Backstage News On Roman Reigns' WrestleMania Opponent
There have been a lot of rumors regarding WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns' opponent at WrestleMania 37. The names of Goldberg, The Rock, Drew McIntyre, Daniel Bryan, and even Big E have been floated as possible opponents for "The Tribal Chief" at WWE's biggest show of the year.
According to Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, as of right now, there is no name on the books, which he noted was "mind-boggling" since WWE would typically finalize most of the Mania card by this time of the year.
Meltzer said that while sometimes there would be a change, WWE prefers to finalize "the top stuff" and book for TV and PPV leading to that direction. He pointed to how WWE is under lesser pressure to finalize a direction since PPV revenue no longer ebbs and flows by millions of dollars in either direction based on having the right formula for Mania. As a result, WWE can afford to throw stuff together last minute as opposed to writing stories with a natural climax.
The Observer added that since WWE Champion Drew McIntyre's match isn't locked in either, the possibility of McIntyre vs. Reigns is very much on the cards, especially after Raw's top star cut a promo on Reigns following their Survivor Series match last month.
Ringside News reported this week that the highly-anticipated Reigns vs. The Rock match is surely off the table. Meltzer noted that according to those close to the situation, Rock has brought up the possibility of facing Reigns in 2022 when crowds would most likely return to arenas.
Although it's Rock's decision to make, WWE's creative team has been conveyed that he's a no go and the two most likely WrestleMania opponents for Reigns right now are Daniel Bryan and McIntyre. Meltzer noted that Big E, at this point, is not under consideration, which was first reported by Ringside News.
Bryan was originally talked about as an opponent for Reigns at either TLC or Royal Rumble.
As noted, it was reported earlier by @Wrestlevotes that while nothing is close to official or being concrete, Reigns vs. Goldberg was being as considered as the working idea heading into WrestleMania.
Stay tuned for updates.
Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Subscribe to The Wrestling Observer by clicking here. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus history pieces. New subscribers can also receive free classic issues.