Dave Meltzer Speculates On The Possibility Of The Rock Winning WWE's Royal Rumble
Could Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson win this year's men's Royal Rumble and earn a world title shot at WrestleMania 40? According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, "The People's Champion" is one of the obvious favorites to win the over-the-top-rope bout, along with CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, GUNTHER, and LA Knight. Johnson returned to WWE at the start of 2024 and took a shot at Roman Reigns by referencing his "Head of the Table" nickname. Since then, rumors have been swirling that Johnson and Reigns could collide for the first time at either Elimination Chamber or WrestleMania 40, with the Observer recently reporting that Reigns/Johnson was the frontrunner to headline the second night of "The Show of Shows" in April.
The newsletter mentioned the idea of Johnson entering the men's Rumble as a surprise entrant late in the match has been discussed for "past years." These internal talks coincided with the potential of Johnson headlining a recent WrestleMania. Johnson revealed last year that he was locked in to face Reigns at WrestleMania 39 until those plans were scrapped. "The Great One" said if that dream bout were to happen, then he would want to do something unprecedented. In the end, he, Vince McMahon, and current WWE CEO Nick Khan were unable to come up with a plan to match those ambitions. Nevertheless, Johnson left the door open for WrestleMania 40.
The report noted that while "nobody has advertised it" and "it probably wouldn't happen," Johnson being a surprise entrant in this year's men's Rumble shouldn't be completely ruled out. The ball is ultimately in Johnson's court. However, if Johnson isn't featured in the men's Rumble, then he could potentially earn a title shot against Reigns — if the "Head of the Table" holds onto the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at the Rumble — at Elimination Chamber in Australia next month; the Australian government has pitched for Johnson to perform at that event. As the Observer pointed out, the second world title challenger at WrestleMania is typically determined at Elimination Chamber.