During the build-up to WrestleMania 39, there was much talk regarding The Rock arriving at the event to face the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns. Of course, that never happened, with The Rock reportedly not feeling ready to participate in the ring.
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The Rock was supposed to compete for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles, but the event never took place. A similar situation appears to be possible in Philadelphia a year from now. In the main event of WrestleMania 39 Night Two, Roman Reigns defended the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Cody Rhodes. The audience expected The American Nightmare to conclude his story and dethrone The Tribal Chief, but that was not to be.
Solo Sikoa interfered in the match, allowing Reigns to maintain his historic title reign. Many fans believe that The Rock will return to defeat Reigns once his credible challengers run out. WWE fans should not expect The Great One to appear at WrestleMania 40 next year, according to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer.
“Reigns had pretty much gone through everyone at the top tier on the roster, and with the exception of Gunther or, of course, The Rock. Dwayne Johnson, when he turned down this year due to schedule, did leave a crack in the door open about possibly doing Philadelphia at WrestleMania 40 next year, but that was far from a commitment and certainly nothing anyone should count on happening. There didn’t appear to be another new challenger on the horizon,” said Dave Meltzer. [H/T: Cultaholic]
READ MORE: Roman Reigns’ WWE Undisputed Champion reign may run throughout 2023
The undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns is apparently not set to appear at the Backlash premium live event on May 6. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), Reigns was not scheduled to perform at Backlash as of Monday, but he is scheduled to wrestle at other premium live events in the coming months.
Reigns surprise defeated Cody Rhodes in the main event of WrestleMania 39 last weekend, owing to intervention from Solo Sikoa, extending his reign as world champion to nearly 900 days. Rhodes challenged Reigns to a rematch on Monday’s Raw, but he rejected it. Reigns instead decided to team up with Sikoa versus Rhodes and a partner of his choice.
Brock Lesnar came forward and agreed to be Rhodes’ partner, but before the main event of Raw could begin, Lesnar savagely assaulted Rhodes, implying that he will face great obstacles before returning to Reigns. Given that WWE appears to be building for Rhodes vs Lesnar as the big event of Backlash, the business can afford to leave Reigns off the schedule.
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