Seth Rollins to get a new rival on WWE RAW following massive return after 12 years? Potential explored
Mr. Money in the Bank Seth Rollins and his allies, alongside Paul Heyman, have been laying waste to everyone in their path on Monday Night RAW over the past few months, with Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Sami Zayn, and Jey Uso, among others, having already fallen victim to them.
While Uso has an important KOTR match against Cody Rhodes tonight, CM Punk is busy on SmackDown, dealing with John Cena. Roman Reigns is, of course, on his annual leave of absence. This leaves Sami Zayn still fighting, with LA Knight and Penta also having recently involved themselves in the resistance against Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, and Bronson Reed.
While Zayn, Penta, and Knight rallying together to fight back against Seth Rollins & Co. seems to be the general direction, at least while CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, and Roman Reigns remain busy, WWE could go a far more fascinating and entertaining route in the coming weeks, and this could feature the return of an erstwhile version of Sami Zayn after 12 years.
Since LA Knight is not someone who plays well with others, and Zayn has not yet established an alliance with Penta, we might see Rey Fenix make his RAW debut tonight to save his brother from some kind of post-match beatdown following Penta's scheduled match with Bron Breakker. However, Penta and Fenix might not be the only Lucha Bros in discussion. Enter a legend of the past and an inspiration for the future: El Generico.
While it’s obviously Sami Zayn, the WWE Universe might get to witness a tongue-in-cheek, short-term resurrection of the iconic El Generico character. This is Zayn’s pre-WWE masked persona that garnered cult status on the independent circuit and got him the opportunity to come to WWE in the first place.
If Sami aligns with the Lucha Bros, his "alleged" lucha past might be brought up. Whether it is simply acknowledged by Sami, or he vehemently denies such balderdash "conspiracy theories," we might see the return of the "El Generico" character, even if just for one night.
Kind of like the modern El Grande Americano schtick; everyone knows it is Chad Gable, but while color commentators continue to banter about the veracity of one another's claims, the El Generico conundrum would be more rooted in history.
What could El Generico do in WWE, and will he be a problem for Seth Rollins?
A simple six-man tag against Seth Rollins, Bronson Reed, and Bron Breakker could be the only time El Generico resurfaces in over a decade. He could go back to retirement immediately thereafter. It is an unlikely yet rather fascinating proposition.
Given Sami Zayn's current character arc and the serious nature of Seth Rollins' group, though, it is doubtful that he will be involved in something so light-hearted and dorky, but if WWE can spin it into Zayn playing mind games with Rollins, there is some potential here.
Meanwhile, WWE could play with the meta-humor by having El Generico have an interaction with Chad Gable or "El Grande Americano." As Jim Cornette has said, it was unbelievable that a man with the talents of Sami Zayn chose to hide his face under a mask and never talk during his run as El Generico. Now might be the time for Generico to right this wrong.
Of course, this is all very unlikely. Zayn, despite being one of the most fun wrestlers around, is one of WWE’s most serious and layered babyfaces. The current narrative landscape, centered around World Championship quests, betrayals, and personal redemption, might not allow for this kind of tonal shift. But sometimes, a single nostalgic callback can strike gold, even in a serious setting, if it furthers the story rather than just being something to pop the fans.
