The list of WWE injuries is longer than it’s ever been.

    WWE Injuries suck. WrestleMania 32 is only a few days away, and some stars will be in attendance but unfortunately not performing. All is not lost however, as injuries often lead to opportunities for others, as we’ve seen with the likes of Dean Ambrose being treated to the best scenarios he’s seen in quite some time as he looks to take on Brock Lesnar in a No Hold Barred Street Fight, a match that, regardless of the outcome, will be fun to watch and hold a great outcome for both competitors.

    Injuries allow hard-working superstars some time off, but it also allows for interesting and different returns. So to put a positive spin on these horrible situations, let’s take a look at what could happen in the future for some of our favourite superstars.

    Seth Rollins

    Seth Rollins – Injured; November 2015 (Out for 6-9 months)

    The former WWE World Heavyweight and United States Champion suffered a torn ACL, a torn MCL and a torn Medial Meniscus back in November. With an estimated recovery time of 6-9 months, “The Architect” is expected to return between May and August of this year. WWE’s Global Cruiserweight Series is due to begin Wednesday, July 13th on the WWE Network where 32 competitors will battle over the course of 10 weeks. Triple H has said that the majority of the competitors will be from the outside of WWE, however many are hoping for Seth to return and enter this series. Personally, I think it’s down to how this series is marketed and this could be seen as a downgrade for Seth. Instead, I believe that Seth belongs right back where he left off: at the pinnacle. He has logical storylines to enter with both Roman Reigns and/or Dean Ambrose upon his return, and will no doubt do so as a mega babyface. The dynamic between The Shield trio is still something that a lot of people are interested in watching and exploring, no matter the alignment of all three men. The future is bright for “The Future”.

    cena injured

    John Cena – Injured; January 2016 (Out for 6-9 months)

    The 15x World Champion is scheduled to be out for half or perhaps even three-quarters of 2016 after suffering a shoulder injury in January, however, if past injuries are anything to go by, I wouldn’t be surprised at John returning at the closer end of that period. John spent the majority of his 2015 holding the United States Championship and holding his weekly Open Challenges for the Championship on Raw. This was well-received and something to look forward to each week. John could easily fit right back into this slot. Other options see him return to the title picture or have a storyline with a number of interesting competitors. WWE have created a superstar so huge that he could fill any role on the show and kill it each and every week. The positive spin on John Cena returning is that John Cena is returning.

    Cesaro-Kidd

    Cesaro – Injured; November 2015 (Out for 4-6 months)
    Tyson Kidd – Injured; June 2015 (Out indefinitely)

    The most logical thing to do for these two men is to continue teaming together, because they have a natural, genuine chemistry with one another, that can only get stronger. Cesaro is out for 4-6 months with a shoulder injury (pencilling him in for a return between May and June), and is more likely to return to action than his partner Tyson. Tyson is lucky to be alive, having survived an operation for his neck that only 5% of people survive, and when they do, they tend to end up being quadriplegic. If wrestling again is an option for Tyson, I would love to see them return as a tag team, but only if it doesn’t affect his overall health. If not, Cesaro would fit comfortably in the Intercontinental Title run immediately, with the option to build him up once again, much like his matches with John Cena and Randy Orton in the past or his popularity after winning the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

    Wyatts

    Luke Harper – Injured; March 2016 (Out for 4-6 months)
    Bray Wyatt – Injured; (Out for an unknown period)

    The Wyatt Family seem to be floundering, through no fault of their own. This is the most difficult to place due to the writing surrounding them. With Luke out with a recent knee injury and Bray continuing to work with a back injury, it won’t be long before the family takes a hiatus from TV. Interestingly, this is probably needed for the stable as a whole. A return for the family needs to focus on Bray being a legitimate threat as he has a solid place on that roster for years to come. Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman would look out of place without Bray and Luke in tow, so the best way to handle this situation is to remove them from TV and reintroduce them at a later date, with Bray picking up some very significant wins.

    WWE injuries - Orton

    Randy Orton – Injured; November 2015 (Out for 4-6 months)

    Before his injury, Orton wasn’t up to a lot, but his run with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was quite good, and he was very able to have a great match when it was needed. Randy is a go-to for WWE if they need another guy. It would be good to see Orton do something different, ala Cena with the United States Championship. Something to renew interest in the character. If not, Randy is always a solid competitor, who, with the right opponent, can create some great matches that I think we’d all happily watch. Due to return soon, we could see Randy become a formidable opponent for Roman as champion perhaps.

    WWE injuries - Neville

    Neville – Injured; March 2016 (Out for 4-6 months)

    Recently injuring his ankle, Neville was going to be a part of the Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match. Upon his return it would be nice to see him booked in the same way he debuted, winning top tier matches, or taking main eventers to the limit. WWE could create a solid face midcard Champion/main stay with Neville, they just seem to be unsure with the way they want to portray him, so he is essentially filling that Kofi Kingston/Evan Bourne/John Morrison midcard slot. A slot that Neville can fill without question, it would just be nice to have him solidified as such.

    nikki-bella-paige-rack-attack-600x300

    Nikki Bella – Injured; January 2016 (Out for around 6 months)

    Nikki underwent neck surgery and recently confirmed that she should be returning in around 3 ½ months. A June/July return for Nikki could be great, depending on the state of the Divas division at that time. She has improved immensely and puts in the work. I would happily see her back in the mix this summer. A cool idea would be for her to return and not wrestle, demanding that only a stage such as SummerSlam would be fit for her return, allowing her to portray that character of believing she is really above the rest.

    WrestleMania 32 preview

    The present may be tough for these competitors, but the future could be very bright for them and for us as viewers. The best thing about these bleak situations is that WWE are forced to elevate other stars, which can give us a buzzing scene, allowing for stories outside of title stories, a solid brand split (to appease those rumours) or it could provide a solid footing for the idea of an off season for stars. If WWE create more and more stars, then some can take time off, whilst the others stay, then move in rotation as such. Huge TV Shows are employing something similar, where certain characters don’t appear every week, and it does not affect quality nor interest in the product. Even NXT works in a similar way, where you may watch and your favourite superstar doesn’t appear, but will appear the following week. WWE need to break out of the mould they have and unfortunately injuries seem to be the only time that happens, because they have no other choice.

    Despite having a few top names out, WrestleMania is looking like a hell of a show, which you can catch on the WWE Network this Sunday, April 3!

    The positive side of WWE injuries