With the NXT invasion of the WWE going full speed ahead, will Seth Rollins repeat Steve Austin’s betrayal of WWE? This was teased on Monday Night Raw when Triple H offered Seth Rollins a position on NXT. The resulting match for the NXT championship made two points: Seth Rollins needs to be a top champion of somewhere to have a purpose, and Triple H isn’t going to make it easy for him.
Should Seth Rollins go to NXT
In a word, yes. His WWE career is currently circling the drain with the fans. One way to turn it around is to turn him heel, but reports claim they have no intention of doing that.
So, if that’s a no go, then going to NXT makes perfect sense.
As the first ever heavyweight champion of NXT, Seth Rollins would give them another name and pose a legitimately powerful threat to Adam Cole and Tommaso Ciampa’s quest to hold onto and recapture “Goldie,” respectfully.
He’d also be the perfect counterpoint to Finn Balor’s new heel turn, giving NXT more drawing power and storylines. Even if Finn Balor isn’t in the equation, there are plenty of superstars for Rollins to feud with as he rebuilds his brand.
History repeats
To accomplish this, Seth Rollins could repeat Steve Austin’s betrayal of the WWE.
In July of 2001, the WWE faced the Alliance of ECW and WCW wrestlers in an effort to squash the threat they were posing. Leading up to the match at WWF Invasion (actual name of the pay-per-view), Steve Austin had stood by his WWE counterparts, coming to their rescue several times and cementing him as a hero to the fans.
At Invasion, he turned on the Rock and sealed the victory for the Alliance. This kicked off a fun storyline where Austin shot into the stratosphere as he carried the storyline and WWE and is one of the few memorable moments of that arc.
Steve Austin’s betrayal shocked the fans as we never saw that coming, despite it being needed as the Alliance didn’t have the headliners needed to pull off the angle convincingly.
The difference between then and now
Not to beat a dead horse, but Rollins isn’t liked by a majority of WWE fans. As I’ve mentioned time and again, he’s worked hard in selling what he’s been given, it’s just fallen flat with fans. It happens.
His betrayal wouldn’t be a hero turning on the WWE as the WWE creative would want it to be viewed as, but as a heel turn we’ve been begging for for months.
The boos would rain down on him, but as he said, he doesn’t care about that.
But more importantly, it’d give him a chance to go back to the basics that began and marked his career. He’d be able to reinvigorate fans he’s lost and become a convincing threat for any title.
The question is, will the WWE do this or continue to shove him down our throats as a hero that stands tall against the NXT invasion?
This decision could be the turning point in his career.
