'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Rock vs. Roman Reigns dream match at WrestleMania was 'locked in,' but WWE was forced to scrap the plans.
Fans have been vocal about seeing Roman Reigns lock horns with The Rock for the "Head of the Table" title since the former started to refer to himself as The Tribal Chief. The People's Champ recently revealed that WWE was close to booking the match.
In 2022, Nick Khan was instrumental in bringing The Rock and Vince McMahon together for a meeting. The Rock had a handshake deal with Khan to compete at WrestleMania 39.
Trending
The creative team seemingly worked towards building the match against Roman Reigns, but the storylines did not equal those presented with The Bloodline at the time. The Rock shared the details and said they were forced to 'put the pencils down' because WWE struggled to nail the right element for fans. He was quoted as saying:
"That was locked. We were doing it. Let me just tell you: at the beginning of 2022, Nick Khan was very instrumental in bringing Vince and I together. Flew to LA, broke out Teremana. Business. Started talking about the potential of the match. We shook hands, and we hugged. Then we had a year. North Star was to do something unprecedented. We can have the match, but what can we do for the fans in the business? (...) WrestleMania isn't the end but [the] beginning of something bigger. We got close, but we couldn't nail what that thing was. So we put our pencils down."
The Rock has left the door open for a potential match at WrestleMania 40, where he might finally face Roman Reigns. However, it should be noted that The Great One's recent appearance on SmackDown was labeled "one-off," and he isn't scheduled for the upcoming shows.
When will Roman Reigns return on WWE SmackDown?
The Tribal Chief last appeared on the blue brand on August 11, the first SmackDown after SummerSlam 2023, where he defeated Jey Uso to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. It was also the same show where Jey 'quit' WWE.
Roman Reigns has since been off-television and is unlikely to appear at Fastlane next month. However, BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has advertised Reigns for the October 13 edition of WWE SmackDown. Thus, we might see the biggest heel in the business back on television in less than three weeks.
