WWE’s Plans for Seth Rollins to Cash In At SummerSlam Revealed

Seth Rollins showing up on crutches may have convinced casual fans, but for everyone else, it screamed setup. Now, thanks to a backstage update, that’s no longer a theory—it was the plan all along.

During Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer confirmed what many fans have been suspecting ever since Rollins appeared hurt after his match with LA Knight: the injury is part of WWE’s storyline heading into their two-night SummerSlam event. And Rollins is still expected to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase on the winner of CM Punk vs. Gunther.

“The reason they did everything—OK, again, this is interesting because the plan was always to do the injury to Seth Rollins at Saturday Night’s Main Event. You think he’s hurt badly, he’s gone, and then he surprises everyone, cashes in on the Gunther–Punk winner—which is probably Punk, right? That’s the one he’s always screwing with. Then he ends up the champion.”

The idea? Let Punk win gold only to have it ripped away seconds later.

“So Punk gets the title and then loses it in seconds. I figure that’s how it’s going down. I can’t imagine him not winding up with the championship and then telling everyone it was a ruse and he worked everybody. And actually… I thought that was quite brilliant.”

And even though fans online cracked the code early, Meltzer said WWE still hasn’t wavered from the plan.

“But it’s out now. So do you go with it or change it? There’s no right or wrong. What I do know is that midweek, when I was writing the Observer, it was very much said to me that the plans haven’t changed.”

As for how WWE will split the SummerSlam card over two nights, Meltzer and co-host Garrett Gonzalez speculated on the strategy. Roman Reigns vs. Bron Breakker is expected to be the third-biggest match of the weekend behind Punk vs. Gunther and Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena in a street fight. The question is whether to put Reigns on Night 1 to help its numbers or keep him on Night 2 with the biggest matches.

“Roman vs. Breakker is a clear number three match, but still a major one. If Night 1 looks weaker, maybe you need to anchor it with Roman,” Meltzer said.

WWE fans have been conditioned to expect a twist, but this time, the swerve was already hiding in plain sight. Seth Rollins’ “injury” may have never real—it’s just another page in WWE’s long game, with Punk likely set up to be the ultimate victim.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.