Seth Rollins did not walk out of his latest title defence unscathed and has been given additional time to rest.
As seen on the main event of the January 15th episode of WWE Raw, Rollins defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Jinder Mahal. The biggest talking point from the encounter was the condition of The Visionary, who was seen clutching his knee in the latter parts of the match. Rollins would go on to win the match and retain the title against Mahal but the concern from fans remained.
With Rollins having a history of knee injuries, which was also referenced on commentary, some may have thought this was a part of the match. However, as reported by PWTorch shortly after Raw went off the air, Rollins was helped to the back and could put weight on it, but was in some pain. It is also stated that Rollins could walk on his own but had a definite limp.
Backstage sources described Rollins as “neither overtly pessimistic nor optimistic” regarding the condition of his knee.
In an update by PWInsider on January 18th, Rollins will not be competing at the SuperShow non-televised events on January 20th and 21st. Randy Orton has been advertised to replace the World Heavyweight Champion at the upcoming house shows. Furthermore, Rollins has been pulled from upcoming episodes of Raw, next advertised to appear on the February 12th episode of the Monday Night Show. Rollins is also not scheduled to be a part of the Royal Rumble event.
Wrestling Observer Radio provided more information on what happened after Raw, where Dave Meltzer noted that the World Heavyweight Champion is going to get an MRI and everyone is awaiting the results:
I just know he’s getting an MRI and then we’ll find out. Basically, I was told that it could be something minor, could be something worse, we won’t know until the MRI result comes back.
As of January 19th, there have been no further updates regarding the severity of Rollins’ injury. According to a new report, this could affect CM Punk’s WrestleMania plans.
Seth Rollins Injury Could Drastically Alter WrestleMania Plans
Many will be reminded of the events that took place in 2015 when Rollins suffered a similar injury while reigning as the top champion. Unfortunately, the severity of the injury would cause Rollins to miss WrestleMania 32 the following year. While not factored into the 2024 Royal Rumble, all signs point to Seth Rollins defending the title against CM Punk at WrestleMania 40, potentially in the main event of night 1.
WWE have not issued any updates regarding the condition of Rollins.
In more positive news, Seth Rollins was named the PWI Wrestler of the Year.