There are times in pro wrestling when long-time fans can see a familiar story taking shape. When Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed fell into line as supporting characters in a new Seth Rollins faction with Paul Heyman, it shared some DNA with Evolution, which saw main event heel Triple H take inexperienced Randy Orton and Batista under this wing, while Ric Flair played a mentor and mouthpiece.
Of course, for every runaway success story like Evolution, there were also groups that tried similar tactics like JBL’s Cabinet which failed to produce new stars in the long run, or Orton’s own Legacy stable. While that latter group arguably helped Cody Rhodes by putting him into such close contact with The Viper behind the scenes, it’s hard to say Legacy really helped anyone but Orton at the time or for the immediate years to follow.
In any event, Rollins and company were off to a strong start, only for things to come to a screeching halt at Saturday Night’s Main Event, when The Revolutionary suffered an in-ring injury. At press time, it’s not clear how long he’ll be out of action, but the following Raw suggested WWE is already shifting plans. Wherever things land, they should include Bron Breakker getting his biggest push to date.
Seth Rollins Looked To Be The Centerpiece Of Raw For Months To Come
There’s a strong case to be made that Seth Rollins joining forces with Paul Heyman was the biggest story coming out of WrestleMania 41. The surprise moment capped arguably the best match WWE put on that weekend, in the high-profile spot of the Night One main event. Moreover, it charted a course for Rollins and Heyman to be the top heel act on Raw moving forward.
Add in Bron Breakker, then Bronson Reed teaming up with The Visionary, plus a Money in the Bank briefcase win, and the writing was on the wall. Rollins was going to be a world champion again soon—probably carrying the World Heavyweight Championship as the face of Raw. The smart money was on him cashing in before the end of the summer and carrying that belt into WrestleMania 42.
Bron Breakker Had Been In A Holding Pattern As A Seth Rollins Henchman
Though Bron Breakker lost his Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 41, he gave a show-stealing performance in his Fatal Fourway match. The guy looked like an absolute beast and like none of the three men challenging him would have stood a chance individually. Indeed, Dominik Mysterio winning seemed to underscore this point—for as over and entertaining as Dirty Dom is, it’s the nature of his character that he’s not a super serious threat in the ring.
Breakker joining forces with Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman presented an interesting situation. On one hand, Breakker was positioned to work with top guys and he has still been pushed as a monster. On the other hand, by virtue of standing alongside a main eventer and the two clearly not being equals, it also felt like this partnership more firmly planted Breakker in the mid-card, losing a little of the momentum he had coming off ‘Mania.
Triple H May Have Had Slow Burn Plans For Seth Rollins And Bron Breakker
There’s every possibility that Triple H had a long term vision when he booked a Bron Breakker to team up with Seth Rollins. In the short-term, Breakker would pose a formidable henchman-type to reinforce Rollins in his heel role, work tag matches, and act as a gatekeeper for rising challengers. In the longer term, though?
There’s a classic archetype of the student rising up to challenge the teacher. Whether it was Larry Zbyszko turning heel on his mentor Bruno Sammartino or Batista turning babyface against Triple H, this is a classic story. The longer Rollins and Breakker ran together, the more fulfilling it could one day before Breakker to feud against his sensei.
Bron Breakker Is Ready For The Main Event
With Seth Rollins injured, WWE has a top heel void to fill. On SmackDown, John Cena is planted as the top heel, though fans’ reactions may turn him back to his babyface role sooner than planned on his retirement tour. On Raw, Gunther is a more than capable world champion, but his run on top is feeling a stale now that it’s run for essentially a year minus Jey Uso’s 51-day stint with the strap.
While Rollins hasn’t been a world champion for over a year, the writing was on the wall that a top title was coming back his way. With him out, Bron Breakker should be the man to take his place.
Breakker is over with fans as a physical specimen, with a look and style similar to his father and uncle, The Steiner Brothers. He’s been well-protected too, and with Paul Heyman in his corner and on the mic for him, he doesn’t feel out of place at least challenging for, if not capturing the World Heavyweight Championship.
SummerSlam Can Bridge The Credibility Gap
When Roman Reigns made his surprise return on the July 14 episode of Raw, it was telling how readily Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed bumped off his offense. The two younger stars just didn’t look like they were on OTC1’s level. While Jey Uso looks more vulnerable, even he’s nonetheless also clearly established as a main eventer much more so than the newest Paul Heyman guys.
WWE has a chance to make a statement at SummerSlam. Internet speculation has already booked a tag match pitting Reigns and Uso against Breakker and Reed. Whether that is the bout WWE runs with or not, it seems as though Breakker will be in either singles or tag team action with at least one of the top babyfaces in the company. And what if he wins?
Breakker has already had statement performances on the main roster and established dominance in the mid-card with wins over guys like Sami Zayn and Penta. The Unpredictable Badass can rise to a whole new level though if he pins Uso or especially Reigns, even if it is in the protected circumstances of a tag match. Assuming Rollins really will be out for a period of months, that’s the right play to position Breakker as a new, bona fide main event player.