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Seth Rollins was recently asked on Twitter if this year could be the greatest of his WWE career, to which he replied: “2018 has started out pretty hot for me. We will see.”
The Shield member has more momentum now than he has had in a very long time, largely thanks to his statement-making performance in the gauntlet match on Raw in February, and he is currently one of the most exciting Superstars to watch in WWE.
It has already been confirmed that he will take on The Miz and Finn Balor in a Triple Threat match for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 34, but how will he keep his momentum going when ‘Mania is over?
In this article, we take a look at five possible opponents who “The Architect” could feud with after this year’s “Show of Shows”.
#5 The Miz and/or Finn Balor
With monthly dual-brand pay-per-views on the horizon, it’s likely that the majority of future PPVs will be dominated by Raw and SmackDown Live title matches.
That’s good news for fans, as it means largely meaningless non-title PPV matches will soon be a thing of the past. However, for performers, it means they will likely need to be involved in a title rivalry to be in with a realistic chance of featuring on PPVs.
That puts extra pressure on WWE to make their biggest stars (Seth Rollins, in this case) compete for titles, so there’s every chance that Rollins, win or lose, will continue to feud over the Intercontinental Championship heading into May’s Backlash PPV.
#4 Jason Jordan
Alternatively, perhaps Seth Rollins could pick up his rivalry with Jason Jordan – his former Raw Tag Team title partner who he was reportedly due to face in a one-on-one match at WrestleMania 34.
Jordan will miss the event due to a neck injury but Kurt Angle, his on-screen father, revealed in a Facebook Q&A last week that he could be back in a WWE ring by the end of April, which means it’s entirely possible that he could be Rollins’ first rival post-WrestleMania.
The two formed an unlikely alliance to win the Raw Tag Team titles from Sheamus and Cesaro on the Christmas Day 2017 episode of Raw. However, they were never on the same page and Rollins was often made to do much of the tag-team work alone, so there’s a ready-made storyline waiting for Jordan upon his return.
#3 AJ Styles or Shinsuke Nakamura
It was briefly mentioned by Sheamus on this week’s Raw that he has heard rumours that a Superstar Shake-Up might take place after WrestleMania 34, just like it did a week after WrestleMania 33 last year.
If it happens, then we can expect some major stars from Raw to make their way over to SmackDown Live (let’s face it, the blue brand desperately needs some fresh talent), and Seth Rollins is one of the most popular guys on Monday nights right now.
As we previously mentioned, Superstars are likely going to need to be involved in title storylines to feature regularly on PPVs in future, so it’s not out of the question that Rollins could move to SmackDown and immediately challenge the winner of the WrestleMania match between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE title.
#2 Chris Jericho
It’s crazy to think that Chris Jericho has only competed in one match over the last eight months (and it wasn’t even in WWE), yet his pro wrestling stock is higher right now than it has been in over a decade.
While it’s by no means official that the WrestleKingdom 12 star is heading back to WWE after WrestleMania, PW Insider recently reported that he could make an appearance at ‘The Greatest Royal Rumble’ event in Saudi Arabia on 27 April, leading to talk that he might return for another run with the company.
If Y2J shows up on Raw or SmackDown Live before that event, then WWE could do a lot worse than have him feud with Seth Rollins over the Intercontinental Championship, with nine-time IC champ Jericho vying for his 10th reign with the title.
#1 Roman Reigns
As refreshing as it would be to see Seth Rollins face some of the other Superstars on this list, all signs point to him renewing his rivalry with fellow Shield member Roman Reigns after WrestleMania 34.
Rollins was eliminated by Reigns at the Royal Rumble in January, despite the two men being on the same page at the time, while “The Kingslayer” recorded a shock clean victory over his fellow “Hound of Justice” in the gauntlet match on Raw in February.
Reigns will almost certainly win the Universal Championship from Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, and if WWE wants him to immediately head into a title rivalry with another member of the Raw roster before the Superstar Shake-Up, then Rollins would be the leading candidate to face his Shield “brother”.
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