Seth Rollins’ time as WWE World Heavyweight Champion are just about over, and any day now, he will have to give up the title. Rollins suffered a serious knee injury at a WWE live event that will have him out of action for six to nine months. With that, there will be a WWE Title tournament hosted at Survivor Series , and there are already rumors flying around as to who could be involved in the chance to win the belt.
As WWE reported, Seth Rollins was wrestling at a live event in Dublin on Wednesday night, and he suffered a knee injury that didn’t seem too serious at first. It ended up being a lot more serious than originally thought, and ESPN broke it on Twitter.
BREAKING: Last night in Dublin, IRL, @WWE Champion @WWERollins suffered right ACL/MCL/medial meniscus tears; out 6-9 months.
— Jonathan Coachman (@TheCoachESPN) November 5, 2015
A look at how @WWERollins tore ACL/MCL/medial meniscus Our 6-9 months, @WWE holding tournament at #SurvivorSeries pic.twitter.com/U2JEKOd46m
— Jonathan Coachman (@TheCoachESPN) November 5, 2015
As you can see in the picture, Rollins’ knee buckled, and he ended up with a severe injury. That has put an end to any chance of WWE going through with the Survivor Series match of Rollins defending the title against Roman Reigns.
WWE announced that the WWE Title tournament would take place and that anything could happen.
“Survivor Series will host a tournament to crown a new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Which Superstars will be participating in this epic event? Will the current No. 1 contender, Roman Reigns, be involved? How many other Superstars will get a chance to win WWE’s top prize? How will the contenders be decided? All these questions and more will be answered as we get closer to the must-see event.”
Now, rumors are really flying around about how the tournament may end up taking place and who could be involved in it. WWE could hold some preliminary or qualifying matches in the next two weeks before the big pay-per-view. That could open the tournament to anywhere from 12-16 superstars.
It’s expected that there will likely be two semifinal matches at Survivor Series itself, and then the championship match later in the night. This would add three matches to a card that has the Divas Title match set and a likely traditional elimination tag match between The Wyatt Family and The Undertaker, Kane, and partners .
Below are some of the names being thrown around so far for the tournament.
- Dolph Ziggler
- Ryback
- Alberto Del Rio
- Roman Reigns – Current #1 contender
- Cesaro
- Bray Wyatt
- Dean Ambrose
- Big E
- Kevin Owens
- Rusev – If not injured, would be involved.
- Randy Orton – If not injured, would be involved.
It’s incredibly possible that all of these names and more could be involved in the WWE Title tournament if it takes place on the two Monday Night Raw and/or SmackDown shows in the next two weeks. If it takes place entirely on the night of Survivor Series , then it could be extremely condensed.
Some bigger rumors are swirling on social media for the tournament and feel that it could be the perfect place for a big return of some sort. As reported earlier today by Inquisitr , Sting may actually be healed enough from his neck injury to wrestle again. Including him in the tournament could be a good way to bring him back into storylines.
Another big surprise that has this tournament making it the perfect return opportunity is Daniel Bryan . He had to relinquish the WWE Title last year and the Intercontinental Title earlier this year. He says he’s been cleared by his doctors and is now awaiting the WWE doctors to give him the all-clear.
WWE wants Bryan’s return to be on a grand stage such as at the Royal Rumble or something similar. Showing up and competing for the WWE Title in a big tournament would be just what the company is looking for.
Survivor Series is just about two weeks away, and Seth Rollins’ serious injury has their champ out for more than half a year. The WWE Title tournament is now going to be built in a huge way, and rumors are already looking intriguing for just who may be the participants in it.
[Image via WWE]