Backstage Details On Reported Origin Of Roman Reigns' 'Head Of The Table' Gimmick

Roman Reigns versus Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has long reportedly been the proposed endgame of the former's current run as "The Head of the Table". Reigns has held the WWE Universal Championship for well over 1,000 days now, even unifying the title with the WWE Championship in that time. As a result, he is positioned as the top champion of the entire company. 

Johnson revealed recently that the plan had indeed been for Rock vs. Reigns to happen at WrestleMania 39, but the match fell through and Reigns wound up defending his crown against Cody Rhodes. Writing of the situation in this week's "Wrestling Observer Newsletter", Dave Meltzer theorized that Reigns' entire "Tribal Chief" storyline appeared to have been started for the sake of his eventual showdown with Johnson, with the idea being that Rock would argue that he, and not Reigns, was actually the rightful "Head of the Table." He said it was created when "the long-term angle for the year was to lead to Reigns vs. Rock". 

Meltzer also wrote that the match will always be the priority for WrestleMania, and will always hinge on Johnson's availability, scheduling, and decision (or not) to participate. As for this coming WrestleMania, Meltzer noted the irony that Rhodes could once again be the backup plan to Johnson, especially when his own storyline is built upon winning the title held by Reigns.