WWE may be planning to have The Rock be the last man standing at next year’s Royal Rumble. Ever since the company announced WrestleMania 39 would be held in California in April 2023, the home of Hollywood, fans have mulled over the possibility of ‘The Great One’ wrestling at the show, specifically against cousin Roman Reigns.
The prospect of the pair tussling for the undisputed WWE Undisputed Universal title at the most prestigious and iconic show is a match made in heaven. The 50-year-old winning the exciting and highly-anticipated 30-man January match to earn a shot at the ‘The Tribal Chief’ seems like the easiest way to make the match a reality.
However, this all depends on The Rock's hectic movie schedule and according to this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter , Dave Meltzer notes that his sources have only acknowledged an internal rumour about “pie-in-the-sky” plans for The Rock. “The idea was being talked about behind-the-scenes, but as best we can tell, while rumours certainly exist within the company, as far as those who would be in a position to know, there is no real answer," he said.
“If Johnson wants to do it and can be sold on the idea, it would be the most perfect scenario for the company.” Meltzer also indicated WWE does have a deadline of close-to-finalised plans for WrestleMania 39 by mid-January.
The Rock previously won the Rumble in 2000, when he eliminated The Big Show to claim a vital win in front of a raucous Madison Square Garden crowd. His last appearance at a Royal Rumble event came in 2015, when he came to Reigns’ aid en route to the ‘Head of the Table’ winning the match before headlining WrestleMania 31 against Brock Lesnar.
Since 2020, WrestleMania has become a two-night extravaganza and with plans for The Rock to face Roman Reigns on night one, WWE are also keen for Reigns to also compete on the second night, according to reports. Xero News tweeted that WWE plans to have women - likely Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey - headline Night 1 of WrestleMania if Reigns doesn't work both nights.
"Just been updated. IF Roman doesn't pull double at Mania then a women's title match will main event Night 1 is the current plan, (Hearing Becky vs Ronda),” the news outlet said. “However WWE are still working on plans for Roman to do both nights if can make it work logically."
Rousey and Lynch were due to face each other at Survivor Series in 2018, but the Irishwoman was forced the pull out of the bout after suffering a broken nose courtesy of Nia Jax.
They were involved in the triple threat main event for both the Raw and SmackDown women’s titles at WrestleMania 35 in 2019, which Lynch won, but they have yet to clash in a one-on-one match.
