The Rock-WrestleMania 43 Speculation and WWE Rumors on Drew McIntyre, Charlotte, Alexa Bliss & SNME

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

The Rock Uncertain For WrestleMania

Even though it's expected the Saudi Arabia government will present several WWE legends with lucrative financial offers to be involved in WrestleMania 43 in some capacity, The Rock's film schedule might prevent him from being part of the event.

While speaking with Variety's Jack Dunn and Marc Malkin, Vin Diesel said the current plan is to start filming Fast Forever, the final movie in the Fast & Furious franchise, in December.

"We start shooting in December, if I can make good on the request from the studio," Diesel said.

The Rock, who made a cameo appearance in a mid-credits scene at the end of Fast X, is listed in the cast for the new film despite a previous real-life feud with Diesel that played a part in his absence from the eighth and ninth movies.

Steve Carrier of Ringside News noted the filming schedule, particularly for a production of this size, is likely to last months and could stretch into WrestleMania season.

There are variables that could make it so The Rock has a window in his schedule if he wants to be involved at WrestleMania. No one has said the size of his role in the movie, so it's plausible he won't be needed on set for the entire production.

With Saudi Arabia already believed to be paying $250 million to host WrestleMania next year, the expectation is also that the government will present major financial offers to WWE legends to get them on the card in some capacity.

It was previously reported Saudi officials are preparing an offer to The Rock that would be the largest payday ever given to any wrestler to work a single show in the history of the sport.

WWE has dreamed of a Rock-Roman Reigns match for years. The closest it ever got was in 2024 when the Great One appeared on the first Raw of the year to tease a bout with the Tribal Chief that was then scuttled when Cody Rhodes won the Royal Rumble, though The Rock did wrestle on the show in a tag match.

If The Rock is going to do another match, one would assume he would want it to be sooner than later given that he will turn 55 on May 2 and it requires a lot of physical training to keep his body in the shape to be The Rock everyone thinks of in a WWE ring.

WWE Figuring Out Drew McIntyre's Return Storyline

Having been off WWE television since WrestleMania to work on various outside projects, Drew McIntyre is now waiting for creative to find a story to get him back in the ring.

Per PWInsider Elite (h/t Derek Holloway of Ringside News), McIntyre is back in the United States after completing work on his other commitments, but WWE's creative team hasn't started plotting out his return at this point.

McIntyre lost to Jacob Fatu in an unsanctioned match at WrestleMania 42. The bout was done to write the Scottish Warrior off television for the time being due to being cast in the Highlander reboot and the Russell Crowe-starring The Last Druid.

The Last Druid started filming in Spain in June. Crowe posted a picture with McIntyre on Instagram on Aug. 5, writing they had recently finished filming.

One thing potentially holding up McIntyre's return is all of the people he was feuding with prior to leaving are embroiled in storylines right now. His last two opponents prior to Fatu were Sami Zayn and Cody Rhodes over the undisputed title.

The decision also has to be made if McIntyre will return as a heel or babyface. If he is staying on SmackDown, it might be better to bring him back as a babyface since they just turned Zayn heel and Randy Orton also returned as a villain.

Of course, the Raw roster also needs an infusion of talent, particularly on the heel side. Roman Reigns is the only top level heel—assuming that's what he is supposed to be given his current rivalry with Solo Sikoa and LA Knight—on the Red Brand at this point.

Regardless of what role McIntyre plays when he returns, his presence will be welcome since he had been on one of the best runs of his career prior to taking a leave.

Women's Trios Match Potentially Planned for SNME

With just three matches currently official for the upcoming Sunday Night's Main Event show on Sept. 6, WWE could add a women's trios bout to the card.

Per Joey Votes of WrestleVotes (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), WWE has "loosely discussed" putting Fatal Influence vs. Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss and Tatum Paxley on the SNME show.

"I do know the women's trios match—Fatal Influence vs. Alexa, Tatum, and Charlotte—has been loosely discussed to make that card. They are treating this event as a PLE-lite," JoeyVotes said.

The only matches set for the show are Rhodes vs. Orton, Oba Femi vs. Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin vs. Lil Yachty in which Yachty needs to last five minutes to earn Trick Williams a rematch with Corbin for the U.S. title.

WWE has generally put five matches on Saturday Night's Main Event cards, though there have been some exceptions. The Jan. 24 show from Montreal only had three matches take place, though a fourth was scheduled between Rhodes and Fatu that never occurred due to a pre-match brawl.

It would make sense to have the match take place, whether it's on the Sept. 6 card or waiting until Money in the Bank on Oct. 10. Fatal Influence have been feuding with Flair on and off for most of the year. Paxley just recently debuted on SmackDown, so giving her a high-profile match would help elevate her profile.

One thing of note is WWE didn't announce any new matches for SNME during the SmackDown tapings on Monday night for the show airing this week, so the last chance to make it official on the go-home episode on Sept. 4 if it's going to happen.