WWE News: WWE Cautious To Bring Rollins Back For ‘WrestleMania,’ Even If Cleared
On WWE Raw, Samoe Joe made his debut after spending nearly two years competing for NXT. Joe was revealed as Triple H’s henchman, making it even more difficult for Seth Rollins to engage the COO. As Rollins was coming to the ring to confront Triple H, he was viciously attacked by Joe and savagely beaten. Unfortunately, during this beating, Rollins reinjured his surgically-repaired knee that kept him out of WrestleMania 32 in Dallas, Texas.
In what was expected to be another MCL tear, Rollins was evaluated by Dr. James Andrews, who has been known over the years to perform surgeries on WWE performers, to get a diagnosis of the severity of his injury. Based on reports, the expected time for Rollins to be out of action would be six to eight weeks. This could, in theory, place him back right before WrestleMania 33 on April 2.
While this would be ideal for Rollins to compete at the grand stage, WWE is going to be cautious that he does not re-injure himself by coming back too soon.
F4WOnline recently commented on the matter.
“Rollins was getting an evaluation on the knee on 2/1 in Birmingham and the early word was that he’d be out about eight weeks, meaning that Mania was possible but not definite. Obviously he’ll want to do it under any circumstances when it’s that close of a call but WWE these days, for legal reasons, is far more cautious about throwing talent back into the ring before they are ready than has been the case historically.”
While some believe that this may be a work, especially after his comments on Twitter to Triple H, stating, “fighting and defeating Triple H is the only way. I will work harder than I ever have and push myself beyond what I know. This isn’t over. The only way to wear the crown is to slay the king. I know what must be done and there’s nothing that can stop me,” it is reported to legitimately be an injury and a major setback once again in the career of Rollins. In fact, WWE has photos of the operation of Rollins’ knee.
Rollins’ first severe injury came in Dublin, Ireland, during an international tour while he was competing against Kane in a Tables match. Landing on his knee the wrong way after attempting to sunset flip powerbomb Kane, it cost Rollins six very important months of his career. Since his return at Extreme Rules in May of 2016, Rollins has yet to fully regain the steam he had as WWE World Heavyweight Champion before he was injured.
A feud with Samoa Joe, and subsequent feud with Triple H, would have been very beneficial to the state of Rollins’ career at the moment, and would have greatly assisted in further developing his as a strong babyface for the Raw brand. However, this is another huge hurdle, which could derail any kind of momentum.
Another major issue is the injury rate of Rollins. In addition to the knee injury suffered that put him on the shelf, he also suffered an injury against Kevin Owens at the Clash of Champions event in September of 2016. During the match, Owens performed a gutbuster off the ropes, which resulted in a very awkward landing. As a result, Rollins had difficulty breathing, and was seen by medical staff backstage.
At this point, whether he returns in time for WrestleMania 33 or not, Seth Rollins is in dire need of toning down his in-ring work to avoid injury. This also goes for the people competing against him. As witnessed by many WWE talent who have been injured over the past couple of years, a match full of flips and high spots does more harm than good, and does not pay off in the end.
With Rollins, adapting more of a ground game, similar to how Steve Austin and Brian Pillman had to adjust their move set after being injured, would be best for the rest of his career. Especially, since he is only 30-years-old, and has a very promising career ahead of him.
[Featured Image By WWE]
