WWE Rumors on The Rock vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Reigns; Goldberg vs. Gunther; Rhea Ripley

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

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The Rock Reportedly Not Scheduled for WrestleMania 41

Despite The Rock making his return to WWE programming at Bad Blood last weekend, he is reportedly not currently in the plans for next year's WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlePurists), The Rock has told people within WWE that he won't be available for the company's biggest show of the year.

A source told Meltzer: "He's not going to be able to do Mania. He already gave word that he wouldn't be able to do that match."

Another source who would be heavily involved in a potential Rock program said they have "no idea" about The Final Boss' status.

The Rock returned to WWE during WrestleMania season earlier this year and joined forces with Roman Reigns by turning heel and creating his Final Boss persona.

Reigns and The Rock would team up to beat Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in a tag team match in the main event of Night 1 of WrestleMania 40, but Reigns then lost the undisputed WWE Championship to Rhodes on Night 2 despite interference from The Rock.

The next night on Raw, The Rock interrupted a Rhodes promo and strongly suggested he would be targeting him and the WWE title in the future.

At Bad Blood, Reigns and Rhodes formed a reluctant team against The Bloodline's Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu. After Reigns and Rhodes were victorious, the Rock made his surprise return by signaling "1, 2, 3" with his hand and making a throat-slashing gesture.

That led to plenty of speculation regarding his intentions, including the possibility of a Triple Threat match for the WWE title between The Rock, Rhodes and Reigns at WrestleMania 41.

Because of that, the report that The Rock won't be at WrestleMania 41 is fairly shocking, although it is plausible if he has outside commitments as a Hollywood actor.

If that is the case, perhaps the match will take place at a different premium live event, or it is always possible that The Rock is trying to throw people off the scent of his true intentions.

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Gunther vs. Goldberg Reportedly Not Scheduled for Upcoming PLEs

World heavyweight champion Gunther and WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg had a run-in at Bad Blood last weekend, but there are reportedly no immediate plans yet for them to have a match.

According to Meltzer (h/t WrestlePurists), Gunther vs. Goldberg is not currently planned for Survivor Series in November or WrestleMania 41 in April.

After several legends in the crowd at Bad Blood in Atlanta were acknowledged, Gunther had a promo segment, and he took a shot at Gunther.

A few weeks earlier, Gunther had trolled Bret Hart by telling him that Goldberg was his favorite wrestler, but at Bad Blood, The Ring General told Goldberg he was just kidding, and he proceeded to criticize the former WCW and WWE star.

Gunther went so far as to suggest that Goldberg was a bad father in front of his son, which prompted Goldberg to jump the barricade, requiring security to step in.

WWE head of creative Triple H later posted video of himself and Goldberg having a conversation backstage, and he noted that they would "talk more very soon."

That naturally conjured up instant speculation regarding Goldberg possibly having a retirement match against Gunther in the near future.

Since his most recent match against Reigns at Elimination Chamber in February 2022, Goldberg has spoken often about his desire to have a retirement match.

It was unclear if WWE would give him that opportunity, but after the reaction he received at Bad Blood, it has to at least be under consideration.

Even if Goldberg vs. Gunther isn't in the cards for Survivor Series or WrestleMania, there could be plenty of other opportunities to make it happen, such as Royal Rumble or Elimination Chamber.

While it wouldn't necessarily be a technical masterpiece, Gunther is one of the best in the world currently, and he could likely get the most out of Goldberg in his potential final match.

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Ripley Reportedly on Verge of Signing New WWE Contract

Rhea Ripley is reportedly about to be rewarded for her development into one of WWE's biggest and most popular stars.

According to PWInsider.com (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), Ripley and WWE have agreed to a new contract, and all that is left to be done is for her to officially sign it.

The deal is reportedly for five years, and it will give the Aussie Superstar a significant pay increase.

While she was a member of the Judgment Day, Ripley held the Women's World Championship for 379 days, beating Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 40 along the way to retain it.

An injury forced Ripley to vacate the title, and crowd reactions turned her into a babyface shortly after returning, as did Dominik Mysterio turning on her and aligning with the current champion in Liv Morgan.

Ripley lost a title match against Morgan at SummerSlam due to Dominik, and in the rematch at Bad Blood last weekend, Rhea won by disqualification due to the return and interference of Raquel Rodriguez.

All signs point toward Ripley eventually being the one to take the Women's World Championship from Morgan, possibly with a big coronation at WrestleMania 41.

Regardless of where the Ripley vs. Morgan feud goes, Rhea is entrenched as a massive star in WWE, and she figures to remains so for many years to come.

Given that she is consistently one of the most entertaining and compelling aspects of Raw on a weekly basis, WWE signing her to a new deal makes all the sense in the world.

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