WWE has been put into a unique predicament as Seth Rollins has been injured & forced to drop the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. They are forced to Roll Without Rollins and Josh.O is here to give you the good, the bad & the ugly
What do NFL players Jordy Nelson, Kelvin Benjamin and Dante Fowler, Jr all have in common with Seth Rollins?
They have all suffered one of the most temporarily devastating sports-related injuries.
During a live event in Dublin, Ireland last week, Rollins attempted a sunset flip, landed hard on his right leg and suffered what is known as the “unhappy triad”; a tear of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL), Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL), and the medial meniscus. This unfortunately common injury is also known as a “blown knee” since the ACL and MCL are two of the four primary ligaments required for the knee to function properly.
This injury means that Seth Rollins will not only be unable to compete at Survivor Series on Nov 22nd but will be out for 6-9 months and most likely miss WrestleMania 32 in April 2016. WWE recently announced that a tournament will be held to crown a new champion at Survivor Series.
So what does this mean for the landscape of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship?
The Good
- It guarantees a new champion. After keeping the belt on Rollins since WrestleMania earlier this year, the hand of the WWE has been forced and they have no choice but to give someone else the top spot. That superstar will most likely be Roman Reigns. After his failed run to the title last year which ironically led to Rollins winning the belt, don’t think for a second that Vince was giving up on The Rock 2.0. He will put the title around Roman Reign’s waist come hell or high water.
- That champion will not be Sheamus…thankfully. Can you remember a more boring Money in the Bank holder? Maybe Kane in 2010? I know some people like Sheamus, but I can’t understand why. He’s slow. He’s boring. He’s wholly uninteresting. This is a terrible recipe for a potential champion and his title reign would be short and forgettable. Unless Sheamus has hidden blackmail photographs of Vince you can forget about him winning the championship.
- If the rumors are to be believed, The Undertaker was going to face Sting at WrestleMania 32. While this may still come to pass (and I sincerely hope that it does not), the Rollins injury opens up a chance for the Dead Man’s swan song. No matter who wins the championship at Survivor Series, the WWE can put into motion events which led the champ to a feud with The Undertaker and culminate in what could be his last championship win. The idea of The Undertaker holding the belt high as the curtains close on WrestleMania 32 may be too juicy of a moment for Vince to ignore.
The Bad
- This injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for WWE. Despite strong shows the last 2 weeks, television ratings for RAW have been slipping for months and are presently at some of their lowest in years.
- The WWE has lost one of, if not THE top heel in the company. I have spoken ad nausea about Rollins’ work ethic and whether you cheer for him or jeer for him you can’t deny that the man is great on the mic and puts on a great show in the ring. His absence will be noticeably felt and it will not surprise me when he is welcomed back with open arms.
- The temptation of giving the title back to Rollins once he returns next summer will certainly be on Vince’s mind. The WWE Universe loves a returning superstar, regardless of their heel or face status when they departed. In 2001, Triple H almost suffered a career-ending injury when he tore his left quadriceps muscle during a match. The muscle was torn completely off the bone, required immediate surgery to prevent scarring of the tissue and was followed by 8 months of rehabilitation. At the time of his injury, the McMahon-Helmsley Era was in full swing and Triple H was riding high as one of the company’s best heels. When Triple H returned to Monday Night RAW in January 2002, the crowd pop was deafening. The fans didn’t care about what he had done before the injury; they were just happy to see him back in the ring. He would go on to win the Royal Rumble that year and then defeat Chris Jericho At WrestleMania X8 for the Undisputed WWF Championship a few months later.
The Ugly
- The injury to Rollins has expanded the void of lost superstars. John Cena is out until December for “personal reasons”, Daniel Bryan has lingering health issues that may have ended his career entirely and Randy Orton is out for 6 months with a shoulder injury. However, at least Cena and Bryan will inevitably be mentioned in the championship conversation. The WWE could choose to play it safe and bring back John Cena early or call up Daniel Bryan to win the title at Survivor Series but I’ve seen those movies before. I love Daniel Bryan but his injuries are simply too risky to add the weight of the company’s biggest championship. I think Cena is a solid worker but I’m not excited to see him as champion any time soon.
- BARAWK LESNAR! Again, no, no, no. I don’t want a Part-Time Champion and we deserve better. Lesnar is just as safe as a choice as John Cena or Daniel Bryan and just as boring. I want someone who will be on the program each and every week, putting himself out there and doing what needs to be done for the good the brand. Lesnar’s contract is evident that he is doing what is best for him and that’s fine…for him. A Lesnar victory means a loss for the fans.
The Potential
Speculating on potential storylines is part of what makes professional wrestling so much fun. We can debate about what storyline “makes sense” or who “deserves” a specific title but in the end, we have to let the matches play out and all we can do is watch. Sometimes we’re right and sometimes we’re wrong but just like in other “real” sports, we don’t know what’s going to happen until the match is over.
As for me, I would love to see a Dean Ambrose heel turn at Survivor Series. The circumstances are already similar to the 1998 Survivor Series which also featured a tournament for the vacated heavyweight championship. That show concluded with The Rock turning heel and winning his first world title by aligning himself with Vince McMahon.
As for Ambrose, his actions and words have been hinting at such a turn for quite some time and with Rollins out and the idea of Reigns winning the belt much more of a reality, this could be the perfect time to send the Lunatic Fringe over the edge. His jealousy and rage boils over at the idea of both former Shieldmates being champion before him and he simply can’t allow it to happen.
Like Rollins before him, Ambrose aligns himself with The Authority in an attempt to reach the mountaintop. While I still think Reigns will be victorious, this feud could provide momentum going forward and gives WWE a chance to take the time to set up a fantastic championship match at WrestleMania 32.
Unfortunately, one of their hardest working superstars will be on the sidelines.
