It had been expected that Dwayne Johnson would be lacing up his boots one more time to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39.
Johnson hasn’t wrestled a ‘real’ match since losing out to John Cena at WrestleMania 29 back in 2013. However, it was believed that the prospect of a blockbuster intrafamily battle with Roman Reigns could entice him back to the squared circle.
Despite this, just as things were ramping up for WrestleMania it was reported that the star, better known to wrestling fans, as The Rock had turned the match down. The Hollywood megastar reportedly told WWE he didn’t feel he would have time to get into ring shape.
During an appearance on SI Media with Jimmy Traina, Paul Heyman discussed the match that never was. The Special Counsel to Roman Reigns said that he never thought a match was a realistic possibility given Johnson’s hectic schedule.
“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,
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.”
Expanding further, Heyman said that while Johnson would have been able to put together a great 15-minute match, that wouldn’t have been enough for a WrestleMania main event.
“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.”
Previous Dwayne Johnson Match Scrapped Due To Fitness Concerns
During his match with Cena at WrestleMania 29, Johnson suffered a serious abdominal injury and this forced filming for his movie Hercules to be pushed back. Interestingly, it has been revealed that the fear of a repeat led to a match the following year against Brock Lesnar being scrapped.
H/t to Sportskeeda