For the last year or so, WWE has been ravaged by a state of recurring injuries. Whether it’s the hectic schedule or the more physical style employed in modern wrestling, injuries haven’t been kind over the last 12 months. As soon as a wrestler got a good run, he got injured and eventually lost his steam. Imagine how different the WrestleMania 32 card would have been if some of WWE’s top stars had been fit.
Recently Vince McMahon announced that a host of injured superstars would be gradually be returning to WWE programming beginning with John Cena’s return on May 30. Along with Cena, the likes of Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt and Neville will also return soon. Neville, a little later than the others.
In this article, I look at all of their potential returns and where and how they may fit into the WWE machine when they’re finally back in action.
1: John Cena
‘The face that runs the place’ announced in January this year that he needed shoulder surgery and would most probably miss the biggest WrestleMania of all time. Despite repeated teases on social media that me might miraculously recover in time, Cena never did. His marquee match with The Undertaker will just have to wait for another year.
WWE announced earlier this month that John Cena would finally be returning to action on 30th May.
Where will Cena fit in once he returns?
Cena will almost certainly go back after the US Championship when he returns. Cena held the belt from WrestleMania 31 to Hell In A Cell last October to a returning Alberto Del Rio before going off to film American Grit.
Cena never ended up getting his rematch owing to his American Grit commitments and the subsequent injury. Expect him to come out and challenge the winner of Kalisto vs Rusev at Extreme Rules upon his return.
There’s also a small chance that Cena will take on Roman Reigns for the belt sometime in the summer in a face vs face showdown.
2: Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins suffered a devastating injury during WWE’s UK Tour in November forcing him to vacate the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Seth was trying a sunset flip powerbomb on Kane when he landed awkwardly and ended up tearing his ACL. ACL injuries are terrible and Seth has been undergoing rehab since his injury since November. However, it looks increasingly like he’s getting ready to return to action as soon as he finishes filming for a new WWE Studios film with Wesley Snipes.
Where will Rollins fit in once he returns?
Even though Rollins has been a heel since he turned on his The Shield brethren in June 2014, expect Rollins to return to WWE as a major babyface. The pop he’ll receive on his return will match the one Triple H received at Madison Square Gardens all those years ago.
Expect Seth to fit in near the top of the card once he makes his return. He’ll be a red hot babyface for most of this year, and expect him to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship at some point.
3: Bray Wyatt
The timing of Bray Wyatt’s injury came at the worst time for him. He looked like he was finally being set for a major push to the top of the card. He’d rubbed shoulders with The Rock at WrestleMania before drubbing the League of Nations with his family soon after. The Wyatt family were even on all of the Payback posters, so conceivably they’d have had a really important role at the PPV.
Sometimes timing is everything. Here it just killed Bray’s momentum.
Where will Bray fit in once he returns?
It’s a little difficult to gauge where Bray will figure once he returns, since his return will coincide with a host of major returns. However, I’m sure WWE can find a place for Bray as one of the major heels on the main roster. His family could have major feuds with the likes of Roman Reigns and the Bloodline or AJ and The Club.
With Luke Harper out for the foreseeable future, the future of The Wyatt Family is in Bray’s hands.
4: Randy Orton
Injury’s are a serious thing that shouldn’t be scoffed at but the way Randy Orton picked up his shoulder injury was hilarious. Apparently, he was at home taking out the trash when his shoulder gave out. Hilarious.
Orton has been out of action since the end of 2015 but is finally almost back to full fitness after shoulder surgery forced him to miss the biggest WrestleMania of all time.
Where will Orton fit in once he returns?
Prior to injury, Randy Orton had sort of been in a rut. Orton had been in a series of matches with Sheamus that no one cared about and were basically just to get Orton onto the PPV’s. Upon his return to action, it will be interesting to see how the Viper will fit into WWE’s new era.
There are a series of dream matches available for Orton to be a part of now on his return with the host of new faces on the main roster now. Orton vs AJ? Amazing. Orton vs Owens? Orton vs Zayn? So many possibilities. However, the match I really want to see is Orton vs Samoa Joe once the latter finally gets promoted to the main roster.
5: Neville
Neville’s injury literally occurred right before WrestleMania. Neville was slated to take part in the ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship, but his injury forced Zack Ryder to take his place. If Neville had been fit would he have been the one to lift the belt that evening?
Neville has all the talent in the world but WWE hasn’t really put him in any sort of meaningful storyline since he’s been on the main roster. It just takes one look at his time in NXT to figure out that Neville has all the potential in the world.
Where will Neville fit in once he returns?
Once Neville returns, he’ll probably fit into the Intercontinental Championship or US Championship picture. Neville is an amazing wrestler albeit one who lacks some charisma, but inside the ring he can go. He can have great matches with just about anyone and a title run would do wonders for him.
Bayley gives us a HUGE update on a top Superstar's upcoming return RIGHT HERE.
