Now that we’ve had a few days to process the devastating news that WWE Champion Seth Rollins will be out 6-9 months with a completely destroyed knee, it’s time to move forward.
WWE has already announced that there will be a tournament held at Survivor Series to crown the next Champion, and while the booking will probably just be a jumbled mess that ends with Roman Reigns or a returning John Cena as Champ, the company does have a great opportunity to do something truly memorable.
Let’s take a look at a few scenarios WWE could use to give us a moment we’ll be talking about for years to come.
Roman’s Reign Begins
Let’s not kid ourselves, Rollins being hurt or not, there was always a pretty high chance that Roman Reigns was leaving Survivor Series as the WWE Champ. Now that the title is up for grabs in a tournament, Reigns is the odds-on favorite to take the strap.
Fine, if WWE is insistent on putting the belt on Reigns, then by all means do it. But they better damn well make sure that it’s a moment that gives fans a reason to do anything other than boo him out of the building.
So, how do you put Reigns over? Put him in three big matches. Sure the first round should be a squash, but having Reigns go through Kane to get to the semi-finals would be a good start.
Waiting in the second round? A returning John Cena. You want Reigns to get over, put him up against Cena. He’ll get over with the crowd by default, simply because Cena is just that much more despised.
And in the finals? A beaten down, exhausted Reigns goes up against none other than Brock Lesnar. If Reigns can really sell the beating he’ll surely have to take and show us the guts and will that he showed at ‘Mania last year (times a thousand), the crowd will have no choice but to respect the new Champ.
Ambrose Embraces His True Nature
Barring an unexpected return from Cena or Lesnar, Ambrose has to be the odds-on #2 in the next Champ pecking order. While he isn’t the top star in the company that WWE envisions Reigns to be, Ambrose is definitely the more fan favorite of the two.
The ideal situation leading to Ambrose’s coronation would have to be a meeting with Reigns in the finals. After both men put on an incredible match, Reigns nears victory with the Authority waiting ringside to coronate the next Champ. Reigns hits a Spear and goes for the pin , 1-2- AND TRIPLE H PULLS THE REF OUT OF THE RING!
Trips gets in the ring with a steel chair to attack Reigns but Ambrose comes to and realizes what’s going on and makes the save by ripping the chair out of Triple H’s hands… AND IMMEDIATELY HITTING REIGNS HIMSELF.
Listen people, the only way we’re going to get Ambrose as Champ is if he turns on Reigns and aligns with the Authority, embracing his destiny as the top heel in the company. LET’S DO THIS!
YES! YES! YES!
Look, nobody is surprised by reports that WWE is looking at bringing John Cena back early from his hiatus or thinking about adding more dates to Brock Lesnar’s contract so they have a reliable face as the Champ heading into ‘Mania season. It’s the Vince McMahon way, bring in a reliable face, rinse and repeat.
So if Vince and Co. are determined to bring back a reliable face as Champ for the stretch run, there’s a bearded superstar sitting on the sidelines just waiting for the opportunity.
Seriously, what better story would there be here than Daniel Bryan coming back and making a surprise return to win back the title he never really lost? It would easily be the most memorable return in years and probably earn Bryan the loudest crowd pop in the history of the company.
Yeah you’re right, this is too good to ever happen. Ugh.
The Wyatt Family is Officially Coronated
One name that is likely to be kept out of the title tournament is Bray Wyatt. Despite the fact that Wyatt has a ready-made stable to back a dominant title reign, he’s currently in a program with the Undertaker that just happens to be the main focus of Survivor Series.
Seriously though, who cares? You want to officially crown Wyatt the next otherworldly, dominant heel in the company? Have him go over the Undertaker and win the WWE title IN THE SAME NIGHT.
If Wyatt walks out of Survivor Series as the man who ended Takers career and with the WWE title, the future will be now and the new face of fear will officially be coronated.
SHOCK THE WORLD!
You want to really make a moment? THEN SHOCK THE WORLD!
Put the title on Cesaro or Kevin Owens or Dolph….. okay yeah this will never happen in a million years.
H/T WWE
