The recent on-screen betrayal of World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins by his own faction, The Vision, was due to a real-life injury that he suffered. The on-screen attack was used to write Rollins off of television due to a legitimate shoulder injury he reportedly suffered at the Crown Jewel premium live event.
However, according to Dave Meltzer, there is significant skepticism within the WWE locker room about the legitimacy of this new injury, stemming from a fabricated injury storyline earlier this year. “They were told it was from an injury in the match with Cody Rhodes. But after being told his other injury was legit, many are not fully believing anything right now,” Meltzer wrote. The “other injury” is a storyline injury that WWE used to explain Rollins’ absence from television before his surprise return and Money in the Bank cash-in at SummerSlam.
That angle was reportedly so well-protected that it “fooled a lot of its own people” within the company. Now, with Rollins once again on the shelf with a legitimate injury, WWE is reportedly struggling to convince its own talent that the situation is real. “In the attempt to work everyone… the lack of trust right now is pretty high,” the report added.
The on-screen write-off for Rollins was a major one. On the October 13 episode of Raw, in the aftermath of a number one contender’s match, Rollins and The Vision came to the ring to attack the winner, CM Punk. In a shocking turn of events, Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed turned on Rollins, laying him out with a spear and a “Tsunami” splash. The show went off the air with Paul Heyman aligning himself with the two stars, effectively ending The Vision and setting up a babyface return for Rollins when he is cleared to compete.
The uncertainty surrounding Rollins’ injury status has created a cloud of confusion over the World Heavyweight Championship picture. CM Punk is the official number one contender, but it is now unclear if or when he will get his championship match against his long-time rival.
