The recent betrayal of Seth Rollins by his faction, The Vision, on this week’s episode of WWE Raw, left fans stunned. The angle was seemingly designed to write the World Heavyweight Champion off television due to a legitimate injury.
Signs of an injury were first noticed during Rollins’ main event match against Cody Rhodes at the Crown Jewel premium live event this past Saturday. After performing a coast-to-coast move, Rollins was seen favoring his shoulder.
Concerns were amplified before the Raw taping when he was spotted backstage wearing a sling. A photo of Rollins in the sling later surfaced on social media.
The closing angle of Raw saw Vision members Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed turn on Rollins after the main event. The show ended with Paul Heyman aligning himself with Breakker and Reed as they stood over their fallen leader, effectively writing the champion out of storylines.
This is not the first time Rollins has dealt with a major injury. In 2016, he was forced to vacate the WWE World Heavyweight Championship after tearing his ACL, MCL, and medial meniscus, an injury that kept him out of action for seven months.
The severity of this new shoulder injury is currently unknown, as is his potential recovery time. The on-screen angle, however, has positioned him as a babyface for when he returns, setting up a natural rivalry with his former stablemates.
With Seth Rollins now sidelined, WWE will likely have to make an official announcement regarding the status of the World Heavyweight Championship on tonight’s episode of Raw. It is expected that the title will be vacated, leading to a scramble to crown a new champion on the road to Survivor Series: WarGames, with Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, and new number one contender CM Punk positioned as top candidates.
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