Is Roman Reigns’ silence 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 most of The Tribal Chief’s talking. However, that will potentially change this Friday as Reigns — who will celebrate 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 shocking segment where Reigns demanded that The Rock acknowledge him as his Tribal Chief, Reigns has felt as absent as ever. Outside of that one moment with Rock, the Undisputed Champ has looked secondary to the Hollywood megastar, a point 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 just taken over,” said Bully Ray.Since taking over, The Rock has cut one outstanding promo after another. Some of the subject matter may have been questionable at times, but ultimately, he still excels at creating conflict and an interest in seeing that conflict resolved in the ring.

Last Friday, in the hours before SmackDown, The Rock cut a chilling promo that called Rhodes out for crying on Raw while promising to beat him bloody in front of his mother, whom Rock intends on gifting his weight belt after he’s skinned Cody’s hide. The intense monologue heightened anticipation for either Rhodes receiving a beating or delivering one that Momma Rock might have failed to dish out.

But while it was a great promo, the problem is that it should’ve come from Roman Reigns.And

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