What's story?
Seth Rollins is likely to be Kurt Angle's first opponent, should he pass a WWE medical, with the WWE already planting subtle seeds for the match on Raw last week. You can listen to the Podcast, below (length: 4 minutes).
In case you didn't know...
Seth Rollins remained on the Raw brand after last week’s "Superstar Shake-up." Kurt Angle was brought in by Vince McMahon as the new general manager of Raw the night after WrestleMania. Over the course of WrestleMania weekend, Kurt Angle was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and Seth Rollins defeated Triple H at WrestleMania 33.
The heart of the matter
AJ Styles was originally set to come over to Raw and be Kurt Angle's first opponent if he was able to pass the WWE medical. Styles was originally supposed to trade places on Raw with Roman Reigns, but the decision to keep Styles on SD Live ultimately came down to how the WWE wanted to handle Roman Reigns.
The WWE decided that SD Live was still the B show and concluded that they couldn't have the trio of Reigns, Orton and Cena on it.
Also read: The Shield will reunite or feud later on this year
Once it was decided that Reigns was staying on Raw, the Styles move was practically dead. That was until late consideration was given to trading Seth Rollins for AJ Styles, with many Raw writers preferring to trade Rollins for Styles, feeling that Rollins should not be on Raw when Stephanie McMahon returned, because the Seth Rollins/Triple H/Stephanie program concluded at WrestleMania.
However, the WWE eventually opted to have all 3 Shield members on one brand for a potential feud or reunion later on in the year. With Styles and Rollins remaining on their respective brands, sources have indicated that Rollins will now be Angle’s first WWE opponent on his return.
The tentative plan is that Angle will show his loyalty to the McMahons by screwing Rollins down the line. Seeds were planted for a potential match this week on Raw when the pair interacted during a segment.
Should Angle not be able to pass a medical, it's still likely that WWE will go ahead of the storyline, but have Kurt Angle hand pick an opponent for Rollins instead. Obviously, option one would be everyone’s preferred choice.
What's next?
Current plans for Seth Rollins will see him continue his feud with Samoa Joe.
Author's take
Seth Rollins certainly isn't set for a big year on Raw. With Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns the likely plan for WrestleMania 34, Seth will have to tread water as a main event guy who can not go any higher than his current position.
This is, unfortunately, the same spot a lot of talented and popular performers will find themselves in on Raw. A huge marquee match against a legend like Kurt Angle, will certainly add relevance to Rollins' year and with Angle being a guy Rollins grew up watching, the match will certainly rank highly on his bucket list.
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