeling so natural also shined.
Her first question to him was: “How are you feeling?” Page struggles at first to find his words and anger once she tells him Moxley feels like he pushes him to be his best and that he both “despises” and “cherishes” him. When the “interview” portion ended, Paquette asked him “you OK with that” interview, and Hangman says it was painless enough. His time to be tough is over and he asked Paquette how Moxley is “actually” feeling and falls just short of asking her to pass along a message to him. Hangman probably doesn’t get the level of credit he deserved for character work.
In addition to that, he potentially opened the door for AEW to return to the story of his reconciliation with The Elite – something that feels like all the CM Punk drama and injuries took off course. Page, when asked what’s next, said he needs to “mend some fences that have needed mending for a long time.”
Dem Boyz
The pro wrestling community reminded us it’s a true family this week as we all mourned the tragic death of Jay Briscoe (Jamin Pugh) in a car accident at the age of 38. The outpouring of love and tributes across all companies is a reminder that WWE, AEW, Impact and ROH and others really are just names in a larger tight-knit community and that there are real people, like all of us, who are dads, husbands, fathers, moms, wives and friends behind the characters we see on TV.
I’ve only come to know The Briscoes over the past six years as my interest and appreciation of wrestling grew past WWE. There were always a few things you could count on when Jay and his brother Mark popped on your screen. You’d always leave entertained, you were never going to get anything but their absolute best and you just might see something you’d never seen before. The list of wrestlers they have worked with is astounding and they will go down as one of the best tag teams ever.
Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to the Pugh family and their daughters, Gracie and Jayleigh, on their recovery. If you’d like to donate, here is a link to their page.
The 10 Count
Raw XXX was overall a super entertaining show and the first hour was simply superb. But WWE tried to jam so much into it that it ended up having to turn the anticipated cage match between Bayley and Becky Lynch into a squash segment because The Bloodline’s Tribal Court segment reportedly ran long. And it led to a rushed main event and Brock Lesnar’s return feeling even less impactful that it already was. It felt like WWE should have cut from the two non-promoted matches instead of just chopping Bayley and Lynch, but I’d still rather no match than a short match in that spot.
This is the type of run we were all hoping Bryan Danielson would go on when he arrived in AEW. He’s just having arguably the best match ever in the company on a weekly basis on TV while in the main-event feud. His clash with Bandido was a classic and we will see a completely different style of match against Brian Cage this week.
Friday really felt like Paul Heyman’s time to shine. His looks of fear at an angry Roman Reigns have become a weekly treat. His description of a door to Sami Zayn and then the great caution with which he gave Reigns sound advice shows just how on edge everyone is. That carried over into his role of the prosecutor in the Trial of Sami Zayn on Monday. The whole thing, including Jey Uso being the one to come to Sami’s defense, is all cinema-quality storytelling.
By the time it’s over, Grayson Waller will be Bron Breakker’s best NXT feud to date. Having Breakker verbalize some doubt about Waller nearly having him beat after the hard knee was key. Also, if you forgot who Roxanne Perez’s main nemesis is, Cora Jade interfering in her match was a great reminder.
Saraya and Toni Storm on AEW Dynamite.All Elite Wrestling We got a heel turn in the AEW women’s division, just not Hikaru Shida. Instead, it was Saraya and Toni Storm mocking AEW originals and attacking Willow Nightingale after a match. While I’m not sure I agree with turning Saraya this early, this feels like it’s all leading to a grander purpose – maybe Team AEW vs. ex-WWE talent in a Blood and Guts match.
With the Undertaker character having said his final goodbyes, it made sense for him to show up as the American Badass on Raw. His interaction whispering to Bray Wyatt after tossing L.A. Knight his way felt like a passing of the torch. There was a mix of both fear and respect in Wyatt’s eyes throughout.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Kazuchika Okada caused quite a stir with his stiff beatdown of Noah champion Kaito Kiyomiya, 26, after the young star kicked him directly in the face during a match. Okada loves to add new wrinkles and this inter-promotional war could bring out the best in him. The two are set for a match at their joint show on Feb. 12 — that Okada is now in storyline refusing.
Mickie James going off on Bully Ray this week on Impact and then the two of them interacting in the ring during a mixed tag match was compelling storytelling. It just piled on heat to Bully Ray.
It’s refreshing to see the WWE tag team division getting this much prominence on TV, especially with the tournament on SmackDown. But the next step is injecting some more layered stories into it.
What still gets me is Sonjay Dutt actually gave “usher” Danhausen his tickets to check.
Wrestler of the Week
Darby Allin, All Elite Wrestling
AEW no longer using Allin as just a stuntman has been refreshing to see. He defended his TNT championship in a superb main-event match against Kushida on Dynamite. Allin, who is showing off his wrestling chops again, followed that up by making his debut in Japan in a six-man tag alongside Sting and Keiji Muto for the sendoff of The Great Muta character in Pro Wrestling Noah over the weekend. He’s delivering and being showcased like the star he is.
Match to Watch
Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens, Undisputed WWE Universal Championship (Royal Rumble, Saturday, 8 p.m., Peacock)
Yes, the Royal Rumble matches themselves are usually the highlight, but the list of potential winners barring surprises seems short on both sides. Reigns and Owens will meet in a singles match at the Royal Rumble for the third time in their careers – the last one included a suspect 10-count in a last-man-standing match in 2021. The story entering the match around Sami Zayn is so heavy, it’s like waiting for the season finale of your favorite show to see how it will all play out. Lastly, if The Rock is going to challenge Reigns at WrestleMania we will find out here.
Around the Ring
- John Cena was announced as the cover athlete for the WWE 2K23 video game that will be released on March 17. The WarGames match has been added to the game.
- MLW announced last week that it will be coming to REELZ with a new weekly primetime series “MLW Underground Wrestling” starting Feb. 7 at 10 p.m.
- Shawn Spears and Cassie Lee announced the birth of their first child, Austin Jay, last week. Congrats!
