Saudi Arabia Pushing For The Rock To Headline WWE WrestleMania In 2027
Following the recent report that WWE is planning to hold WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia in 2027, a new report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes the Saudi partners are pushing for a main event featuring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson against either Cody Rhodes or Roman Reigns.
In the latest edition of the newsletter, Meltzer provided an update on the situation. “Those in Saudi Arabia close to the General Entertainment Authority, headed by Alalshikh, confirmed this week that the show is official and they claimed negotiations for Dwayne Johnson were advancing and they believed the deal was close to being finalized,” Meltzer wrote. “We have not been able to confirm any of this with those in WWE, which would be involved in the talks. The impression is that the final payment number for the show will be affected by whether or not they get The Rock in the main event.”
The potential main event matches are both storylines that have been teased on WWE programming in the past. A match between The Rock and his cousin, Roman Reigns, has been a long-awaited dream match to determine the true “Head of the Table” of the Anoa’i family. A match against Cody Rhodes would be the culmination of the “Final Boss” storyline that began last year and last played out at the Elimination Chamber premium live event earlier this year, where The Rock orchestrated John Cena’s heel turn against Rhodes.
The push for a main event aligns with previous reports that the Saudi partners want the 2027 WrestleMania to be the “most star-studded show ever,” with “money is no object” in their pursuit of the biggest names in wrestling history. Meltzer’s report also notes that the payoff for The Rock to compete in this event would likely be “multiple times that of any wrestler for any event in history,” a staggering financial incentive for the TKO Board member.
The news comes as The Rock is in the middle of a major physical transformation for his acting career. He has lost a significant amount of weight for his role in the upcoming film “The Smashing Machine,” a move that has led many to believe his in-ring career is over. However, the financial and historical significance of a WrestleMania main event in Saudi Arabia could be enough to entice him back for one more match.
