After hijacking the show last year and providing one of the most epic endings to the WWE's marquee event in history, Seth Rollins was forced to watch WrestleMania 32 from the sidelines.
In one of the most shocking moments in the history of the "Show of Shows," "The Architect" cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase at WrestleMania 31. In the process, he turned the clash between his former Shield buddy Roman Reigns and then-WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar into a Triple Threat Match.
Rollins pinned Reigns to win the richest prize in the game for the first time in his career, setting the world abuzz.
It was a brilliant booking decision as it rewarded Rollins for basically carrying the WWE as its top heel in part-time wrestler Lesnar's absence, established him as a heel willing to do anything to win, kept Reigns as a sympathetic babyface who had his spotlight stolen and allowed "The Beast" to lose the belt without ever being pinned.
It was a clever, fresh ending, but this year, Rollins was forced to watch WrestleMania due to the debilitating knee injury he suffered in November. "The Architect" forfeited the title after the injury and has been on the long road to recovery.
His absence from WrestleMania was glaring, while without him, the WWE failed to end the show on the magical high it reached the year before. This time, there was no swerve. There was no one waiting in the wings to save the WWE Universe from the inevitable.
Reigns, who is sometimes unfairly criticized only due to the stigma of being "the guy" Vince McMahon prematurely hand-picked, inevitably won the belt. The WWE believes it has found its next star player, and though an argument can be made against Reigns' huge push, his victory wasn't surprising.
Triple H wasn't going to hold the title forever and Reigns can only have the deck stacked against him for so long before finally emerging as the champion. Still, the boos don't lie and the force-fed ending of Reigns holding up the richest prize in the game pales in comparison to the utter shock and brilliance of Rollins' victory in 2015..
Rollins was on-hand for WrestleMania 32 this year, but he didn't play a role after saving the main event a year prior. He is still on his way back and will hopefully return by SummerSlam.
Still rehabbing his knee, @WWERollins has arrived at @ATTStadium! #WrestleMania https://t.co/PkijSoDk4e
— WWE (@WWE) April 3, 2016
Reigns got his moment to shine one year later than expected, and though it was predictable, it was still a disappointment. Like Reigns said in his promo on "RAW", he's not a bad guy, but unfortunately for him, he'll likely never get accepted by the majority of the WWE Universe unless he takes greater strides to improve than he has thus far.
In an odd twist, Rollins' victory as a heel galvanized the WWE audience into nearly universally loving WrestleMania 31, while the babyface win for Reigns did exactly the opposite.
The WWE went the predictable route for WrestleMania 32, and as a result, the ending lacked the enchantment experienced when Reigns' former Shield stablemate captivated the audience and stole the WWE's biggest show just one year ago.
