Wild-Card Pick for Roman Reigns' WWE WrestleMania 39 Opponent That's Not The Rock

There is an interesting air of the unknown around Roman Reigns and the plans for his unified titles and likely conclusion to his GOAT-making run ahead of WrestleMania 39.

On paper, it's easy to handwave this off as The Rock returning to help wrap the family storyline.

But it's never so easy, is it?

Just writing in The Rock isn't as simple as it sounds given his schedule, age and a number of other factors. That's why rumblings and speculation have already pointed to WWE having backup plans in place and spitball ideas keep surfacing.

One of those—and perhaps the best wild card of them all—prominently involves Seth Rollins.

One popular hypothesis is to have Rollins competing with a Cody Rhodes or Drew McIntyre for a top title in one of the main events while Rock-Reigns unfolds on the second night.

Does Reigns drop a belt through storyline reasons and only defend one title (we can probably all admit by now that unifying the titles wasn't the best idea)? Or does WWE go out of its way to create a new Raw-centric heavyweight title, then later change the name of the SmackDown title?

Either way, Rollins should be all over this. The wild card who once stormed a 'Mania main event with a briefcase and created one of the most iconic moments in pro wrestling history just so happens to be the Architect with the most intricate connections to Reigns.

Fun as Rollins and Rhodes rekindling their rivalry would be, the better long-term story is the former Shield members in the main event.

It doesn't require a ton of elaboration—there's no better built-in feud than those two butting heads again. It helps that their character work on this front has been excellent for so long. Those paying careful attention will notice Rollins seems like the only guy capable of making Reigns lose his cool, and for good reason.

Rhodes against McIntyre for a top Raw title would be worthy of a main event. But there is a lot to unpack with Rhodes that deserves a slow burn, not some ham-fisted ascension into the very top spot in the company so soon, especially after the injury.

A compelling narrative against McIntyre is the perfect way to start. McIntyre, after all, left WWE, reinvented himself and returned to eventually take down the likes of Brock Lesnar while carrying the promotion on his back through the pandemic era.

Rhodes? He split, worked incredibly around the world and helped to form AEW and make it into what it is today before eventually coming home too. The parallels are too fun to pass up, and McIntyre still deserves that type of slotting after WWE passed up on him making history against Reigns in the U.K. this year.

Some of this idea centers on the fact that WWE needs something on deck for the post-Reigns era. Because that's coming, at least in terms of his full-time status. Reigns beating The Rock wouldn't leave things in a great spot because who is believable as a threat to him?

Giving Rollins the spotlight leaves plenty of room for more intrigue in the main event scene. If Rollins wins, going right into a lengthy program against Rhodes would be an incredible way to keep the momentum going.

WWE could always end up going the easy route with The Rock, and it's not like it wouldn't make sense from a storyline standpoint as the natural endpoint.

But giving the nod to Rollins would be fitting, and would feel right in the new Triple H era given his own extensive connections to Rollins throughout the years.

Rollins is also arguably having the best year of his career after reinventing himself. Add in the history with Reigns, and Rollins is once again the wild card who deserves the top slotting.