We are only two months away from the biggest pro wrestling event of the year, WrestleMania, and Sunday’s main event might have been locked in last night in Philadelphia.
At “Monday Night Raw” on Netflix, Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns made his way down to the ring in the final segment of the night. After being interrupted by rival and world heavyweight champion CM Punk, the two had a heated back-and-forth before ultimately ending with Reigns challenging Punk for the title at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas.
WWE has confirmed the challenge and is promoting the mega matchup in ticket and promotion materials.
Reigns has been heavily rumored to face his cousin, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, at WrestleMania for years, with it reported that it was set for WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles before the latter passed on the idea.
The Rock looked at WrestleMania XL in Philadelphia as possibly the perfect setting for the box-office main event with Reigns, but WWE creative instead went with the two tag-teaming against Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins to close the first night of the show. Reigns would then go on to defend the 1,300-plus-day reign of his undisputed world title against Cody Rhodes in the main event, with The Rock interfering and ultimately watching Rhodes win the belt.
Last year, The Rock was heavily involved with the buildup of the show but did not appear at the actual event. He would then give interviews following WrestleMania 41, stating that he had never planned to participate in the event.
So, will he be competing at WrestleMania 42?
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As of now, all reports point to no, with The Rock currently busy with other ventures outside of his work with the WWE and parent company TKO. Reigns and Punk are penciled in as one of the men’s main event matches for the weekend, and Cody Rhodes, along with Drew McIntyre, with the possible addition of Jacob Fatu, are believed to be the other major men’s title match.
While The Rock isn’t expected in Las Vegas at this time, there are strong rumors that he might be part of WWE’s international expansion of WrestleMania next year in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia won the bidding rights to host WrestleMania 43, and early reports about the show center around the location wanting the biggest stars and matches available for the 2027 show.
After years of teases and build, the The Rock vs. Roman Reigns match might be on the horizon, just not this WrestleMania.
