Night of Champions 2023: WWE may have subtly sent a big message with AJ Styles losing the World Heavyweight Championship match

Seth Rollins is the first World Heavyweight Champion (of the new lineage) after defeating AJ Styles in the opening match of the night. It wasn't the best match that the two have had, but ultimately, Rollins came out on top, as many predicted.

There was a portion of fans that felt that AJ Styles might have been WWE's pick after it was confirmed that Seth Rollins was involved in filming for the upcoming movie Captain America: New World Order.

That turned out to be untrue, and WWE may have sent a subtle message with AJ Styles losing. The message being that superstars giving priority to big outside projects will be encouraged again.

It certainly hasn't been discouraged, especially with the likes of Roman Reigns filming for Hobbes & Shaw a few years ago. But Seth Rollins' role in Captain America is arguably bigger, as he is rumored to be a part of the Serpent Society, one of the villain groups of the movie.

Additionally, the recent rumor from Fightful Select stated that WWE higher-ups are pleased about Rollins getting a movie role with Marvel, adding that the Endeavor regime seems to encourage it.

There is no news about how higher-ups may have reacted, but given that Rollins has reportedly finished filming, it makes sense that WWE put the title on him and not AJ Styles.

With Styles having just returned after the WWE Draft and Rollins having gradually gained momentum over the last few months, the decision seems to be a logical one.

Whether this leads to bigger roles in Hollywood for Seth Rollins or not, WWE's perspective seems to be that they stand to benefit from it. With John Cena, Batista, and The Rock all making a huge impact in Hollywood lately, could Rollins eventually join them and switch to a film career?