A few days ago on the season premiere of Friday Night SmackDown, Roman Reigns made a surprise return to confront the new Bloodline. The Tribal Chief, who is a full fledged babyface now, jumped into the cage with Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa and started throwing hands. Fans were, of course, thrilled to see Roman back and happy to see him dishing out punishments, but it was a moment at the end that really has everyone talking. After disposing of the aforementioned three, Jacob Fatu walked into the cage and squared off with Reigns. Their staredown was unquestionably the biggest moment of the night, and it had fans buzzing on social media.
On the season premiere of SmackDown in 2023, WWE had Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes get in each other’s faces in what turned out to be a preview of WrestleMania 40’s main event. This year, that confrontation went to Jacob Fatu, and the energy felt very similar. Multiple comments with thousands of likes talked about how that’s the big money match fans want to see, and other posts with thousands of likes talked about how much aura the two men collectively have. WWE hasn’t confirmed they’ll eventually fight each other at WrestleMania, but based on how the shot was framed and the fact that Fatu was pulled out of the ring before anything happened, it’s very obvious WWE will save the match for a really big moment… like say WrestleMania.
But would WWE really have Roman Reigns fight Jacob Fatu, someone who isn’t really known to casual fans, at WrestleMania? Well, let’s back up and talk about what’s already happened and what options Triple H, Bruce Prichard and the other writers have at their disposal, starting with The Rock.
Roman Reigns is the biggest star in wrestling, but The Rock is unquestionably the biggest name and attraction for casual fans. Last year when he returned, the original plan was for him to fight his cousin Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 40. That didn’t happen because fans wanted to see Cody Rhodes finish his story; so, the initial assumption from most people was that Reigns and The Rock would simply main event WrestleMania 41. But prior to Dwayne Johnson heading back to Hollywood to film his new movie, he confronted WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and said he’d be returning for his title.
The Rock hasn’t said how many times he’s willing to get in the ring, but the general assumption is, given he’s over fifty years old, that he’ll only be wrestling a few times a year. Initially, fans thought The Rock would likely come back for that title shot at SummerSlam, which would leave him free to fight Reigns at ‘Mania, but WWE’s second biggest PPV has already come and gone. So, it now seems likely if he’s going to get in the ring with Cody Rhodes and wrestle for the title, that’ll probably happen at WrestleMania 41, which means Roman Reigns will need something to do.
Reigns has been calling himself the OTC, or Original Tribal Chief, since he returned. On paper, it makes sense he’d square off against the New Tribal Chief, Solo Sikoa, but to be honest, that is not what fans want to see. Solo has done a nice job of playing his role and building up a new Bloodline, but fans don’t consider him a believable threat to beat Roman Reigns or someone who could match his aura in a big moment.
The better choice is almost certainly Jacob Fatu, who has been fantastic since making his WWE debut earlier this year. He’s one of the most athletically gifted guys in the entire company, and he’s looked unbeatable since his debut, outside of the brief injury. There would be real doubt about who would win that match, and besides, while it would be his first WrestleMania, there are plenty of big names who had their first WrestleMania matches against established legends.
There are a ton of big names in WWE that are going to play a huge role in WrestleMania 41. Barring injuries, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, Gunther, Rhea Ripley, Damian Priest, Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, Randy Orton, John Cena and more will all have their moments, but putting the WrestleMania card together always starts with the big names and figuring out what they’re going to do. If The Rock is healthy and ready to wrestle, he is either going to fight Cody Rhdoes or Roman Reigns. If he steps in the ring with Cody, that means Roman needs something to do, and right now, Jacob Fatu is the most exciting option amongst the dedicated fanbase. He might not have the name recognition, but he’s a future star and WrestleMania could be the place all the casuals realize it.
