"That did surprise me" – Bloodline relative reacts to The Rock and Roman Reigns' WWE SmackDown moment (Exclusive)

Afa Anoa'i Jr. recently gave his thoughts on a major development in The Rock's on-screen WWE alliance with Roman Reigns.

On the March 1 episode of WWE SmackDown, The Rock revealed his plan to team up with Reigns against Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins at WrestleMania XL. At the end of the segment, the Hollywood star "acknowledged" Reigns as his Tribal Chief.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling Senior Editor Bill Apter, Afa Anoa'i Jr. reflected on his upbringing alongside Reigns and The Usos. The Bloodline relative also admitted he did not expect The Rock to give in to Reigns' demands:

"That did surprise me," Afa Anoa'i Jr. said. "Growing up it's always been The Rock, The Rock, The Rock, The Rock, but now to see Roman in that position, it's very interesting to see because of how long The Rock has been gone and now he's back. And to see The Rock acknowledge us, to acknowledge The Bloodline, it's very powerful stuff that's happening right now." [6:38 – 7:01]

Watch the video above to hear Afa Anoa'i Jr. predict the winner between Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso at WrestleMania XL.

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Afa Anoa'i Jr. previews The Rock and Roman Reigns' WWE WrestleMania XL matches

On April 6, The Rock and Roman Reigns will face Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins on the first night of WrestleMania XL. The following night, Reigns will defend his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Rhodes for the second successive WrestleMania.

The Rock has not wrestled since defeating Erick Rowan in a six-second match at WrestleMania 32 in 2016. Before that, his last competitive WWE bout came in 2013 when he lost to John Cena in the WrestleMania 29 main event.

Despite his relative's in-ring absence, Afa Anoa'i Jr. does not think The Rock will have any problems physically when he joins forces with Roman Reigns:

"The ring rust thing for Rock, yeah, I mean, you take that much time off, it's gonna happen to anybody. However, with The Rock being The Rock, he's on a different level. He has the capability of training anywhere he wants, so I feel like he's gonna kick that rust a lot quicker than most would. Yeah, yeah, I think he's still got it." [7:55 – 8:21]

The Rock recently dismissed speculation that WWE's parent company TKO has a problem with him swearing on television. Afa Anoa'i believes The Great One's use of profanity is not an issue, especially given his prominent role and villainous character:

"It's The Rock. He has every right to be that way. He's always been that way. It's a different version. He's not PG right now because it doesn't fit what we're doing. We're not kissing babies right now. We're protecting the family, so it's a different attitude." [11:56 – 12:18]

WrestleMania XL will take place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the home of the Rocky movies. Afa Anoa'i Jr. also addressed whether he thinks the star and creator of Rocky, Sylvester Stallone, could interact with The Rock at the upcoming event:

"Absolutely, I'm a big fan of Rocky and Sylvester Stallone as an actor. I think what he means to the city of Philadelphia would be huge for a moment like this. It's the biggest WrestleMania ever, and it's in Philadelphia, and to have Rocky and The Rock potentially on the same card and on the same show, that's epic. That would be great." [8:58 – 9:27]

Afa Anoa'i Jr. runs the Battlefield Pro Wrestling promotion in Pennsylvania. You can find out more details about future events here.

What have you made of the WrestleMania XL build-up? Let us know in the comments section.

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