WWE Rumors on The Rock vs. Roman Reigns, CM Punk's Future and Dijak's Contract
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
The Rock Reportedly Locked In to Face Reigns at WrestleMania 40
Despite WWE refraining from making an official announcement thus far, The Rock and undisputed WWE universal champion Roman Reigns are reportedly primed for a showdown at WrestleMania 40.
According to PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson, The Rock is "100 percent" going to perform at WrestleMania, and there is "no scenario" where he doesn't face Reigns on the Grandest Stage of Them All unless something unforeseen happens, such as an injury.
Cody Rhodes won his second consecutive men's Royal Rumble match last month, and after his victory, he pointed at Reigns, which seemed to indicate they would headline WrestleMania together for a second consecutive year.
However, on last week's episode of SmackDown, Rhodes said that while he is gunning for Reigns and his title, he would not face him at WrestleMania, which signaled The Rock's arrival for an epic stare-down with Reigns.
On Monday's episode of Raw, world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins pressed Rhodes to choose him as his WrestleMania opponent, but Drew McIntyre interrupted and attacked Rollins.
McIntyre attacked Rhodes later in the night as well, so The American Nightmare never got a chance to make his decision official.
That has led to speculation that WWE is planning to pull off a swerve that will still result in Rhodes facing Reigns at WrestleMania, but Johnson's report suggests that likely won't be the case.
On Thursday, a WrestleMania press conference is being held in Las Vegas, and The Rock, Reigns, Rhodes and Rollins are all advertised.
It is there that The Rock vs. Reigns and Rhodes vs. Rollins could be made official, both of which could headline each night of WrestleMania.
WWE fans have thrown a tremendous amount of support behind Rhodes since The Rock's return, and Johnson noted that WWE has taken notice of it and is perhaps even leaning into it in an effort to make Rhodes an even bigger babyface and star.
Punk Possibly Wanted for WWE Commentary Role While Injured
CM Punk is set to miss several months of action after tearing his triceps, but there is apparently a possibility fans could still see him on screen during his absence from the ring.
Punk's longtime friend, Ace Steel, appeared on the Wrestling Perspective Podcast (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News) on Saturday, and divulged that WWE "definitely" wants Punk on commentary:
Steel went on to explain that he believes it would be a bad idea for Punk to do commentary unless it is in NXT since an injury angle was done to write him off TV with McIntyre attacking Punk:
"I don't know that they go that route since they did an injury angle to pull him out since they did the storyline on him; [Drew] stomps on his arm. There's the physicality that puts him out. I personally don't want to see him in an on-screen role unless it's in the meantime he's doing NXT or something.
"I really don't want to see him on the same show as Drew McIntyre because his sole focus would be going after Drew McIntyre. 'Well, I can't fight you. Well, I'm gonna try.'"
Punk suffered the triceps injury during the men's Royal Rumble match, which was Punk's first televised match back with WWE in a decade.
He made it to the final two of the Rumble with Rhodes, and they went back and forth for several minutes, but Cody ultimately managed to send Punk over the top rope and to the floor.
Rumors surfaced after the match that Punk had suffered a significant injury, and Punk confirmed it on the ensuing episode of Raw, noting that his dream of headlining WrestleMania 40 had been shattered.
It seemed obvious that WWE was going in the direction of Punk vs. Rollins at WrestleMania, but WWE has been forced to shuffle plans, perhaps resulting in Rhodes being removed from his expected match against Reigns so he can face Rollins instead.
While Punk was announcing his fate, McIntyre interrupted to troll and then attack Punk, seemingly setting the stage for a match between them when Punk returns.
Punk would undoubtedly thrive in a commentary role, but based on the energy Pat McAfee has brought to Raw since his return to the announce table next week, it may not be necessary unless WWE has Punk call matches in NXT, as Steel suggested.
Dijak's WWE Contract Reportedly Set to Expire in Summer
Dijak has been among the biggest bright spots in NXT since moving back to the brand in 2022, but his WWE contract is reportedly nearing its conclusion.
According to Fightful Select (h/t Carrier), Dijak's WWE contract is set to expire in June 2024, which is just a couple of months after WrestleMania.
Dijak made his WWE debut in NXT in 2017 following a successful stint in Ring of Honor under the name Donovan Dijak.
He eventually took the name Dominik Dijakovic in NXT and became known for his hard-hitting, high-impact matches, as well as his entertaining rivalry with Keith Lee, who has since joined AEW.
In 2020, Dijak got called up to the main roster as part of the ill-fated Retribution stable, and he began going by the name T-Bar.
Dijak wore a strange mask and face paint as part of the gimmick, but neither T-Bar nor Retribution as a whole got over with the WWE audience, and it was eventually scrapped.
He resurfaced with NXT in late 2022 as Dijak, vowing to serve up "hard justice" with a seemingly Terminator-inspired character, which has been his best gimmick by far in WWE.
Dijak has had many memorable matches since going back to NXT, including clashes with Ilja Dragunov, who is now the NXT champion.
It is fair to wonder if contract negotiations with WWE will include any language about getting called back up to the main roster, or if the two sides might negotiate an NXT deal.
While Dijak's first main roster run didn't go well, he would likely stand a much better chance of succeeding on Raw or SmackDown with the Dijak character than he did as T-Bar.
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