In an ideal world, Seth Rollins will hold on to the World Heavyweight Championship until WrestleMania 40 where he’ll lose to whoever he’s fighting on that night – either that or both he and his opponent will be so tired that they can no longer get up – only for Damian Priest, Señor Money in the Bank, to cash in and give The Visionary a taste of his own medicine.
This would be the best way to cap off Rollins’ run as Monday Night RAW’s top star, presumably giving him an out as he pursues his Hollywood ventures, starting with Captain America: New World Order, which premieres on July 26, 2024, just a few months after next year’s Showcase of the Immortals. Not to mention, it would allow Cody Rhodes to be the sole top babyface of the redbrand as he presumably wins the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship over Roman Reigns.
However, the way that things are going suggests Rollins might end up dropping his title belt sooner, like, on September 2.
The American Nightmare, fresh off a fever dream of a win over Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam that saw the two go off-script as The Beast Incarnate gave his respect to the WWE’s new face, opened the August 7 episode of Monday Night RAW in front of rambunctious Minneapolis, Minnesota crowd.
Without going too much into the details, what basically happened is that Seth Rollins crashed Rhodes’ celebration and this led to The Judgment Day showing up to stake their claim that eventually resulted in the night’s main event, a triple-threat match.
With the cracks in The Judgment Day’s foundation growing larger by each outing, we’re now counting the days before Damian Priest cashes in on Seth Rollins, creating a feud between him and Finn Balor. And, something tells us that this will happen at Payback on September 2.
Our hunch has less to do with Damian Priest, but more with Rollins and Rhodes. At this point, who else is Rhodes going to feud against outside of Rollins?
Keep in mind that Rhodes has Rollins’ number, a fact that Rollins wanted to challenge at the latest Monday Night RAW episode before they were so rudely interrupted. We wouldn’t put it past above the WWE creative team to pit these two against each other in front of presumably yet another sellout crowd at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Now, you could argue that giving Rhodes the World Heavyweight Championship belt won’t complete his story, and he’s acknowledged this before. But, that’s not the point here. There’s a way for these two warriors to square up in the ring and walk away just as over with new storylines to keep them occupied for yet another string of PLEs.
As previously mentioned, the main event at Payback could see Rollins and Rhodes duke it out until they both get too tired to continue fighting, which Damian Priest will happily use to his own advantage to secure the win. The WWE could try and avoid telegraphing this by putting Shinsuke Nakamura into the mix and turn it into a triple-threat match.
We can’t even deny that a failed cash-in by Damian Priest at the event wouldn’t be the worst idea. The way that we see it is that Priest cashes in, tries to pin Rollins, only for Finn Balor to mess things up. This would set-up the feud between these two comrades, leaving Nakamura still in the title mix, and giving Rhodes a chance to feud with whoever else the WWE thinks is best for his storyline in the Monday Night RAW roster.
If nothing else, these are angles that the WWE could potentially explore at least up to the Survivor Series on November 25.
Presumably, by then, Rhodes will be busy trying to take down whatever is left of The Bloodline, which is now in disarray after Jey Uso found himself betrayed by his twin brother, Jimmy Uso, at SummerSlam.
Regardless of what the WWE has planned, one thing is for certain: it has successfully piqued the interest of fans around the world.
With multiple narratives interwoven, the upcoming events promise drama, thrill, and the quintessential wrestling entertainment that fans across the world so ardently love. Whatever lies ahead, be it Rollins vs. Priest, Rhodes stepping up to challenge, or Nakamura finally claiming a long-awaited major title reign, WWE has set the stage for an enthralling next chapter.
