WWE is getting dangerously close to missing out on the better late than never window when it comes to Seth Rollins dropping the World Heavyweight championship.
Rollins' overworked state continues to create a situation where more and more fans feel overtired on the whole thing.
The more recent end of Rollins' jaw-dropping 197 matches and counting since the start of 2022 was an entertaining feud with Shinsuke Nakamura that has seemingly culminated in a sour reaction from fans on social media and some criticism from the likes of Bubba Ray Dudley.
On a recent episode of the "Busted Open" podcast, Dudley hit Rollins for not selling well enough after the Fastlane main event (h/t Wrestling Inc's Sai Mohan): "You killed the credibility of the match, and the believability of the [back] injury. You killed everything Shinsuke Nakamura did to you — bumps off of ladders, going through tables, falcon arrows through tables ... everything ... and not even a limp? Not even a grabbing of the shoulder?"
Dudley is usually abrasive in his critiques but this one stings the most because it's fair. The story everyone is working so hard to tell isn't reflected by the actual presentation. Rollins' extended feud with Nak has put an emphasis on the heel taking advantage of the champion's bad back and during their latest match, that back went through a table multiple times and got slammed onto stairs and concrete, among other notables.
It's extremely hard to ask fans to keep extending their disbelief here and the lack of serious post-match selling didn't help. Neither does the lack of a cash-in attempt from Money in the Bank briefcase holder Damien Priest, who just so happens to keep having super-convenient excuses to not go chase a world championship while backed by an entire faction of goons while Rollins is supposedly super-vulnerable.
Simply put, WWE tried to walk the line between having Nak feel like a serious threat and look great while trying to convince fans this really wasn't just a holdover feud during skippable PLEs and it flopped.
It's a serious shame things have hit this point with Rollins again, but we're getting close to fan feedback similar to his brutal feud with Bray Wyatt a few years ago that sent him into a spiral for years and created an outright character change.
Again, a shame, because there's no fan that doesn't respect Rollins. He's one of the modern GOATs, everyone loves the workhorse nature and likely best-in-the-world in-ring showcases on a nightly basis. Now he's established a new title after pretty much everyone could agree he was the most deserving of it.
But things have started to extend in such a silly manner that it opens up all avenues of criticism from onlookers, probably highlighted by the "is he over or do the live crowds just like chanting his music" drivel.
If it feels like Rollins just can't win no matter what he does (because the feud with Nak was really good), it's because he can't—due to overexposure. He feels like the equivalent of an NFL running back right now, where that 30-plus carries a game is starting to take its toll. Or a Marvel superhero movie, which, funnily enough, is sort of what the commentary saying his back is hanging on by a thread while he hoists stairs over his head without issue feels like it portrays.
Actually getting the title off Rollins doesn't need to be difficult. It probably should have already happened with Priest on a cash-in, but that's still on the table so that the Judgement Day stable can have some more interesting drama.
But there are other options too. Drew McIntyre is an obvious choice. He's always deserving of a run, especially if he gets a slight character mix-up. It would also be really fun to see a surprise, such as a technician like Chad Gable really exploit the injured back and pull off the upset.
A shocker might just be the way to go because right now, all the last few months have done is reaffirm this is almost an offseason of sorts. Rollins' matches have been awesome (they usually are!), but it's not enough to just put on bangers every single show in 2023 (WWE isn't the only promotion struggling with this).
WWE and Co. might get more mileage from this run during a slow part of the calendar if Rollins were to go heel, fully in a more overt way closer to what Nak just portrayed. But the hints need to be there now, not closer to WrestleMania season.
Unfortunately for Rollins, these two issues—selling and overexposure—might be more a product of company than individual. And to a much younger audience, it might not matter all that much.
But in 2023 it does and is just one of those hurdles requiring more careful considering of leaping than in the past. WWE and Rollins are struggling with it right now and while it's delayed, audiences will start to provide feedback that fits the issue.
Now the goal needs to be elevating a different Superstar with a Rollins loss before the whole inaugural run develops a poor reputation, reinforcing to fans this isn't a skippable time period and letting Seth himself move on to something fresher without needing to carry the entire company on his back.
