WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins suffered a severe knee injury at a house show in Ireland last week, sidelining him for 6 to 9 months and forcing WWE to vacate the company’s top title. It could hardly come at a worse time for WWE, following serious injuries to Randy Orton and Sting, and coinciding with the beginning of a planned vacation for John Cena. Now, with precious few stars on the roster and WrestleMania season right around the corner, Vince McMahon and co. have scheduled a tournament to crown the next champion at Sunday’s Survivor Series. (You can see the bracket above this post.)
It’s a huge decision at a crucial juncture in WWE’s year. So, Rich: What do you think is going to happen at Survivor Series, and why?
Rich (@RDotDeuce):
Well Luke, I think that because there were no “big time” additions to the bracket, we’re looking at a chalk face/heel semi at Survivor Series – Reigns vs ADR / Owens vs Ambrose. Ultimately, I think that Reigns will win – but whether that’s as the Authority’s new man or as the new ‘face of the WWE’ I haven’t a clue.
The final to me is the only thing that could be in the air. Do they go with Owens and start a tease toward an eventual feud, or do they go with Ambrose and set up the friend vs friend with a betrayal by one or the other? In a perfect world I wouldn’t want either to turn heel, as they have a money moment next year when Rollins is back for a SHIELD reunion. Say the Authority goes with someone else (Owens, Joe, whoever) and right before they can gang up on a reeling Ambrose and Reigns, Rollins rolls in for the save. That’d be some good stuff. But, since the WWE isn’t in the long term planning game, we are where we are. I fully expect Roman to become the WWE champ, feud with a heel Ambrose and just tread water until Wrestlemania. What do you think?
Luke (@lukewachob):
You’re right about the bracket. Isn’t this supposed to be the World Heavyweight Title? Where’s John Cena and Brock Lesnar? Where’s New Day and the Wyatts? Why are Titus O’Neil and Kalisto here? How could a guy who’s never had a match on RAW – Tyler Breeze – get a shot? Wasn’t this a perfect time to bring back a big name part-timer like Chris Jericho or Mark Henry?
So many questions, and basically no answers. That’s really what bothers me: the lack of an attempt to explain why the bracket is the way it is. So I think you’re basically right. Roman Reigns is the guy WWE cares most about in this tournament – by far – so the first thing you have to figure out is how he comes out of this looking as good as possible. He’s not losing to Cesaro, or to Del Rio or Kalisto (and I think we know Kalisto will be playing the role of Sin Cara in an ADR W in that one), so it comes down to Reigns vs. ______.
Looking at the other half of the bracket… Roman’s getting booed in that final. Whether it’s Ambrose, Owens, or some crazy upset run from Ziggler or Neville, the crowd is siding with them. That’s an outcome WWE could’ve avoided (put him in there with Sheamus or Del Rio and we’re all Team Reigns), so I’m predicting Roman turns heel and wins the belt, setting up a Reigns-Ambrose feud for the next few months. You could do worse!
Enough of our speculation. Survivor Series is just 6 days away. Until then, hit us up on Twitter with your thoughts on who should – or will – be taking the belt home Sunday.
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