WWE: Roman Reigns Injury Is A Blessing In Disguise

Roman Reigns had to undergo emergency surgery on Saturday to remove an incarcerated hernia. The recovery is going to last, reportedly, for a number of months. Many people are talking about how, much like Daniel Bryan’s injury, this could not have come at a worse time, but I vehemently disagree. Call it a lack of faith in WWE’s creative team, but we’ve been burned far too many times to give them the benefit of the doubt.

So why and how, exactly, is this a blessing in disguise? Roman Reigns is on the rise — he defeated Randy Orton at SummerSlam in a high-profile match and is currently embroiled in a feud with Triple H and The Authority. This can’t be a good thing, you say. Alas, it is. Not good for the man himself, who has to sit on the sidelines, not able to do what he loves, but good for his career.

WWE, as alluded to earlier, has a notorious history of messing up opportunities that should be absolute sure things; whether the crowd turns on somebody because he gets pushed down their throats or WWE loses their way and let’s the train fly off the tracks, completely sabotaging all of the momentum that had been built up. My gut feeling was that the latter was ready and waiting to happen. Roman would beat Seth Rollins at Night of Champions, maybe defeat Kane at Hell in a Cell in October and then at Survivor Series, it seemed destined that Triple H would be Reigns’ next foe. Reigns would have to beat all three men in convincing fashion, then make it through December and the TLC event.

I don’t believe that WWE would have been able to keep that momentum sustained. They would have to come up with a way to continue putting Reigns into compromising situations leading up to his PPV matches (HIAC is five weeks after Night of Champions) and I just don’t see them being able to do it without either the fans getting tired of waiting for him to get another title shot or getting behind Dean Ambrose even more, thus creating a situation similar to what happened between Randy Orton and Batista in 2004-2005. Orton was the chosen one, but the fans decided that they wanted Batista instead. Dean Ambrose is very hot right now, and he could definitely usurp Reigns’ heat, especially if they are feuding with the same people. The injury allows Ambrose to get his revenge without overshadowing Reigns and keeps Roman fresh; what with the heart growing fonder and whatnot.

They way Roman Reigns’ return should be handled is very, very simple. Give us a few updates on his condition over the next couple of weeks, have Rollins reference him and stake claim that it was him that put his former Shield brother out of action, but then drop it. Let us forget about Reigns for a little while. Come December, it’s time to pull a Triple H. Remember in 2001 when Triple H vignettes started to air with him working his ass off in the gym to recover and get back to the ring? That’s it. Simple template. No need to go as dramatic as they did with Triple H, but show us how dedicated he has been to getting back to wrestling.

Then, the return.

Give us a few weeks notice and promote the fact that Roman Reigns has an announcement to make about the Royal Rumble match. He broke the record and eliminated 12 men last year, but he fell short of winning the match and going to WrestleMania. This year, not only is he going to break his own record for eliminations, but he will win the match and be the man to defeat Brock Lesnar. Does he end up winning the Rumble? Maybe. Does he go to WrestleMania and defeat Brock Lesnar? That’s not a call I’m willing to make.

Nicholas A. Marsico is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickmarsico and Like him on Facebook!