WWE, AEW Rumors on The Rock at WrestleMania, Roman Reigns, Bloodline and Adam Cole

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and AEW.

Conflicting Stories About The Rock’s Involvement at WrestleMania

On the heels of last week’s report that The Rock might not be able to work WrestleMania 41, there is new information that doesn’t clarify things.

Per Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), The Rock wasn’t confirmed for the show as of Thursday but plans can change based on what he wants to do and what his schedule allows:

“I know he was not confirmed for the show as of Thursday, so if something changed, I’ll find out. If he wants to do it, he’s doing it. It’s up to him obviously. As long as it’s confirmed by when it needs to be confirmed, it could be confirmed at any time. they want to know going into the Royal Rumble where they are going and at that point, we’ll see. But yeah, thats the deal.”

Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter last week (h/t Sean Reuter of Cageside Seats) that The Final Boss “already gave word” to WWE that he wouldn’t be able to do the long-teased match with Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania.

However, The Rock appeared to deny any concerns about his availability for the event in response to a fan comment on Instagram.

WWE first teased a Rock vs. Rhodes match on the Raw after WrestleMania this year. The Great One handed an item to the newly-crowned undisputed WWE champion that was never revealed to the audience.

Roman Reigns has also been added to the equation after teaming with Rhodes to defeat Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu in a tag team match at Bad Blood. The Rock appeared after the bout, staring down both Reigns and Rhodes.

Whatever direction WWE is going for WrestleMania 41 is entirely dependent on The Rock’s schedule and ability to get into ring shape for the type of match he wants to do. We know he wants to do long matches, based on the tag match at WrestleMania Night 1 going nearly 45 minutes.

Until The Rock gives a definitive answer, one way or another, the fan speculation about what the WrestleMania 41 main event might be if he’s not involved will be intense.

All of the answers will probably come within the next three months since the Royal Rumble on Feb. 1 has to set up the big matches for the show.

Sticking with Reigns and his feud with The Bloodline, WWE looks to be building toward the OTC and Jimmy Uso adding new members to their faction against Sikoa, Fatu, Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa.

Per Meltzer (h/t Carrier), the current storyline with Reigns and Uso is going to revolve around Jimmy having “to convince Roman that there are four of (them) and two of us, and we need some guys.”

This was made apparent at the end of Friday’s SmackDown when Jimmy told his cousin they “need help” after receiving another beatdown at the hands of The Bloodline.

The most obvious person to join is Jey Uso, but Reigns made it clear earlier in the show he didn’t like that option by saying “no yeet” when the crowd chanted Jey’s catchphrase.

This whole thing seems pretty clearly building to a Bloodline Civil War match at Survivor Series: WarGames. Sikoa, Fatu, Tonga and Loa will be one team.

If we assume Reigns and the Usos form three-fourths of the other team, that leaves the question of who will be the final partner. Rhodes would seem the most obvious candidate since he’s been feuding with Sikoa for months, but he has beef with the entire Bloodline.

But there is also a budding feud between Rhodes and Kevin Owens that might lead to a title match between the two at Survivor Series. Sami Zayn is another option since he was an honorary member of The Bloodline at one point, but he isn’t really being pushed at that level anymore.

There are no shortage of options for Reigns to choose from, and there is plenty of time to drag the story out since Survivor Series doesn’t take place until Nov. 30.

After making his return to All Elite Wrestling at WrestleDream on Saturday night, Adam Cole is ready to wrestle for the first time in more than one year.

Per Fightful Select (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), he has been medically cleared for action after having multiple surgeries on his ankle in 2023.

Cole made his return by confronting former tag team partner MJF, who also returned at the pay-per-view following a month-long absence to attack Daniel Garcia.

Cole suffered a broken ankle when he landed awkwardly while running to the ring during a match between MJF and Samoa Joe on the Dynamite Grand Slam episode on Sept. 20, 2023.

Cole said during a Twitch stream a couple of weeks after the injury occurred that he needed two surgeries, eight screws and a plate inserted into his ankle to repair all the damage.

Despite the injury, Cole made a couple of appearances on television over the past year. He was revealed to be the Devil orchestrating attacks on MJF at Worlds End in December.

Cole cut a surprise promo at Double or Nothing in May, which led to MJF making his return after being off television since Worlds End. MJF hit his former friend with a low blow and a brainbuster.

Even though the original roles with Cole as the heel and MJF as the babyface have been reversed since the initial angle, it doesn’t take much from a storyline perspective to understand why Cole would want to square off with MJF now that he is cleared to wrestle.

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