Fantasy-Booking Dream Roman Reigns vs. The Rock Match at WWE WrestleMania 37

The Rock revealed in a video on his YouTube channel recently that he would be open to the idea of facing Roman Reigns at a WrestleMania. To say it would be a dream match would be an understatement, as fans have been pushing for them to wage war in a WWE ring for years.

In light of Reigns' heel turn and rapid rise to the Universal Championship, it can be argued that there is no better time for that bout to become a reality than at WrestleMania 37 next spring.

Reigns has been in his element as a heel these past few weeks and has proved he would be a fantastic foil for someone as beloved as The Great One. The pair tearing it up at an earlier installment of WrestleMania would have been epic enough, but the dynamic they would have with Reigns in this role would make it even more must-see.

The Big Dog battling a fresh face such as Big E or Matt Riddle at WrestleMania and defending the Universal Championship against them might be more ideal as far as building toward the future. However, Reigns vs. Rock is arguably WWE's greatest possible attraction for The Grandest Stage of Them All, and Rock even acknowledging the possibility of it happening means there's a chance it could.

A lot of things would have to align in order for that highly anticipated contest to come to fruition. That includes WWE doing right by Reigns in the coming months, as well as ensuring Rock would be available to compete one more time under the bright lights of WrestleMania.

If the current conditions persist and there's a limited audience in attendance for the event, it's a lot less likely the matchup gets booked. Then again, Hollywood would be the perfect place for these cousins to clash given Rock's success on the silver screen, not to mention how this feud would an ideal way of cementing Reigns as the biggest bad guy in the business.

Now that The Rock has thrown out the possibility of him going one-on-one with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 37, WWE must capitalize on the buzz by bringing it up on an upcoming episode of SmackDown.

Reigns wouldn't need to outright accept the challenge this far in advance a la Rock vs. John Cena from WrestleMania XXVIII, especially since it's extremely unlikely that Rock has even agreed to do it at this point. That said, there's nothing wrong with Paul Heyman quickly acknowledging it in one of his promos and claiming that Reigns would win with ease.

That would at least plant the idea of the match in fans' minds in case it does happen come WrestleMania 37 and get even more people talking about it.

By WrestleMania season, most members of the WWE Universe will have forgotten all about them teasing a match for the event. That will make Rock's eventual return to TV that much more shocking and satisfying.

In the meantime, there's nothing wrong with having Reigns take subtle shots at his cousin by doing his patented taunts and stealing his signature moves. Seeing as how Reigns is feuding with another family member in Jey Uso, it would be perfectly logical to think he might be working his way through his family until he gets to Rock at WrestleMania.

Interestingly enough, of Roman Reigns' first four world championship reigns in WWE, none of them exceeded the three-month mark.

Each one was cut short, which is exactly why he should hold the Universal Championship for a lengthy period of time. Additionally, unless a SmackDown Superstar experiences a surge in popularity between now and WrestleMania 37, it would be best to keep the title on him until then.

There is no shortage of opponents for Reigns in the coming months, either. Daniel Bryan, Jeff Hardy, Matt Riddle, Otis and Big E are among the many babyfaces on the blue brand waiting in the wings for a shot at the strap, and there is enough time before 'Mania for most, if not all, of them to challenge for the top title.

If The Rock is being set up as Reigns' opponent for WrestleMania, then all of those aforementioned athletes should fall short of beating The Big Dog.

Each win would make Reigns more and more hated by the masses and build him up to be a dominant force. As credible as he already is, he needs to embark on an undefeated streak before facing off with Rock to ensure he's as much of a threat to The People's Champion as possible.

Rock vs. Reigns doesn't need a title on the line in order to be an attraction, but it might as well be for a championship considering it would overshadow anything else SmackDown would have to offer at The Show of Shows.

Considering The Rock coined the term "smackdown," it's only fitting that his return to WWE happens on the blue brand.

In fact, Rock's most recent appearance on WWE TV came on an episode of SmackDown almost exactly one year ago in October 2019. His interaction with King Corbin and Becky Lynch that night was the highlight of SmackDown's heavily touted move to Fox, though he hasn't been seen on the show since.

Prior to that, you would have to go all the way back to 2013 for the last time Rock appeared in front of a crowd on SmackDown. It's no surprise that almost all of his appearances for WWE in the past decade have happened on Raw, but if WWE is still trying to solidify SmackDown as the A-show, Rock being exclusive to the Friday night program would make the most sense.

Soon after the Royal Rumble in January, just as the Road to WrestleMania kicks off, would be an ideal time for Rock to resurface. Reigns could lay claim to conquering every credible challenge on SmackDown, issue an open challenge for WrestleMania and have it be answered by The Great One to make that match official.

Reigns could also get obsessed with punishing his opponents to the point that Rock has to return and make the save for someone, whether it be Daniel Bryan or another beloved babyface on the blue brand.

This would be a great place for The Usos to get involved and tease siding with Rock only to join forces with Reigns, forming a supergroup that has been in the works for a while. It would come months after Reigns likely demolished Jey Uso at Clash of Champions, but The Usos can explain their actions by saying they chose to align with The Big Dog after failing to defeat him.

No matter when WWE chooses to begin building the bout, the setup would be something special.

Perhaps the biggest appeal of a Reigns-Rock rivalry is the back-and-forth promos they could have with each other, as well as with Paul Heyman.

Rock is fairly familiar with Heyman, as it was the mastermind behind ECW who helped Brock Lesnar beat him for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam 2002. Heyman was also in CM Punk's corner when he defended the title against Rock at Royal Rumble 2013.

Rekindling that bad blood, this time with Reigns in the mix, could make for tremendous television.

There's so much history between the cousins, both inside and outside the ring. Rock can acknowledge how Reigns tried to follow in his footsteps and failed, even after he attempted to endorse him at Royal Rumble 2015.

Reigns' rebuttal can be that he tried for years to endear himself to the people, as The Rock did, but always found himself unmercifully booed. It wasn't until he linked up with Heyman that he discovered his true self and became the undisputed man in WWE.

In his time on top over the years, Reigns has racked up wins over the likes of The Undertaker, Triple H, John Cena, Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton. His sole motivation for a matchup with Rock is that he wants to add his name to that illustrious list and prove to the world why he's the greatest of all time.

WWE fans haven't heard from Reigns on the mic much lately, but he needs to be let loose when it comes time to talking trash with Rock and not get verbally buried as he has on countless occasions. Reigns needs to be positioned as an equal to his cousin, and their promo battles can be where they both shine.

The only way a rivalry between Roman Reigns and The Rock should culminate is with The Great One endorsing Reigns by putting him over when it matters most at WrestleMania.

Rock is a massive fan favorite but would gain nothing from defeating Reigns and becoming universal champion, especially if this is it for him in terms of his in-ring career. It would most definitely make for a feel-good moment, but fans already got that when he dethroned CM Punk for the WWE Championship in 2013.

There's no reason for Rock to get another title run at this stage of his career. Rather, Reigns would receive nuclear heat from fans for putting down The People's Champion once and for all.

That outcome shouldn't come as any surprise to those who have followed Rock's career closely over the past 25 years. He's always been game as far as elevating new talent and knows when to do business. He even suggested in the original video teasing the match that he would only be interested in working with Reigns if it meant helping him in the end.

The match itself could well go either way as far as quality is concerned. Rock likely won't be capable of contesting a classic in the same way he could when he returned early last decade, but that isn't to say he and Reigns couldn't make magic.

Whether it's competitive or booked as a straightforward squash, Reigns must have his hand raised when the bell rings and use the victory to propel him even further into superstardom. The up-and-comer who eventually takes the title from him would benefit that much more from doing so.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.