The Rock vs Roman Reigns was planned for WrestleMania 39 but due to Dwayne's fitness issue and in-ring hindrance, the match was scrapped.
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Despite multiple contradicting claims, this year’s WrestleMania will not include the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson family dream match. According to WWE’s Paul Heyman, the bout that never happened but keeps coming up every year around WrestleMania season hasn’t gained much support. In an interview with the “Sports Illustrated Media Podcast,” he stated that despite the frequent reports, he never communicated with Johnson about the match.
Heyman mentioned Johnson’s busy schedule as a barrier, stating that with the debut of the XFL, his promotional schedule, and other initiatives, it would be tough for him to find the time to get back into ring condition. Although Johnson may be able to run a marathon right now, the cardio required to perform in-ring and being in in-ring shape is “two completely different things,” according to Reigns’ Special Counsel. Heyman stated that it demands a degree of training that is unique to the sports entertainment industry, emphasizing that Johnson “would’ve had the time with these projects at this particular moment on his plate.”
In terms of training to return to the ring, Heyman believes Johnson would require six to ten weeks, after which he’d be “good for the rest of the summer” because of the muscle memory he’s developed over his Hall of Fame career.
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According to previous reports, WWE was aware for some time that Johnson would be unable to perform on the “Grandest Stage of Them All” in April, moving the spotlight on Cody Rhodes for the match versus Reigns. Despite the worries regarding Johnson’s lack of training, Heyman feels he could have attempted to make things work given his high level of expertise inside the ropes, but he doesn’t believe the audience would have paid to watch something that underperformed.
“I bet you just based on his knowledge of the ring, his supreme psychology which made him such a huge star, the people that we have around us to diagram such a confrontation, and just the fact that Dwayne would push himself beyond his own limits, we could’ve had a good 15-minute match,” Heyman said.
“But I don’t think anybody would’ve paid to see the main event of WrestleMania of a fantasy match-up of a dream match between ‘The Tribal Chief’ Roman Reigns and The Rock himself, I don’t think anybody wanted to pay to see a 15-minute match. I think people would pay and rightfully expect to see a far longer story be told in a most exciting and A++++-level fashion. And to that, there just was no way he would’ve been able to deliver and I don’t think he would ever want to disappoint whatever we end up calling the WWE Universe.”
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