New tournament to be announced, top star stripped of their title? 4 things that may happen in WWE if Seth Rollins' injury is serious
Seth Rollins is one of WWE's most talented performers. He has been a star of the main roster for over a decade now and has spent much of that time as a main eventer. It could be argued he's currently more successful than ever before.
The Visionary is the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. He won the title at Night of Champions 2023 in Saudi Arabia. In the months since then, Rollins has managed to retain his title despite battling some of the best wrestlers in the world.
Unfortunately, the reigning champion may have hit the wall. Rollins battled Jinder Mahal on Monday Night RAW. At some point in the bout, Seth began limping. It has since been reported that he injured his leg in some way during the match.
While the severity of Rollins' injury isn't yet public, there is concern that it could be quite serious. Naturally, this would shake things up for the company. This article will look at four things that may happen if The Visionary's injury ends up being severe.
Below are four things that may happen in WWE if Seth Rollins' injury is serious.
#4. WWE may strip Seth of the World Heavyweight Championship
As noted, Seth Rollins won the World Heavyweight Championship in Saudi Arabia last year. He defeated AJ Styles to win the coveted prize. Since then, Seth has managed to defeat some of the best wrestlers in the world in WWE.
Finn Balor, Bron Breakker, Shinsuke Nakamura, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn, and Drew McIntyre are just some of the names who have fallen to The Visionary since he won the coveted prize.
If Rollins really is seriously injured, that epic World Heavyweight Championship reign may come to an end. Adam Pearce, or even Triple H himself, may decide to strip The Visionary of the gold. This would obviously be crushing for Rollins, but it may be the necessary move.
#3. Somebody could be declared the interim champion
There is an alternative, however. Instead of stripping Seth Rollins of the World Heavyweight Championship, WWE could aim to find an interim champion. This would essentially be somebody filling in as the title holder while Seth is away.
The likes of Drew McIntyre, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, CM Punk, Bronson Reed, Chad Gable, and even Gunther would all want the chance to be a champion. They could battle it out, perhaps in a Battle Royal, where the winner becomes the Interim WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
From there, once Seth returns to action, he could battle whoever is the interim champion at the time. This would be a Unification Match to crown the rightful World Heavyweight Champion. If nothing else, it would keep Seth's reign alive. Drew, for example, winning the interim title, but then losing to Rollins could lead to an entertaining meltdown.
#2. Seth Rollins may hold onto the title without defending until he's ready to compete
WWE and professional wrestling used to follow a long-time rule. That ruling applied specifically to champions. It was said that if a champion didn't defend their coveted prize within a 30-day period, they could be stripped of the gold.
While this has been a ruling in the past, it is clearly not something Triple H worries about. Logan Paul won the United States Championship before Survivor Series last year and will defend it for the first time later this month. Roman Reigns hasn't defended his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship since Crown Jewel.
Given that this rule isn't enforced any longer, Seth could potentially just hold the title until he heals. If he could get back in the ring by WrestleMania, he may simply not defend his title until then in order to recover.
#1. A tournament could be held to decide a new champion
As noted, Seth Rollins won the title at Night of Champions 2023 in Saudi Arabia. He did so by winning the World Heavyweight Championship Tournament, last defeating SmackDown's AJ Styles.
Seth's journey to the finals wasn't exactly an easy one. He first defeated Shinsuke Nakamura and Damian Priest in a Triple Threat Match in the first round. He then defeated Finn Balor in the semi-finals. AJ, Damian, Shinsuke, and Finn are four of the best in the world, and he managed to get by them.
If Rollins' injury is serious and he can't compete, WWE may hold a new World Heavyweight Championship Tournament. This time, somebody new could climb to the top of the company, such as Bronson Reed, Ivar, or Chad Gable.