One of the biggest questions in wrestling in recent months centred around whether Dwayne Johnson would be back in action at WrestleMania 39.
The first whispers about a match featuring Johnson and Roman Reigns went back over a year and only got louder as time passed. However, back in January, it was reported that the star known to wrestling fans as The Rock had turned down the chance to get back in the ring. Johnson reportedly cited a lack of time to prepare and get into ‘ring shape’ as the main reason for him sidestepping the match with Reigns.
However, the door was said to be not fully closed on a return with a match at WrestleMania 40 not being ruled out.
Following on from this, writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer notes that it might not be wise to bet on Johnson appearing at the event.
“The Rhodes storyline dictates he has to win the title at some point and it’s no longer a situation where Reigns has to stay unbeaten because of the mega match with The Rock. While Rock did not close the door on the idea for next year’s schedule permitting, it’s probably not worth banking on seriously for next year’s plans.”
When Did Dwayne Johnson Last Wrestle?
The Rock hasn’t wrestled since being defeated by John Cena at WrestleMania 29. During the bout, Johnson sustained an abdominal injury which pushed back filming for the movie Hercules. The WWE legend did technically wrestle against Eric Rowan at WrestleMania 32, where he pinned the star in under 10 seconds in an impromptu match.