If Seth Rollins Is Seriously Injured, WWE Has Two Huge Decisions To Make

We don’t have all the information on Seth Rollins yet, but it doesn’t look good. The Visionary had to be helped to the back following his match with LA Knight at Saturday Night’s Main Event, and there are a lot of rumors that he may miss a significant amount of time. If he does, it’ll be a huge loss for WWE, not only because he’s one of the most popular performers on the roster but also because it’ll force Triple H and company to potentially alter two of its biggest storylines.

Before we get into those two huge decisions though, let’s recap what happened with Rollins at Saturday Night’s Main Event. The multi-time world champion was wrestling LA Knight when he did a series of flips off the ropes. During the last one, he landed on his feet but immediately grimaced in pain and went down in the corner. The referee stopped the match to allow him to confer with his manager Paul Heyman and a ringside doctor before he got up and immediately ate LA Knight’s finisher for a quick 1, 2, 3 loss.

WWE, of course, writes fake injuries into matches and storylines all the time, but this didn’t feel like that. It felt like a legitimate issue, which was seemingly confirmed by several prominent wrestling journalists after the match. PWInsider said the original plan was for Rollins to win the match, but an audible was called on the fly so he could put LA Knight over.

Losing any wrestler to an injury is always frustrating, but it’s a particularly big problem for WWE in Rollins’ case. You could make a reasonable argument that he’s been the main character of the entire product post-WrestleMania, and he’s currently involved in two integral storylines that are going to need to be adapted in a major way if he misses significant time. Let’s talk those out…

What To Do About The Money In The Bank Briefcase

The most obvious problem for WWE is the Money In The Bank briefcase. Rollins won the popular plot device, which allows the holder a title shot anytime they want it, back in June, and it was widely assumed he’d successfully cash in at SummerSlam or another prominent event later this year to grab a world championship again. That’s now very much in doubt. In fact, the briefcase’s powers expire next June; so, if he’s going to be out longer than that, he won’t even be able to cash in after he gets back from injury.

As I see it, WWE basically has three options here. First, they can have Rollins hold onto the briefcase and see if he can be back in time to use it at some point down the road. He has eleven months or so to get back, which, depending on his injury, might be enough. It would be wild not to see him for almost a year, only to get a surprise return where he cashes in on someone and wins a world championship. That’s the highest upside option to create a memorable moment.

Second, they can have Rollins hold onto the briefcase and simply not cash in. There’s no requirement that the briefcase holder has to cash it in. Rumors have swirled for a long time that Triple H allegedly doesn’t love the plot device, and he’s been widely criticized for some of his booking decisions with the briefcase the last few years. He might simply want to move on from it and crown a new winner next year.

Third, they can transfer the briefcase to someone else by whatever means they want. There’s a history of WWE bailing on Money In The Bank briefcase winners and giving the the power to someone else. Back in 2020, WWE did exactly that to Otis and had him lose it to The Miz, who later cashed in on Drew McIntyre. Holding a tournament to crown a new winner or even having a ladder match at SummerSlam would be an easy way to build interest in a non-title match.

What To Do About Seth’s New Faction

With all due respect to Money In The Bank, this is honestly my bigger concern because of how it directly impacts two rising stars. After WrestleMania, Rollins launched a new faction alongside Hall of Fame manager Paul Heyman and rising stars Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. The group has been a prominent part of Monday Night Raw in the time since, often main eventing and/ or opening the show.

Rollins has been one of WWE’s top guys for years, and you could make a strong case that he’s been one of the biggest keys to the company’s resurgence. He doesn’t have the star power of Roman Reigns and hasn’t been pushed as hard as Cody Rhodes, but he’s played a key role in so many main event level storylines. He’s like his generation’s Triple H. I suspect this new faction was an attempt to try and make him literally the biggest star in the company with his own version of Evolution.

That ascendancy is gonna be delayed for awhile if Rollins does have a serious injury, but perhaps the more important question is what that means for Breakker and Reed. I’ve complained a bit about how the two lost some personality and agency when the faction first launched, but last week, each was given extended promo time and allowed to show off more personality. The faction really seemed like it was starting to come into its own. Now its future is very much in doubt.

Will WWE keep the two together with Paul Heyman while Rollins is out? I hope so. Triple H and company could decide to cut their losses and have them go do their own thing, but I’d rather they be given an opportunity to step up and continue with the vision. We’ll just have to wait and see though.

To Sum Up

I don’t know what’s going to happen with Rollins. I don’t know how long he’s going to be out for, but if he’s going to miss a serious length of time, WWE is going to need to decide what to do about the above. They’ve got a major decision to make about the Money In The Bank briefcase and a major decision to make about Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker.

Rollins’ injury is a terrible blow and not what WWE needs right now, especially with a bunch of other injuries and Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes cast in the new Street Fighter movie. It’s also an opportunity, though. Amidst the chaos, there’s a chance here to turn Reed and Breakker into bigger stars, and there’s a chance to do something fun with the Money In The Bank briefcase, either by putting it on someone else (LA Knight?) or by keeping it on Seth and letting him create an all-time memorable return. Fingers crossed the writers get it right.