While Cody Rhodes is proving to be the right man to headline WWE WrestleMania 39 with Roman Reigns, he probably wasn’t WWE’s first choice to face “The Tribal Chief.” For years, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has teased a blockbuster dream match against his real-life cousin, but it seems he just can’t squeeze it into his 2023 schedule.
To be fair, Johnson is a busy man. He’s one of the biggest actors in the world, and movie studios will balk at the idea of their prized asset taking bumps and risking an injury. On top of that, he faces the arduous task of relaunching the XFL and fixing the league’s sullied reputation, which is a full-time job unto itself. That said, as long as the Hollywood A-lister continues to avoid the long-teased showdown with Reigns, he’ll never be the head of the table in the Anoa’i family. Reigns’ success in WWE speaks for itself, and Johnson reportedly backing out of WrestleMania 39 has only bolstered his cousin’s status as the most dominant member of the clan.
Does The Rock even want to face Roman Reigns?
WWE/YouTubeIn Dwayne Johnson’s defense, he never promised to appear at WrestleMania 39, but he has been subtly building this match for a while. In 2022, he poured gasoline on the rumors by revealing that he wants to face “one [person] in particular” at the premium live event. Furthermore, the actor has added some credence to the Reigns rumors through his projects — for example, a recent episode of his “Young Rock” sitcom teased a future WWE Universal Championship match. Was “The Brahma Bull” just messing with everyone? That’s no way for a future United States president to behave.
It was recently reported that Johnson turned down a WrestleMania 39 match because he’s not in ring shape. WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque commented on Johnson’s relationship with WWE and addressed those reports, noting that the actor looked physically impressive in “Black Adam.” Granted, Johnson would need to shake off some ring rust before competing at “The Grandest Stage of Them All,” but he certainly appears to be the picture of fitness.
Johnson deserves credit for wanting to be the best version of himself ahead of a WrestleMania dream match, but teasing the match and not showing up to deliver the big payoff isn’t the best look. Reigns, meanwhile, has been grinding in WWE’s main event scene for over a decade, and he’s overcome every obstacle that’s been thrown at him.
The statistics support Roman Reigns’ dominance
Dwayne Johnson’s status as a blockbuster movie star and WWE legend gives him an air of superiority that most people could only dream about. When it comes to wrestling accomplishments, however, Reigns is the undisputed king of the Anoa’i family.
While Johnson won more world championships during his in-ring heyday, Reigns’ title runs have been more meaningful. His current WWE Universal Championship reign is approaching 900 days, which eclipses the world title records of historic stars like John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and CM Punk. Johnson’s longest WWE Championship run, in comparison, lasted 265 days — impressive, but nothing special. In fact, Johnson only managed 378 combined days as WWE Champion throughout his eight reigns; his cousin has more than 400 combined days with the same title in only four reigns. And since we’re talking ‘Mania, it should be noted that Johnson wrestled in the WrestleMania main event five times (three consecutive) with a 1-4 record; Reigns has main-evented WrestleMania six times (four consecutive) with number seven on the horizon, and holds a 4-2 record in those matches. When it comes to pure dominance, the numbers support Reigns as the most successful member of the Anoa’i family.
Of course, perception is everything in the wrestling business. A well-told story and a victory over Reigns could position Johnson as the leader once again. For that to happen, though, “The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment” needs to back up his words with actions.
