"I always heard his name being thrown around" - Paul Heyman on why The Rock vs. Roman Reigns isn't happening at WrestleMania 39
Paul Heyman has commented on why the rumored match between Roman Reigns and The Rock isn't happening at WrestleMania 39.
The Grandest Stage of Them All is set to take place in Los Angeles this year. Since The Great One is one of the biggest names in Hollywood today, and The Tribal Chief is his cousin, many were expecting them to collide at WrestleMania.
Many fans consider it to be a dream match and were hoping to see it unfold. However, The Head of the Table will be facing Cody Rhodes instead.
Speaking to Jimmy Traina of SI Media, Paul Heyman was asked why the match was nixed and whether The Rock's busy schedule had anything to do with it.
The Wiseman stated that he never had a conversation with The People's Champion about doing the match, but he felt that the latter is just too busy with promotional work, the XFL launch, and other projects.
"I never spoke to Dwayne about this year's WrestleMania. I always heard his name being thrown around. I couldn't imagine with his schedule, his promotional schedule, launch of the XFL, all the projects that he has on his plate, that he would be able to take the time to get back into what we would call ring shape," said Heyman.
Roman Reigns' Special Counsel continued:
"Could he run a marathon? I don't know, maybe. I'm sure he has great cardio, but cardio itself and cardio in the ring and being in ring shape are two completely different things." [27:17-27:59]
Paul Heyman believes fans wouldn't have wanted to see an ordinary match between The Rock and Roman Reigns
The Rock was the face of WWE at the height of his wrestling career. He has headlined WrestleMania multiple times and has held 10 World Championships.
Meanwhile, his cousin Roman Reigns is the current face of the company, and he's been a Universal Champion for over 915+ days.
During the same interview with SI Media, Paul Heyman added that a high-caliber match between the two stars would be underwhelming if it lasted just 15 minutes. He explained that fans would expect to see a far longer story be told in the most exciting fashion.
"Could Dwayne Johnson have come back and put together a really classic, very memorable 15-minute match with Roman Reigns for this year's WrestleMania without going through that training? I bet you he could. (...) But I don't think anybody would have paid to see the main event of WrestleMania, of a fantasy matchup, of a dream match between The Tribal Chief Roman Reigns and The Rock himself. I don't think anybody would've wanted to pay to see a 15-minute match." [29:40-30:32]
A road to #WrestleMania we’d love to see one day...
@TheRock @WWERomanReigns @HeymanHustle https://t.co/EqKfhTmtez
The Rock's last match in WWE was against Erick Rowan at WrestleMania 32, which lasted only six seconds. Roman Reigns is set to main event The Show of Shows for the fifth time against Cody Rhodes.
Would you like to see The Rock have one more match in WWE? Sound off in the comments below!
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit SI Media and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.