When is Seth Rollins coming back? That’s been a lingering question among WWE fans for the better part of 2016. Furthermore, when are John Cena, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, and, to a lesser extent, Neville and Enzo Amore coming back? Injuries have plagued the WWE roster for over a year now, forcing Vince McMahon to admit that they made “pretty good chicken salad” out of you know what for WrestleMania .
Vince also presented somewhat of a clearer picture during last week’s First Quarter Earnings Report conference call in reference to the rash of injuries and the returns of some of his top superstars. As Cena tweeted, and Vince confirmed, John will be the first one back when he makes his return to Monday Night RAW on Memorial Day. Rollins and Wyatt will follow shortly thereafter, with Seth likely returning to action a week after Cena, on June 6. Orton’s injury will keep him out a few more months.
Since Seth Rollins went down with his freak knee injury during a match with Kane at a WWE live event in Dublin, Ireland, fans have gone crazy fantasy booking his eventual return. The rehab called for six to nine months worth of time on the sideline, but Rollins will be able to do it on the shorter end of that timeframe. Cena even commended Rollins’ dedication and commitment via social media just this week. Seth was the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, after all, so the consensus was that there’d be a top-of-the-card spot waiting for him when he came back.
The majority consensus was also that Rollins would storm back into the WWE as a babyface, with the chance to become one of, if not the best fan-favorites on the roster. But according to the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter , WWE may have other ideas . While the fans may be itching to cheer for Seth Rollins for the first time since his brief run as a babyface in 2014, WWE officials may be forced to bring Rollins back as a heel.
Unless the WWE writers do some serious character-shifting in the next three weeks, the numbers game goes against the notion of bringing Seth Rollins back as a crowd-favorite. The babyface division is just too crowded, with even more reinforcements on the way. The Newsletter states that Cena will certainly return as a face, and the top program in the company involves two babyfaces despite a vocal majority of anti-Reigns enthusiasts.
The plan was for WWE to turn Bray Wyatt babyface as well, as they had scripted a program for The Wyatt Family to square off with the League of Nations. But when Bray suffered his injury, the angle was scrapped and the League dissolved. There has been little indication that the Wyatts will revert back to their original form or if they’ll move forward as a babyface faction. Bray Wyatt and Seth Rollins have never feuded in singles competition, and that rivalry could potentially be a money-maker.
The top heels on the current, active roster are Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens. Jericho is a part-timer whose run isn’t expected to last much longer than this summer. Owens is improving and has gained a lot of support backstage, but he’s entrenched in a mid-card feud for the Intercontinental Championship. On the other side of the coin, when everybody returns, the babyface portion of the roster will include Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose, John Cena, and Brock Lesnar. It’s just a matter of finding the best spot on the upper part of the card for Seth Rollins.
The goal within WWE is to reunite The Shield at some point. But they’ll always have that in their back pocket, and now is probably not the best time considering how unbalanced the roster currently is. They could try to reform them as heels, but the crowd would undoubtedly cheer for a reformation of one of the top groups ever. It’ll certainly be interesting. The fans boo Roman Reigns who WWE wishes could be their top babyface. Would they cheer for Seth Rollins even if WWE positions him as a top heel again?
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