Seth Rollins pulled off ‘the Ruse of the Century’ at SummerSlam to become World Heavyweight Champion but his injury angle appears to have frustrated many of the WWE roster behind closed doors.
The Visionary cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase on CM Punk on night one to ensure his arch-rival wasn’t world champion for longer than five minutes. But this came amid Rollins missing weeks of WWE TV due to an ankle “injury”.
Seth Rollins’ Injury Angle Hasn’t Gone Down Well Backstage
Rollins appeared to tweak his knee during a match against LA Knight at Saturday Night’s Main Event in early July. The match was quickly brought to an end with Knight hitting an awkward-looking BFT on Rollins to pick up the victory.
The Visionary was helped to the back by officials and looked devastated and many felt he’d sustained a serious injury given his history of knee problems. But it was all a ruse, and publications soon started hearing word of a possible storyline which sees him cash in on Punk at SummerSlam.
Rollins indeed pulled off said angle, initially entering MetLife Stadium on crutches before throwing them to the ground and surging down the entranceway to cash in. It was a surprise for fans who managed to stay offline, but some saw it coming.
Mike Johnson of PW Insider gave an insight into the backstage reaction, and it doesn’t appear to be a positive one:
“Obviously WWE can lie to anybody they want. They certainly lie to a lot of people. It would appear during the Seth Rollins situation, much of which has left a very unhealthy flavour in the mouths of a lot of people who work behind the scenes for the company, as well as talents who are in-ring performers.”
SummerSlam was a controversial event altogether, not only because of Rollins’ cash-in on night one. Brock Lesnar made a shock return and attacked John Cena, which has led to much backlash from fans because he is named in the Vince McMahon lawsuit.
Tiffany Stratton & Nikki Bella Liked Seth Rollins’ Injury Angle
While Rollins’ cash-in has seemingly drawn criticism from some of the roster, it also entertained a fair few who were impressed with his dedication to the angle. He was seen hobbling around in public on crutches while even taking interviews with major outlets regarding the situation.
Tiffany Stratton was blown away by Rollins’ acting skills as she gave her thoughts on the cash in while speaking to Logan Paul on the Impaulsive podcast:
“I thought that cash-in was sick. What an actor. I thought it was a shoot the whole time. He was limping around backstage. That was insane.”
Stratton knows all too well about cashing in at the right time, having done so on SmackDown in January. She seized her title opportunity against former friend-turned-enemy Nia Jax to win the WWE Women’s Championship.
Nikki Bella was another WWE star who talked positively about the injury angle. The WWE Hall of Famer said on the Nikki & Brie Show:
“This is what I love about our business, and I feel like a lot of us who are genius do this. Rollins fooled us all. He was at Evolution, I had almost a 30-minute conversation with him about his knee. And he’s like ‘Yeah, it’s the same one, this feels worse but, you know, it gave me a good 10 years.’ I couldn’t believe the whole thing. I felt so bad for him.”
Bella looks likely to be in action at WWE’s next PLE Clash in Paris (August 31) in a Women’s Intercontinental Championship match against Rollins’ wife, Becky Lynch. He is meanwhile set to defend his World Heavyweight Championship in a fatal-four-way match against Punk, Knight and Jey Uso.
