On January 1, 2024’s edition of WWE RAW, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson made his monumental return. After a non-consequential segment with Jinder Mahal, he brought out the real cherry on the cake. He hinted at a feud with his cousin, the Head of the Table, The Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns.

Fans have waited for this dream match for years since Reigns turned heel. While fans popped for the idea of the match, their excitement soon died as Cody Rhodes gave away his Mania spot for it to happen. The rest has been covered extensively, but something new has come to light.

On the most recent Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast, Vliet discussed why the match was scrapped. His idea was rather enlightening than what the WrestleMania XL Documentary showcased. This, unfortunately, painted Johnson in an unpleasant light, which seems to be a trend now.

When asked by a fan about the match and feud, Vliet said, “This is just me talking here, but I have a sneaky suspicion that the reason that match didn’t happen is because the Rock didn’t want to lose.” This fits into the narrative the documentary showed. Throughout the 60-minute video, Johnson paints himself as the person who came up with the idea.

As Vliet continued, he said, “I feel like the Rock was saying, if I’m going to come back and we’re going to do this match that everybody’s been talking about, Rock vs. Roman Reigns, the Rock’s got to win.” This is exactly what happened at WrestleMania XL, as on Night #1, Johnson attained the victory by pinning Rhodes. Despite the feud between his cousin Reigns and Rhodes for a year, Johnson needed to make a statement. This ties into his recent selfish behavior, which fans have been noticing. While they are happy that the Final Boss will return to the WWE, they fear for Reigns.

Dwayne Johnson wants to be the Head of the Table

This has been the end goal the WWE has been building up to. In hindsight, Cody Rhodes’ involvement only happened because of fan backlash. Now, with Rhodes out of the way, Johnson can focus on what he returned to the WWE for, becoming the Tribal Chief of The Bloodline. While doing so, Rocky will also try to get his hands on the Undisputed Universal title.

Fans believe Rhodes will not be dropping the title anytime soon, but that could change. The WWE has been trying to build up Solo Sikoa and The Bloodline 2.0 as a viable threat. It would be rather impactful if Sikoa won the title from Rhodes at SummerSlam. Only time will tell in what direction the WWE plans on going. Moreover, with The Rock on the board of TKO, things could be in his favor.

What do you think about the scrapped Reigns vs. The Rock match? Would you like to see it at Mania 41? Tell us in the comments.