WWE Rumors: Finn Balor to possibly replace Seth Rollins at WrestleMania
What’s the story?
According to a report from ringsidenews.com, Finn Balor is possibly being considered to replace Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 33.
In case you didn’t know...
Seth Rollins suffered a partially torn MCL on January 30th during a beatdown segment with Samoa Joe.
Finn Balor has been recovering from a torn labrum in his shoulder since SummerSlam 2016, where Seth Rollins powerbombed him into the ringside barricade, causing Balor’s shoulder to dislocate. Balor popped the shoulder back into place and finished the match. It is believed that the dislocation and relocation of the shoulder caused the injury that has seen Balor on the shelf since August.
Rollins made his first appearance on Raw since his injury this past Monday in a promo segment with Corey Graves. The promo ended with Triple H coming down to ringside and having a staredown with Rollins, who said that if it’s the last thing he does, WrestleMania will be the last thing Triple H himself competes in.
The heart of the matter
According to the report, Rollins is being evaluated by a specialist every week in order to track his progress as far as rehabilitating the knee is concerned. The specialist in question is likely located at the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Institute in Alabama, where Rollins previously had his knee reconstructed after tearing it severely in late 2015.
It is currently believed within the WWE that Seth Rollins will be healthy enough to compete at WrestleMania in his long-anticipated showdown with Triple H. However, as with any situation such as this one, it is said that the WWE has several backup plans ready in the event that Rollins isn’t able to perform.
It is also believed that Rollins will be able to perform in a limited capacity, and thus, will likely brawl with Triple H at WrestleMania in some sort of Street Fight or No Holds Barred match as opposed to a regular wrestling match.
However, in the event that Rollins can not go at the Showcase of the Immortals, it is rumoured that Finn Balor is pencilled in as a possible replacement for The Architect.
What’s next?
This situation may very well come down to the last possible moment before we know exactly what will happen.
Sportskeeda’s take
We understand Rollins’ desire to not miss his second straight WrestleMania, but if appearing on the show in a limited capacity possibly shortens his career in any way, it’s not worth it. As we’ve seen with Triple H in the past, all it takes is one false step to tear a muscle in the leg. With Rollins’ injury history, we’d like to see him take it slow instead of rushing back.
If Rollins is indeed the future of the WWE, they’re going to need him to be healthy in the long term. If he can’t go and Balor can, they should absolutely slot him into Rollins’ place.