Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show live on ESPN, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson revealed for the first time that a match against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39 was “locked in” back in 2022.

Rock explained that he, Nick Khan, and Vince McMahon met each other and hashed out a plan to have Rock vs Roman headlining Mania at SoFi Stadium. But The Rock wanted something “unprecedented” where they could do something for the fans that has never been done before and have WrestleMania be the beginning of something bigger.

“We got really, really close but we couldn’t actually nail what that thing was,” Rock replied when a shocked McAfee asked him why it didn’t happen.

“So, we decided to put our pencils down. Then we agreed, ‘Hey listen, there’s a merger coming up, eventually, that will happen,’ and there’s WrestleMania in Philadelphia,” he continued, a statement which made McAfee jump out of his seat.

Johnson then did the People’s Eyebrow for the fans behind him for a big pop before he continued.

“I’m saying that’s a potential too, I’m open. But again, let’s figure out what that is because the fans deserve something just incredible and unprecedented, and not only that, but I also want to deliver to the locker room and the boys and the girls back there who are working their asses off,” he said.

“What can we do to put them in a position where they are part of something that is a new change, an era in this world of pro-wrestling?” The Rock continued.

"The Rock headlining WrestleMania with Roman Reigns at SoFi Stadium was locked in..

We got really really close but there's WrestleMania in Philadelphia coming up" 👀@TheRock #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/fyKjL1j0jE

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 15, 2023