Is the silence of WWE Champion Roman Reigns’ a sign of his demise at WrestleMania?

For much of the build to WrestleMania XL, Roman Reigns, the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, has been the world’s most decorated wallflower, with his cousin, The Rock, doing much of The Tribal Chief’s talking. However, things all potentially change on Friday as Reigns — who will commemorate 1,300 days as champion then — comes face-to-face with his WrestleMania challenger, Cody Rhodes, on SmackDown.

Despite making more appearances in the run-up to WWE’s super spectacular, which included a stunning moment where Reigns demanded that The Rock acknowledge him as his Tribal Chief, Reigns has felt as distant as ever. Outside of that one moment with Rock, the Undisputed Champ has seemed secondary to the Hollywood megastar, a remark WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray noted weeks ago.

“If I’m Roman, I’m doing the talking, and Rock’s trailing and let the Rock be behind me. I’m the champion. I’m the Head of the Table. Rocky’s coming in and really taken over,” said Bully Ray.

Since taking over, The Rock has cut one fantastic promo after another. Some of the subject matter may have been questionable at times, but ultimately, he still excelled at building conflict and an interest in seeing that conflict resolved in the ring.

Last Friday, in the hours before SmackDown, The Rock cut a scary promo that called Rhodes out for crying on Raw while promising to beat him bloody in front of his mother, whom Rock planned on presenting his weight belt after he’s skinned Cody’s hide. The impassioned discourse heightened suspense for either Rhodes receiving a thrashing or administering one that Momma Rock could have failed to hand out. But while that was a brilliant promo, the problem is that it should’ve come from Roman Reigns.

In fairness, there could be something positive about Reigns’ silence. First, by keeping mute, Reigns doesn’t appear soft like Rhodes, who wailed like a baby, nor does he come off as sophomoric as Seth Rollins, who is still patting himself on the head for calling The Rock “Diarrhea” Dwayne. One might even argue that Reigns appears to be more of a boss than ever by letting Rock do all the heavy labor for him. From a Kayfabe competitor’s standpoint, Reigns might be hoping that The Rock’s taunts distract Rhodes, making him more vulnerable to loss.

However, Reigns’ recent slip to the back could signify that the most dominant championship run in almost 40 years is likely to fade to darkness.

In days gone by, when a wrestler was finishing up their tenure in a territory or promotion, it wasn’t uncommon to see less of that performer on television. Once a pillar of a brand’s programming, a departing wrestler generally saw diminished TV time. While there have been no stories to imply that Reigns would be taking an extended hiatus, one that doesn’t include his grasp on WWE’s top championship, it’s worth noticing how The Rock has also begun to refer to himself as The Final Boss.

As one wonders what a championship reign by Cody Rhodes looks like, it’s plausible that Rhodes, as champion, may face the same challenges “Stone Cold” Steve Austin had when he was the WWE Champion, which was WWE management. In this instance, The Rock, a member of the board of directors for WWE’s parent business, might become a thorn in the side of Rhodes, driving him into difficult circumstances as champion. That might result in The American Nightmare running a gauntlet of adversaries, all from the Bloodline, until Rhodes faces The Rock, aka The Final Boss.

Based on the promos Rock has been cutting, a singles encounter with Rhodes feels more appealing than either main event for night one and night two of WrestleMania. While they’ll have an opportunity to square off with each other during a tag team affair at the Showcase of the Immortals that features Reigns and Rollins, a one-on-one match between the two could be the direction WWE is going should Rhodes complete his quest and win the Undisputed Universal Championship at WrestleMania.

Then, perhaps Reigns, unaccompanied by The Rock, will finally have something of substance to say when he looks Cody Rhodes in the eye this Friday. If he doesn’t, it may be a clue that the next words out of the tribal chief’s mouth might be, “Goodbye, for now.”