RAW star and Roman Reigns tipped to become WWE's modern-day Steve Austin and The Rock

Ricardo Rodriguez believes Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns can be WWE’s modern-day version of The Rock and Steve Austin.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, The Rock and Austin cemented their legacies as two of the greatest stars in WWE history. Two decades on, McIntyre and Reigns are arguably the top full-time singles stars on RAW and SmackDown, respectively.

Rodriguez, who worked for WWE between 2010 and 2014, spoke to Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Riju Dasgupta about various wrestling topics. Asked about McIntyre and Reigns replicating The Rock and Austin, he said that WWE could build a long-term McIntyre vs. Reigns feud.

“It can be, it totally can be [modern-day The Rock vs. Steve Austin],” Rodriguez said. “Eventually, once you put them together in a program, and maybe, I don’t know, I’m not sure, but maybe they have long-term plans to do this, build Drew on RAW and then build Roman on SmackDown, to the point where if you remember back then John Cena was on one brand and then Randy Orton was on the other. And then they built them separately and eventually they put them together, and they became who they became.”

Watch the video above to find out Ricardo Rodriguez’s thoughts on the likes of John Cena returning to WWE after lengthy absences. He also spoke about the need for WWE to build opponents who can elevate Roman Reigns.

Roman Reigns’ history with Drew McIntyre

Roman Reigns defeated Drew McIntyre in a Champion vs. Champion match in 2020

Drew McIntyre has lost all four of his televised singles matches against Roman Reigns, including at WrestleMania 35 and WWE Survivor Series 2020.

With McIntyre and Reigns currently on opposing brands, Ricardo Rodriguez thinks WWE might have deliberately separated the two men to build toward another one-on-one match.

“Maybe, maybe that’s what they’re doing again,” Rodriguez said. “They’re building Roman on SmackDown and they’re gonna build Drew on RAW. Then eventually they’re gonna put them together. Hopefully, maybe, so that could be a possibility.”

Your official #SummerSlam poster is HERE. The #UniversalTitle will be on the line at Your Summer Vacation Destination when @JohnCena challenges @WWERomanReigns, streaming LIVE, August 21 on @peacockTV in the U.S. and @WWENetwork everywhere else. @HeymanHustle pic.twitter.com/kfFTCp1KPS

— WWE (@WWE) July 31, 2021

Moving forward, Roman Reigns is set to defend his Universal Championship against John Cena at WWE SummerSlam on August 21. Drew McIntyre is currently involved in a rivalry with Jinder Mahal on WWE RAW.

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