"It's the Roman Reigns thing" - Hall of Famer questions WWE's booking of The Rock

WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson thinks the company inadvertently booked The Rock in a similar way to Roman Reigns’ babyface character at WrestleMania 32.

The event ended with many WWE fans booing Reigns following his WWE World Heavyweight Championship victory over Triple H. Earlier in the night, The Rock mocked The Wyatt Family and formed an alliance with John Cena. He also defeated Erick Rowan in a WrestleMania record time of just six seconds.

Anderson, who worked as a WWE producer at the time, discussed WrestleMania 32 on his ARN podcast. The wrestling legend thought The Rock’s booking that night unintentionally prompted some fans to turn against him.

“For those that might not be a Rock fan and teeter-tottering on the edge, don’t you feel like I might feel like it’s kind of the Roman Reigns thing? Why are you shoving him down our throat? You don’t need to. Let him earn his way along because that’s why we like him, because he won’t stay down. He is the guy that won’t quit. He is the guy that we can believe in. Just a different way to look at it.”

THERE IT IS! The ALL-TIME #WrestleMania attendance record has been set at @ATTStadium with 101,763 fans! @TheRock pic.twitter.com/Geg2ocm1wv

— WWE (@WWE) April 4, 2016

As Anderson alluded to, WWE fans frequently booed Reigns during his six-year babyface run. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was often accused of shoving the former Shield member down fans’ throats by positioning him as the company’s top guy.

Will The Rock ever face Roman Reigns?

Even The Rock could not prevent fans from booing Roman Reigns' Royal Rumble win.

WrestleMania 39 (a.k.a. WrestleMania Hollywood) is set to take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on April 2, 2023.

Given The Rock’s Hollywood stardom, Reigns believes it would make sense for him to face his cousin at the event.

“We’ll go to Hollywood for [@WrestleMania] 39, and I think it just makes sense.” - @WWERomanReigns on when a match with @TheRock makes sense.Roman’s full interview w/ @ryansatin drops Thursday at 7e/4p across our social platforms. @HeymanHustle pic.twitter.com/EMaKYZxOB8

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) January 19, 2021

Excluding his match against Erick Rowan, The Rock’s most recent advertised WWE match occurred in 2013 at WrestleMania 29. He lost the WWE Championship to long-term rival John Cena in the main event.

Please credit ARN and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.