When Seth Rollins did a worked injury angle last summer as he was scripted to appear hurt during a match with LA Knight on Saturday Night’s Main Event before he revealed that his knee was fine to cash-in his MITB contract to claim the title from CM Punk at Summer Slam, I wrote that the storyline was bush league since it would call legitimate injuries into question in the future. There are enough actual injuries in the sport that there isn’t a need for any scripted injuries. Since that time, Seth Rollins actually did hurt his shoulder in a match with Cody Rhodes less than two months later, forcing him to vacate the title. It also put a screeching halt to the best push of his entire career, a storyline alongside Paul Heyman, the best talker in the business, that spotlighted Rollins, not positioned him as second fiddle to either Roman Reigns or Dean Ambrose.
As a part of that package, a stable was built around him, and with the injury, the faction had to be shuffled to explain his time on the sidelines as he had to undergo shoulder surgery to repair the injury. Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed turned on Rollins, attacking him on Raw to write him off the show. It remains unclear if Rollins will be back in the mix in time for Wrestlemania. Logan Paul, who has continued to do well at a steady pace, was added to the group, as well as a repackaged version of Austin Theory in an attempt to bolster the ranks.
Bron Breakker was attacked by a masked man and eliminated from the Royal Rumble quickly, with the implication that it might be Rollins. Just like the original masked man from Survivor Series, the office can put anyone in the outfit at the time and then pivot if their initial choice isn’t cleared or available. For example, Rollins wouldn’t have been cleared by the Rumble, but they could have anyone play the role under Rollins is ready to be revealed as the mystery man behind the attack. It certainly would’ve made sense to book Rollins vs. Breakker at Wrestlemania based on the fact that Breakker was one of his stablemates that kicked him out of The Vision faction.
However, the episode of Raw after the Rumble, during a ringside rampage to protest his elimination from the match, Bron Breakker suffered a serious hernia injury, sending him into surgery, too. A typical hernia surgery might only put a competitor on the shelf for a month or two, but with the nature of Breakker’s injury, it’s possible that it could take up to six months for him to fully recover from it. The odds are that he will be forced to miss Wrestlemania this year.
It’s almost unbelievable, but The Vision faction suffered yet another injury this past week on Raw when Bronson Reed tore his bicep during a qualifying match for the Elimination Chamber this weekend. The replay of the injury was nasty, and it was reported that Reed will be out of action indefinitely. He was scheduled to win the match to enter the Chamber match so an audible was called for Jey Uso to win the contest.
The participants of the gimmick match at the pay-per-view on Saturday to determine who will challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE championship are rather moot. It’s well-known that the plan is Drew vs. Cody for the title since the seeds for that where planted at the Royal Rumble when McIntyre eliminated Rhodes. However, the much bigger impact that the Bronson Reed injury has is on the Vision faction, a group that looked like it was going to be one of the centerpieces of the company at the start of the year.
When Rollins was injured, you could justify the new direction since Bron Breakker is a long-term project for the company, and he should be. When Breakker was sidelined, it was questionable if the stable would have enough steam to be used as a major force on Raw. With the Reed injury, there might be a case to be made that the stable itself should be quietly disbanded and maybe Heyman focuses on being the manager of Logan Paul since the office prioritizes the sponsorship dollars that he brings with him through the Prime deal. At this point, the heaters for the group, originally intended to showcase Rollins, will be out of action for several months. The argument could be made that Austin Theory was a lost cause even with the group at fully strength, as he was presented as secondary for so long that it would be a difficult task to get the audience to buy him as a serious heel. As mentioned, Paul Heyman is still the best talker in the business, but he’s not a miracle worker so it’s doubtful that he could verbally transform the stone-faced Theory into a marketable or money-drawing star, specifically to a level that would justify the existence of the stable.
At this point, there’s just not enough meat on the bone so to speak for The Vision group to realistically continue, especially when there’s a much bigger upside for Logan Paul as a singles act alongside Heyman to cut the promos. The only guess I could make for the faction to continue would be if Brock Lesnar was added full-time, but that might take away from his Wrestlemania plans that have bigger impact in the grand scheme of things. Assuming that Seth will be back in time for the event in April, Rollins vs. Paul might be a solid choice, as it uses the history of the attack to build toward a featured WM match.
For Bronson Reed, it’s a very unfortunate situation, as he went from a guy that was released during the pandemic era of the company in 2021 before he returned in late-2022. He trimmed down and was doing the best work of his career prior to this injury. At 37, he undoubtedly has some prime years of his career left, but it will be a task to recapture the momentum that he had as a monster heel, especially the cache that he was given from the association with Heyman. He’s an agile super heavyweight, and he should be able to find his place on Raw again after he returns to action, but exactly where the place will be, or how far up the ladder it might be, could depend on the landscape of the brand when he returns.
As I said, I think the best choice would be to disband the group and allow Heyman to promote Logan Paul, and Brock Lesnar’s key matches at pay-per-views. However, with the rumored arrival of Chris Jericho at some point, depending on if his AEW deal was frozen or not at some point, it might make sense to give the 55-year-old legend a stable to work with as a way to maximize his impact on the company when he returns. Jericho was smart enough to use the faction formula during the vast majority of his AEW tenure so it would make sense to book a similar storyline on the bigger stage of WWE.
Aside from the individual careers and the direction of storylines on Raw, the biggest takeaway from this situation might be that it’s a stark reminder of how risky the sport can be, at a time when the talent across the board are taking more risks than any other time in the history of the business.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
