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Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Reigns Discusses WrestleMania 40 vs. Rhodes, Potential Future Rock Match
Roman Reigns gave his thoughts on both The Rock and Cody Rhodes during an interview on the SI Media podcast on Tuesday.
Speaking to Sports Illustrated‘s Jimmy Traina (beginning at the 31:45 mark of the video), Reigns provided some insight into how he felt when WWE seemingly went back and forth between having him face either The Rock or Rhodes in the main event of WrestleMania 40:
When Traina asked Reigns if he was disappointed to face Rhodes rather than The Rock, The Original Tribal Chief indicated that he didn’t care as long as he was in the main event (h/t Nikunj Walia of Ringside News):
“It doesn’t matter to me. I was the main event. I’m the guy that everyone wanted to dance with, you know. I am the hot chick, everyone wanted to take me out. It’s where, we just need to get there and defend this thing. It didn’t matter who it is. They are trying to stop history from happening. They are trying to take us off the pinnacle right now, so it was the same task in hand for me.”
After Rhodes won the 2024 men’s Royal Rumble match, he said he would not challenge Reigns for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 40, and it instead looked like The Rock was going to be in that spot.
However, after negative fan reaction to the switch-up, Rhodes did an about-face days later, which led to The Rock turning heel, becoming The Final Boss and aligning himself with Reigns.
The Rock and Reigns teamed up to beat Rhodes and Seth Rollins in the Night 1 main event of WrestleMania 40 before Rhodes beat Reigns for the WWE title in the main event of Night 2.
Given that the long-awaited Rock vs. Reigns match didn’t happen at WrestleMania 40, Traina (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News) asked Reigns if it was a possibility in the future, and he suggested that it is provided the fans show that they want it to happen:
“I think our fanbase and the company’s proven that if our fans are loud enough and passionate enough about something, we’re a company who—we’re not being dictated to. We have a vision for where we’re trying to go, but we know who the consumers are. We know who’s paying their hard-earned money, and we want to satisfy those people.”
Reigns added: “If that’s what the people want and The People’s Champ is down, I’m sure we can make something happen.”
The Rock made an unannounced return to WWE programming last month at Bad Blood, but he didn’t reveal his intentions, nor has he been back since.
With the new and original versions of The Bloodline doing battle in a WarGames match Saturday at Survivor Series, it could be a good spot for The Rock to show up again and possibly begin building toward a showdown with his cousin.
Tommy Fury Teases Potentially Working with WWE
Boxer Tommy Fury suggested this week that he may have some interest in exploring the world of pro wrestling with WWE.
Fury posted a video on YouTube on Sunday, which showed him backstage at a WWE show during the company’s recent tour of the United Kingdom:
In addition to meeting up with some WWE Superstars, Fury said the following about possibly pursuing a future with WWE (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News):
“So guys, that is a night at the WWE complete. All the wrestlers showing love. Big up to Randy Orton. Absolutely amazing guy. Big up to Cody Rhodes, all of them, Gunther, the lot of them. Thank you to the WWE for showing us such appreciation. And I look forward to possibly climbing through them ropes one day. Who knows? But it’s been a great night.”
Fury, 25, is the younger brother of former world heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury, who did some work with WWE in the past.
Tyson had his one and only match for WWE at Crown Jewel 2019 in Saudi Arabia, beating Braun Strowman by count-out.
More recently, Tyson was in attendance at WWE Clash at the Castle in Wales in 2022, and he knocked out Austin Theory while in the front row of the crowd, preventing him from cashing in the Money in the Bank contract.
Tommy has made a name for himself in his own right, as he is 10-0 in professional boxing and remains the only person to beat Jake Paul.
Given his relationship with the Paul family, Fury could be a good fit in WWE as a future opponent for Paul’s brother, Logan Paul, who is a WWE Superstar and former United States champion.
A Paul brothers vs. Fury brothers tag team match could also be of interest to a more mainstream fanbase, meaning WWE figures to at least keep the possibility of bringing Tommy Fury in for something in mind.
Oba Femi Reportedly Absent from NXT Recently
Former North American champion Oba Femi has reportedly not been seen around NXT for the past month.
According to Fightful Select (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News), there has been no talk of Femi being backstage for NXT tapings since his loss to Tony D’Angelo at Halloween Havoc on Oct. 27.
The reason for his absence is unknown, but it could just be a case of allowing him to reset on the heels of two big losses.
After making his televised NXT debut in April 2023, Femi went on a dominant run, winning the NXT Breakout Tournament and cashing in his title shot to beat Dragon Lee for the North American Championship.
The former University of Alabama shot put star did not suffer a televised loss until last month when he surprisingly dropped the North American Championship to D’Angelo, ending his title reign at a record 272 days.
Femi also lost the rematch to D’Angelo at Halloween Havoc, and he hasn’t been seen on an episode of NXT since then.
While that could be a sign that he is preparing to get called up to WWE’s main roster or possibly nursing an injury, it could just as easily be a case of the NXT decision-makers wanting to keep him off television until the impact of the losses blows over.
If and when the time comes for Femi to return, he would be a strong candidate to go after the NXT Championship and would perhaps be the ideal choice to take the title from Trick Williams.
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