The Rock was widely expected to battle Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, who will now face Cody Rhodes in the main event
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Although The Rock’s position for WrestleMania 39 is not fixed in stone, he will not be performing since he has stated to WWE that he does not have enough time to get into the shape he believes he needs to be in a match against Roman Reigns. Dave Meltzer observed on Wrestling Observer Radio that Rock has left the door open for a match at WrestleMania 40 next year.
WWE has previously stated that Reigns will defend his Undisputed WWE Universal Title at WrestleMania 39 against Cody Rhodes.
“The same goes for Dwayne [The Rock]. Dwayne could be there in some way or fashion. There are people going, ‘Oh, don’t you think it’s a swerve they keep saying,’ it’s not a swerve. I’ve been told this for a while. There’s always the maybe it’s a secret like the Pat McAfee thing right? (Royal Rumble surprise return). Only a few people know. We’re past that point, Cody Rhodes won the Royal Rumble. He’s getting the championship match. It ain’t’ Dwayne anymore. Dwayne’s not wrestling anybody else unless it’s a three-second match….He did not feel that he had the time to get in the shape that he needed to be in to do a Wrestlemania-caliber main event and he left the door open for next year,” Meltzer stated.
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It appeared briefly earlier this month that WWE could have Steve Austin and The Rock booked for either Night One or Night Two of WrestleMania 39 in April. But it appears that neither guy will be competing in Los Angeles in two months as the aftermath of Royal Rumble weekend and the WrestleMania situation become more evident.
The Wrestling Observer Radio of today says that Austin also probably won’t be wrestling at WrestleMania 39, however, neither guy is ruled out of attending the event. The Rock was already believed to be unlikely to participate in the event. “As far as Austin goes, Steve might be at the show, he might do something on the show, but he did, in fact, turn down wrestling at the show. He was offered Lesnar, he was offered Roman Reigns. He could’ve named his opponent if he wanted to do it with anybody else. But he did not choose to wrestle on the show. The same goes for Dwayne,” according to WOR.
Rock was widely expected to battle Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, who will now face Cody Rhodes in the main event until it became known that he wouldn’t be competing on the card. Meltzer did point out that a Rock-Reigns Mania battle may still happen, but not until WrestleMania 40 in 2024.”He left the door open for next year if he has more time,” Meltzer said.
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