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As is natural for top stars in WWE, Roman Reigns has been in the news a lot lately. The Tribal Chief is preparing for a big WrestleMania main event against Brock Lesnar, while several stories relating to him have emerged this week.
We will take a look at the big match for Reigns at next year's WrestleMania and why it is at risk of not happening. Meanwhile, a couple of released WWE stars have spoken about the conversations they had with the Universal Champion while they were there.
So, without any further ado, let's take a look at the biggest news stories and rumors about Roman Reigns from the past week.
#5 Roman Reigns vs. The Rock might not happen at WrestleMania 39
Roman Reigns is set to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 38. But there have been rumors about a clash with The Rock at next year's edition of The Show of Shows. However, it seems like this dream match is in doubt.
Dave Meltzer suggested on Wrestling Observer Radio that The Great One might be too busy to return to WWE for a match in 2023. This is due to the NFL's new deal with the XFL, as announced by Dwayne Johnson himself.
“Dwayne being all over next year promoting (the XFL), which could be interesting because next year is the WrestleMania that he was supposed to work with Roman Reigns, and that would be in April, and that’s probably gonna be the middle of the season," said Meltzer. (H/T WrestleTalk)
Additionally, if The Rock has to film an action movie within a couple of months of WrestleMania 39, he won be able to face Reigns, WWE may need to come up with serious alternatives in case the Hollywood star cannot make it.
#4 Seth Rollins takes a shot at The Tribal Chief
Seth Rollins recently took a shot at Roman Reigns on Twitter, replying to a picture WWE posted of him, The Usos, and Paul Heyman. They refer to themselves as "the ones," with The Architect claiming that his former Shield brother still can't get "one" victory over him.
This is about their match at the Royal Rumble, which saw Rollins defeat Reigns by disqualification. This has extended his unbeaten run over The Tribal Chief in title matches, even though he did not leave with the Universal Championship.
#3 Roman Reigns told Isaiah 'Swerve' Scott he was sorry
Shane Strickland recently revealed a brief conversation he had with Roman Reigns shortly before he was let go by WWE. Then known as Isaiah 'Swerve' Scott, he was a part of Hit Row, alongside B-Fab, Ashante 'Thee' Adonis, and Top Dolla.
During an interview with Sanchez Taylor of WrestleTalk, Swerve mentioned that the Universal Champion came up to him after B-Fab was released, offering his support.
I remember Roman Reigns talking to me about that, he hit me up in the hallway, he was like, ‘Man I’m sorry about what happened, y’all losing the girl in your group man, that’s heavy’. And I was like, ‘Yeah man we just gotta find ways to adapt and overcome’. He’s like, ‘That’s all you can do really’. And it was a real short conversation, it was just like that,” Swerve said.
WWE released the entirety of Hit Row two weeks after B-Fab was let go.
#2 Goldberg had COVID when WWE called him to return this month
Goldberg returned to WWE this month to face Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber. The Icon detailed his preparations for the big match on the Car Cast Podcast, where he revealed he had COVID when the company called him about working with The Tribal Chief.
"I obviously have an extremely short period of time to get ready for it. I hadn't trained for three months, I have COVID when I get the phone call to go. I literally had two weeks in the gym to get ready for this. It is it's tough to do that as a 20-year-old, it's more difficult as a 30-year-old, a 40-year-old, it's almost impossible, a 55-year-old, I'm one of the .003% humans on the planet that can pull something like that off," said Goldberg.
Despite only having two weeks to prepare, Goldberg put on a good showing at Elimination Chamber even if he did fall short against Reigns.
#1 Jeff Hardy names Roman Reigns as his dream match
Jeff Hardy recently stated that he wishes to return to WWE before the end of his career. He did so during an interview with Jared Myers, where he also mentioned that his dream match was with Roman Reigns.
The three-time WWE world champion also spoke about the company trying to send him to rehab and him refusing to do so.
“Hopefully yeah, I would love to go back,” Hardy said, regarding a potential WWE return in the future. “They released me and tried to make me go to rehab but I’m just so over it. My dream match was with Roman Reigns, I've talked about that many times but then I said, ‘so you want me to go away for like 28 days just to save my job?’ No."
Jeff Hardy then had some harsh words for WWE, stating that his family is the most important thing to him.
It seemed like The Charismatic Enigma would challenge Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble or Elimination Chamber, given the lack of depth on the SmackDown roster. However, Hardy's release has put this dream match on hold for now.
