Following his absence from recent live events, fans have begun to question if Seth Rollins suffered a legitimate injury during the first WWE Raw of 2023.
In the main event of the show, Rollins took on Austin Theory in an attempt to reclaim the United States Championship. The pair fought both in and out of the ring with it appearing that The Visionary had the upper hand throughout the match.
However, when Rollins attempted a Powerbomb midway through the bout, he collapsed and grabbed his right knee. Theory took advantage to gain control but Rollins was able to regroup and attempt a Stomp, but again his knee caused him to miss the move. After some more back and forth, Theory caught Rollins with a chop block to the injured knee followed by A-Town Down on it to claim the victory and retain his title.
Update on Seth Rollins missing live events
On January 4th, Seth Rollins posted a Tweet saying simply “Redesign, Rebuild, Reclaim” and was missing from live events during the week. This led to fans worrying that the knee injury was legitimate and not just part of the match with Theory.
Redesign. Rebuild. Reclaim.
— Seth “Freakin’” Rollins (@WWERollins) January 4, 2023
However, PWInsider has since reported that Rollins was never scheduled to be at those events and the knee spots were all part of the show.
“Seth Rollins was never scheduled for this past weekend’s live events, so for those who have asked whether he was injured on RAW, that is not the case. The knee spots were all part of the storyline of the match with Austin Theory.”
Rollins appeared in crutches on the January 9th edition of Raw, but quickly discarded them as he went to the ring to confront Theory. The US Champion claimed he had surpassed the former World Champion the previous week and his next goal was to win the Royal Rumble before going on to WrestleMania to become the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
Rollins listened on as Theory made his speech and then informed him that he would also be in the Rumble match and would see him there. Rollins then went to make his way up the ramp but was interrupted by a returning Bobby Lashley. However, Lashley was more interested in Theory and made a beeline for the ring where he speared the young star before throwing him over the top rope.