Roman Reigns addresses the speculation about a potential match with The Rock.
For years, fans have buzzed about the possibility of seeing “The Great Run” return and face Reigns, particularly since the latter kicked off his “Tribal Chief” run in 2020. Reigns has been on a lengthy run as the Universal Champion (and more recently the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion), and he has seemingly beaten the majority of top stars in WWE. As a result, many fans view a clash with The Rock as one of the last major matches he hasn’t had yet, at least at this point.
Reigns was a guest on the January 27 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and the host brought up the long-rumored match with The Rock, and Reigns referenced Dave Meltzer’s report that Johnson indicated that he didn’t think he’d be able to get ready for the match in time. He emphasized that training for a match is challenging, as it requires extensive conditioning.
“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.”
.@WWERomanReigns addresses the rumors that he will be facing off against @TheRock. #FallonTonight pic.twitter.com/lmtwF3YuhX
— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) January 28, 2023
For now, Reigns will focus on WWE Royal Rumble, where Kevin Owens will challenge him for the gold. Reigns made it clear that his strategy will be the same as always, as he has already proven himself in high-profile matches against Owens.
“Don’t change anything. I’ve been beating up Kevin Owens for years now,” Reigns said. “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.” (H/t Fightful for the transcription)
WrestleZone will have coverage of WWE Royal Rumble as it airs on Saturday.
