5 things WWE should avoid doing with Seth Rollins' imminent return

Seth Rollins has been absent from WWE TV ever since Survivor Series 2020, where he essentially got himself eliminated from the match.

It was WWE's way of writing Seth Rollins off for his paternity leave. His daughter was born in December 2020, and WWE advertised his return on SmackDown for early 2021.

Seth Rollins didn't show up, and there was no mention made about his supposed return. While fans are not sure why WWE delayed Seth Rollins' return, it's perhaps for the best.

Fans expect Seth Rollins to return at some point this WrestleMania season. When he eventually does, here are a few things WWE must avoid doing.

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#5 Have Seth Rollins return with his Messiah gimmick

Seth Rollins as The Messiah

Seth Rollins has been one of WWE's most consistent Superstars, but his run as the Monday Night Messiah wasn't too well-received. He was then drafted to SmackDown and spent very little time on the brand before taking a hiatus.

The timing of Seth Rollins' heel turn in 2019 was perfect, and it started well. But his character, which developed into the Monday Night Messiah, quickly lost steam.

He had a great match against Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 36 and a fun WWE title match against Drew McIntyre the following PPV. However, his elimination at Survivor Series should have marked his Messiah character's end.

It wouldn't be refreshing to see him return in 2021 with the same gimmick, and he will lose momentum as soon as he returns. Seth Rollins needs a fresh start to his run on SmackDown.

He was a defining Superstar of Monday Night RAW for several years, and his move to SmackDown itself should have come with another big change. However, given the timing, his inevitable return should be counted as his SmackDown re-debut.

#4 Have anyone align with Seth Rollins

Seth Rollins' former faction

From 2019, Seth Rollins was constantly surrounded by others. He led a faction compression of AoP and Murphy. Once AoP were out of action (and eventually released from WWE), the young Austin Theory took up the vacant slot in Seth Rollins' faction.

Austin Theory was phased out of RAW programming, after which he eventually returned to NXT. It's a better place for a Superstar who is years away from hitting his prime.

A large part of Seth Rollins' story in the second half of 2020 was his tension and eventual split with Murphy. While the Australian benefited from being associated with Seth Rollins, it was an alliance that was discontinued.

In 2021, Seth Rollins doesn't need any alliance when he returns. It all depends on which side of the coin he's on.

In his first heel run as a singles star in WWE, Seth Rollins had The Authority's back. He turned face three months after his return from injury in 2016 and spent over three years being a good guy.

A faction wouldn't make sense for Seth Rollins once he returns, nor would any alliance.

#3 Re-run old feuds for Seth Rollins

Seth Rollins and Rey Mysterio

Two of Seth Rollins' biggest feuds in 2020 took place against Kevin Owens and Rey Mysterio. While he also challenged Drew McIntyre for the WWE title, it was a one-PPV rivalry, meant solely to establish the Scotsman as the face of RAW.

WWE sometimes has a habit of having Superstars return and then getting into old rivalries. While it would make sense if there were a reason to get back to it, there isn't in this case.

In terms of the Rey Mysterio feud, the best thing that came out of it was Dominik Mysterio making his debut against Seth Rollins at SummerSlam. It started well, but it went a bit downhill after the feud went to SmackDown, and they began a Murphy-Aalyah Mysterio romantic storyline.

With the Kevin Owens feud, it ended as it needed to. They had a blow-off match at WrestleMania, and Seth Rollins put over the former Universal Champion. When Seth Rollins returns, he needs to be paired with a new opponent.

#2 Keeping Seth Rollins as a heel

Seth Rollins on Talking Smack

Seth Rollins' run as a heel lasted for 10-11 months, assuming WWE isn't continuing in that direction. But the dynamic of SmackDown has changed now, and Roman Reigns has dominated the blue brand as its top heel and Champion for the last six months.

While Seth Rollins' heel run was moderately successful, he couldn't reach the same level he did between mid-2014 to late-2015. That was his peak as a heel character, although the timing of his character change in 2019 was impeccable.

Seth Rollins returning to SmackDown as a babyface makes a lot of sense. Admittedly, there will be a lot of tweaking that his character requires as a face, and it needs to be a different version of Seth Rollins than the 2016-2019 one.

Seth Rollins being a babyface means that there are a handful of Superstars on SmackDown that he can get a good feud out of. Plus, with crowds not returning to WWE shows until WrestleMania 37, it's a good time to test the waters with a Seth Rollins face run again.

#1 An immediate Seth Rollins-Roman Reigns feud

Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins have been kept apart

Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns have been kept apart on WWE programming since the brand switch post-WrestleMania 35. Roman Reigns made the move over to SmackDown, while Seth Rollins continued to define his legacy on RAW.

After a year-and-a-half apart, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns would finally be on the same brand again after the 2020 WWE Draft. But WWE purposely kept them apart, especially because both men were still heels.

Ideally, Seth Rollins would be the perfect candidate for Roman Reigns' WrestleMania 37 opponent, but that doesn't seem to be the direction they're heading in this year.

It would be a pleasant surprise, but WWE should continue to keep the two men apart, even if one is a heel and the other is a babyface.

When the time is right, a feud between them would be great. The roles would be reversed from their feud five years ago, and it could be a major PPV headliner such as SummerSlam.