The Mysterious Plan A

Last Monday’s RAW saw Seth Rollins turn on his Shield brethren and side with Triple H and Randy Orton. It was a shocking climax to an otherwise humdrum show that freshened up the top of the WWE card. The reason or reasons Seth, the so-called architect of The Shield, defected have yet to be revealed. Was it money? Was it a promise that he’d become a singles star if he joined up with ‘The Game’? Was it, to quote good ol’ JR, a setup all along, Seth having been loyal to Trips since his days as nought but a developmental prospect?

Chances are we won’t know why Rollins did the dirty for a while yet. We may never know. While this is easily WWE’s most pressing question (which speaks to the rather drab state of storylines at present) it’s not the only one raised on RAW. There was a second.

Look back at the show and you’ll see what I mean. RAW began with Triple H, Randy Orton and Batista in the ring. Triple H announced that The Shield would be ended by the end of the night. Before he could elaborate Big Dave interrupted him with demands for an immediate title match, a resignation and some comedy waving. That Tripper was left spluttering as ‘The Animal’ walked backstage indicated that all three members of Evolution had been a part of his initial plan to end ‘The Hounds of Justice’. Why else would the loss of Batista throw him so?

No, Seth! No!

The main event segment was advertised throughout the show as a singles match between Randall Orton and Roman Reigns. That match didn’t happen. Instead we got the Rollins heel turn and a three-on-one chair assisted beating. Rollins could have smacked Reigns and Ambrose with a chair even if Batista had stuck around but that clearly wasn’t ‘The Cerebral Assassin’s’ initial scheme because he referred to Seth turning as Plan B.

And that’s the second question. What was Plan A?

Another six man tag team match? Another umpteen-on-three handicap predicament for The Shield, followed by a mugging by the Evo boys? A series of Evolution v Shield singles matches inexplicably given away on TV instead of being saved for pay-per-view? A pink slip on a pole match pitting the Shield members against one another in an effort to drive a wedge between them? Kevin Nash? We don’t know and we never will, because we were expected to forget everything about the situation the moment Seth Rollins “shocked the world” and turned heel.