There are rumors that The Rock might not be coming back, and we can confirm that WWE has had some plans in the event that doesn't happen, and some HUGE pitches.
Fightful Select has learned that a pitch was made internally for a "huge opponent" for Stone Cold Steve Austin, which Fightful Select was told was Roman Reigns. We're told at the very least, Austin's camp was approached with the possibility of it happening, which was said to have been for "enormous" money. In the Summer of 2022, Fightful reported that Austin was approached with a deal that wasn't as appealing from a financial standpoint. Those that we spoke to in WWE claimed they hadn't heard back on whether the more recent offer was accepted or not, and another source indicated that another "big name" was offered in the months prior.
As of early December, WrestleMania title matches (as reported by
WrestlingNews.co) were slated as Drew McIntyre/Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins one night and TBD/Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns another night. We do not know how or if that has changed.
Austin finally agreed to make an in-ring return at least year's WrestleMania, where he main evented against Kevin Owens. Even up until the day, there were concerns that Austin would change his mind, and we were told they weren't sure he'd do the night 2 interactions with Vince McMahon until the day of.
