Fans have been talking about Roman Reigns wrestling Dwayne Johnson for years, and that chatter has increased dramatically in recent times.
WWE have also seemingly had their eyes set on the match for a lengthy period, with the intrafamily storyline coming readymade. Plus a match featuring the biggest star in WWE today against arguably the biggest star ever is bound to be a box-office attraction.
However, despite this, and Johnson himself not ruling out a return to the ring at some point, the future of the match appears less than certain. It was recently reported that Johnson feels he won’t have time to get into shape for WrestleMania, seemingly putting a block on a prospective match.
Although many fans have responded to this report with great skepticism as obviously if Johnson is going to make a surprise appearance, it’s vital from a WWE point of view that his status is kept secret.
Roman Reigns – “You gotta Be Ready To Fall Down”
During an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Reigns explained that there is a big difference between being physically fit, and ring ready.
“That’s been the rumors, and there’s been a huge buzz on that for a long time, I mean for years now, but it’s really picked up in the past couple years. I believe he just came out with a statement saying that he’s not gonna be ready in time, which, that’s the face that everyone’s making. ‘Hold on, he trains every single day. He’s huge.’ But to his defense, it’s one thing to train with weights and the bodybuilding to look the part.
But to be able to get in the ring and do a main event match, a championship match, an Undisputed WWE Championship match, it takes a lot of conditioning, it beats up your body, so there’s more that goes into it than just training in the weight room. It’s a professional athlete type of situation, where you have to condition. He does two out of the three things perfectly. His nutrition and his weight training’s on point, but you have to condition yourself. You gotta be ready to fall down. You never get away from that,”
Looking ahead to his match with Kevin Owens at the Royal Rumble, Reigns said that he’s been beating KO for years, so he’s going to do what he always does.
“Don’t change anything. I’ve been beating up Kevin Owens for years now. Let me give this guy his due. This is a tough, sturdy guy. He’s a little crazy, he’s willing to do anything out there. But I’ve faced him a few times, and I’ve been pretty successful. So for me, I just feel like, if I don’t change anything, if it’s not broke, don’t break it, just stay in the same system, go out there and do what I do. Pretty much, I feel like I’m genetically coded to beat Kevin Owens every time. It’s like the small print in my DNA. ‘Beat Kevin Owens? Check,”
Roman Reigns has been the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion since WrestleMania 38 where he defeated Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Title. Reigns’ Universal Title run goes back a staggering 881 days and counting.
H/t to Fightful