A bad thing happened on the way to WrestleMania 32 in Arlington, Texas: The WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins, suffered a major knee injury and was forced to vacate the title. This came not long before he was scheduled to headline Survivor Series defending his title against Roman Reigns. Rumors suggested he was going to lose and probably wouldn't have been in the main event of "The Showcase of the Immortals" next year anyway.
But if that's true, then who would?
When looking at the current roster of talent, the very same roster WWE was forced to comb through for a top heel when Rollins was hurt and came up with Sheamus, there aren't many options. It's been reported that The Rock won't be able to wrestle on the show, and may not even be able to make an appearance. There was a time when the company wanted Ronda Rousey for the event, perhaps with Stephanie McMahon and Triple H coming together, along with Rock, for a mixed tag, or a Rock vs. Triple H singles match with Rousey and Stephanie in their respective corners. But that also looks like it's no longer on the table.
Rollins won't be back from his injury in time to work the show. Neither will Randy Orton, who is out with shoulder and neck issues. Sting suffered a neck injury at Night of Champions and we haven't heard from him since. Daniel Bryan may not be back either, as WWE doctors have refused to clear him following concussion related issues after a match with Sheamus earlier this year.
That's without mentioning the part timers like Chris Jericho, who works house shows more than he does TV, and Batista, who has openly admitted he would rather work a schedule like Jericho's and is busy becoming a big star in Hollywood.
So what does that leave us?
The top remaining available stars:
- Brock Lesnar
- Roman Reigns
- Undertaker
- John Cena
It looks like there are only two real options here: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE world heavyweight championship in a rematch from WrestleMania 31, or Undertaker vs. John Cena.
The former could work because they had a fantastic match the first time around and there was no satisfying conclusion considering Seth Rollins cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase to win the title at this past year's show. There is a character alignment issue, but they could work that out.
The latter is already the subject of heavy rumors and could work if they went a certain way with it, as one of our Cagesider on Twitter (cheap plug) pointed out:
@cagesideseats Either that or a Cena-Taker retirement match, for sure.
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) November 28, 2015
We would undoubtedly know going in that it was Undertaker's last ride, so to speak, and Cena would be putting him down for good. If not Lesnar, he's probably the only guy booked strong enough during his career to do it. It's also, somehow, a fresh match-up despite their combined years of service.
Either way, it's startling to think those appear to be the only viable options for the WrestleMania 32 main event.