WWE Opinion: The Seth Rollins storyline might not be as straightforward as it appears

What's the story?

For the past month, we have witnessed a dramatic change in Seth Rollins. Gone are the days when he came out to the ring with the fans firmly in his corner, corroborating his image as the fighting champion. Now, he is no longer the flagbearer of Raw and is a stark contrast from what he was some time ago.

All of this indicates that WWE is priming up the Beast Slayer for a heel turn. Or perhaps the company's intending to traverse a different route and looking to keep him a face, albeit as a polarizing and controversial figure (à la John Cena and Roman Reigns ).

What has caused the WWE Universe to ultimately turn on Seth Rollins?

What we see we look at Seth now is a guy who appears to be in a constant tussle with the fans and critics. He comes across to many as someone who gets easily offended by the detractors of his character. Then there are the controversial statements he has made - both online and to the WWE locker room in person.

Things started to change when the company started to incorporate his relationship with fellow superstar Becky Lynch into his storylines. Many critics were quick to say that the two of them had very little in-ring chemistry together. Possibly having the two of them defend their titles in a 'Winner Takes All' match at Extreme Rules against Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans really rubbed a lot of fans the wrong way.

Talking about rubbing fans the wrong way, we must not forget the rivalry that Rollins had with The Fiend Bray Wyatt. Those matches certainly soured many on Rollins, perhaps due to the controversial ending of their first match at Hell In A Cell, wherein WWE nearly derailed The Fiend's newfound momentum.

One could argue that this match nearly buried Wyatt and Rolins was the unfortunate one to feel the wrath of the fans, something that he himself is aware of it (as stated in the link here).

As fun as it is to sit here and speculate or assume certain things, there are questions that need answers. Is it really wise for WWE to turn their most popular guy (next to Roman Reigns) into a full-blown heel? Would a heel turn achieve the outcome that the company wants, considering how fickle the WWE Universe can be? Does WWE have somebody ready to be the top guy instead of Rollins?

What are the most likely outcomes of Seth Rollins' character evolution?

There are many possible things that could happen. Perhaps WWE is trying to do what they did with Dean Ambrose last year: waiting for the right moment to strike. It seems a little unlikely though because Ambrose's heel turn was rushed and it didn't seem like his heart was in it. Also, it just seems a little too obvious to do that with Rollins.

Unless the storyline is perfect and everything goes the way it is supposed to, it just doesn't seem like it could be done to maximum effect. You only have to look at heel and face turns these days to understand that. Heel and faces aren't really as defined now as they used to be earlier. Before, you cheered the faces and booed the heels. Now, it seems to work the opposite way to the point where WWE has to class their top faces as 'Polarizing Figures' or 'Gray Area Guys'.

It seems more likely that Rollins could be the next 'Grey Area Guy', in the sense that he is neither a clean-cut babyface nor a despised heel. He could be an anti-hero who just shows up, speaks his mind, and has great matches, without worrying who he offends or attacks. More people seem to be getting over these days, having that rebellious attitude about their character, so it is a possibility for Rollins.

Another interesting point that many of us have overlooked is how similar this situation is with the two storylines Sting, Seth's childhood hero, was involved in. One was in WCW when Sting transformed into The Crow Sting. The other was in TNA Impact Wrestling when Sting was being portrayed as a bad guy because of Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff.

The elements from the WCW storyline explain how bland and one dimensional Sting had gotten as the surfer character. The fans were turning on him and were starting to question where his loyalties really were (similar to Rollins' current scenario). Sting then left WCW for a brief period and evolved into The Crow character.

In TNA Impact Wrestling, Sting's character was constantly scrutinizing Bischoff and Hogan. His intentions were to make TNA better and convince Dixie Carter that the two were the cancer of the organization. However, it backfired and Dixie believed Hogan and Bischoff for a long time until she found out Sting was right about them.

Likewise, Seth Rollins had put the entire Raw roster under scrutiny as they had lost at Survivor Series, saying that he felt Raw was no longer the 'A Show' and he wanted to make it great again.

What is interesting to note here is that a few weeks back, just after WWE Crown Jewel, it was reported that Seth Rollins addressed the WWE locker room and said some things to the Superstars who complained about the travel delays. Of course, it was refuted by Seth Rollins, but this almost seems like something they have capitalized on to bring the interest back to his character.

Essentially, we don't really know what WWE has in store for us. It is a storyline that needs more time to gain traction and the payoff will need to be huge. The company needs to be slow and methodical with it, but not drag it out for too long. Remember that things aren't always as they seem and this could go either way. Whatever happens, if it helps the company throughout the winter months with ratings and can be done successfully, I'm all for it.