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Many WWE fans were left disappointed last night when former World Champion Seth Rollins didn't make his return to SmackDown. The Messiah was last seen at Survivor Series when he sacrificed himself for "the greater good" and basically cost Team SmackDown their match.
Rollins and his fiance Becky Lynch announced the arrival of their daughter Roux just over a week later and the former Champion has since been enjoying his first Christmas as a father.
Last week on SmackDown, it was announced that Rollins would be making his return to the company as part of The New Year's Day episode of the show, but days before the show, the return was seemingly scrapped.
Is there a reason why Seth Rollins didn't make his return this week on SmackDown and do WWE have much bigger plans for the return of the former World Champion?
#5 WWE on FOX shared the news before it was official
The WWE on FOX account appeared to be the only source for the return of Seth Rollins and after the Twitter account deleted the Tweet a few days ago, it was made clear that it was no longer going to happen.
It's likely that with all the last-minute writing on SmackDown over the past few weeks that the return of Seth Rollins was a plan that the company pitched last week and FOX then Tweeted it out before it was official.
This has happened several times over the past few weeks with matches and segments that were set to be part of episodes of both Raw and SmackDown but the company decided to scrap them at the last minute. It appears that everything in WWE is now subject to change and this could have been another plan that was scrapped in favor of something else.
At present all eyes are on Big E and Roman Reigns in their current feuds so it's likely that WWE wanted to wait for a much bigger occasion to bring back someone of Rollins' caliber and decided to scrap the plan before it was ever properly made official. Rollins has only been away from WWE TV for just over a month, it's easy to imagine that he wants some more time with his daughter.
#4 Seth Rollins isn't ready to make his WWE return
Seth Rollins left WWE on paternity leave following Survivor Series on November 22nd, it was later announced that Becky Lynch and the former World Champion welcomed their daughter on December 4th.
This means that Rollins hasn't even been able to spend a full month with his first child and it's entirely feasible that he isn't prepared to make his return to the company at present.
Rollins and Becky Lynch spend up to 300 days a year with WWE when the company is able to continue their regular touring schedule, and Rollins may not be prepared to leave his daughter so soon after her birth.
It's likely that the plan was for Rollins to make his WWE return this week but the company had to ask the former Champion if he was ready to make his return and he declined. Seth Rollins will only become a father for the first time once and it makes sense that he would want to spend as much time with Roux as possible.
#3 Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch could be set to return to WWE together
Seth Rollins's WWE return would have been a huge boost for last night's episode of SmackDown but his fiancee Becky Lynch has been away from the company since May and fans are eagerly awaiting her return to WWE as well.
Becky Lynch was the biggest star in the company when she announced that she was expecting her first child with Rollins and has since been forced onto the sidelines. At present, there are several rumors regarding Lynch and her return to the ring for WrestleMania in order to take on Ronda Rousey and finally end their feud.
Lynch remained in fantastic shape throughout her pregnancy which will definitely make it easier for The Man to return to the gym after giving birth to her daughter. WWE could have interesting plans for the couple when they make their return in the coming months, and could have decided that Lynch and Rollins could make their return together.
It would be interesting to see Rollins return as a face, especially since Roman Reigns is currently the biggest heel on SmackDown.
#2 WWE wants Seth Rollins to pick up his feud with The Mysterio family upon return
Seth Rollins seemingly wrapped up his feud with The Mysterio family ahead of Survivor Series back in November which was seemingly WWE's way of allowing Murphy, Rey Mysterio, and Dominik to move on to a new feud.
Following Rollins' departure, the family seemed as though it had stepped into a feud with King Corbin who later recruited Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake as The Knights of The Lone Wolf to help even the numbers.
WWE hasn't picked up the feud between the two teams since and it appears as though this could have been scrapped since Corbin faced off against Big E on last night's show whilst The Mysterio family were missing once again.
It's unknown as to why the Mysterio family has been kept away from WWE TV over the past few weeks, but it could be that when Seth Rollins makes his return he will pick up where he left off.
WWE has several options for Mysterio and Rollins if this is the plan for 2021.
#1 Seth Rollins is being saved as a WWE Royal Rumble surprise
The New Year's Day episode of WWE SmackDown was stacked and already included the return of Sonya Deville, which could be one of the reasons why Seth Rollins wasn't also added to the show.
With The Royal Rumble right around the corner, the show that has become famous for including returnees. It makes sense for the company to hold back on several stars and wait for the Rumble match.
Seth Rollins would be expected to be a Royal Rumble surprise especially as a former winner of the match and someone who could then pick up a feud if he isn't handed one upon his return.
The former WWE Champion has only been away from WWE for around five weeks and since traditional paternity leave is closer to six, this week was seemingly a little too early for Rollins to make his return. Perhaps The Royal Rumble would be a much better venue for a return for someone of Rollins' caliber which is why WWE made the late change.
