Can You Smell It? For Real This Time?

The return of The Rock on Raw has caused A LOT of conversation over the last couple of weeks. The conversations are only going to grow louder and louder as we get closer to WrestleMania. Allow me to lend another voice on the subject matter. It seems that NOW, FINALLY might be the time to pull the trigger on Rock getting in the ring with his cousin, Roman Reigns. The biggest location for this match would be WrestleMania, but that causes a couple of problems that could be avoided on the long road to Philly. I’m of the belief that, more often than not, the simplest road is the best road to take. The belief that this match can ONLY take place at Mania is not shared by me.

I’ve seen the recent reports that Roman Reigns is not scheduled for Elimination Chamber in Perth next month, but I don’t think that means a whole lot at the moment. As others have pointed out, he wasn’t originally advertised for Money in the Bank or Summerslam last year and he worked on both shows. Just because he’s not advertised now, doesn’t mean he won’t ultimately be on the show. Also, if WWE has Rock vs. Reigns penciled in for Perth, they’re not going to tell anyone about it now except for those that need to know and won’t leak it. The simplest road in this case leads to Roman vs. Rock happening the Elimination Chamber. Since last year’s WrestleMania, the penciled in main event for this year is the Cody vs. Roman rematch for the Universal title. Having Rock face Reigns at the Chamber show frees up Roman to face Cody at Mania.

There are some ideas out there that could conceivably work, but I think they just muddy the waters. They could book a triple threat at Mania between Roman, Cody, and The Rock. That would definitely be an epic match, but I think having Roman face Rock and Cody separately makes each match bigger. There’s the idea that Roman could face Rock on Night 1 and then Cody on Night 2. I HATE this idea because for starters, Roman is not working two nights in a row and it will push CM Punk out of the main event of WrestleMania AGAIN. That’s one of the reasons he quit WWE in the first place. Do they really want to open that can of worms after he just came back? I don’t think so. Another idea floating around is to have Roman lose at the Royal Rumble to Randy Orton. This would set up a very intriguing title match between Orton and Cody because of their history and it frees Roman to face Rock on the same show. The problem I have with this scenario is that it will likely push Cody out of the main event that he rightfully deserves. I believe that Rock facing Roman at the chamber for the title and then booking Roman vs. Cody at WrestleMania is the right way to go. Imagine how God tier Cody’s win will be after Roman just got through THE ROCK in front of 70,000 people in Australia. It’ll be incredible.

I get where people are coming from with their different scenarios, theories, and predictions, but all one needs to do is look at Triple H’s track record as a booker. He favors logic and simplicity. When he has a plan, he sticks to it unless he sees that it is absolutely not working. When push comes to shove, and if the money is right, I think everyone involved will see that having Rock vs. Reigns at the Elimination Chamber is the right thing to do for not only that show, but for WrestleMania as well. Above all else though, I trust Triple H a hell of a lot more than I would trust Vince McMahon with making it all work out. If Vince was in charge, then without a doubt, Roman vs. Rock would go down at Mania and Cody’s story be damned. Thankfully, we don’t have him to deal with this time. Buckle up.