Seth Rollins just gained a new disciple on WWE Raw in the form of Austin Theory. Who could join him next? Let’s take some guesses.
Since last fall, Seth Rollins has attempted to reign over WWE Raw with an iron fist with a heel stable of disciples behind his back. Those disciples in question were Akam and Rezar of the Authors of Pain and former Cruiserweight Champion Murphy.
With these formidable Superstars backing him up and the Raw Tag Team Championships in their possession, Rollins managed to reign supreme this past winter as Raw’s top heel. However, in the time since, the mighty have fallen.
In more recent months, Rollins lost AOP as a package deal once Rezar got injured and then proceeded to lose three consecutive PPV matches ever since Elimination Chamber, including a big loss to Kevin Owens at WrestleMania and an even bigger loss to Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship at the latest Money in the Bank PPV.
But now, the rebuild begins. With Murphy still by his side, the Monday Night Messiah finally found his third man in the form of Austin Theory, who was fresh off of getting kicked out of another heel stable featuring Angel Garza, Andrade and Zelina Vega.
It would not be hard to believe that Rollins will continue to recruit those who need guidance underneath him, but who could he recruit next?
Natalya
Seth Rollins’ group could use a woman’s touch, because there are just as many women in that division who could use a fresh start as much as those in the men’s division. Out of everyone in the women’s division, Natalya fits that billing the most and judging by her recent storylines, all signs are pointing to a drastic character change for her.
The past couple weeks, in losing consecutive matches to Shayna Baszler, Natalya has had angry temper tantrums after each match; sulking in the ring, kicking at the ropes, and throwing whatever is in front of her.
It all seems to signal some kind of drastic change to her character, but what exactly that change could be is a mystery with an array of options. She could emerge from these losses with a more aggressive attitude or a heel turn. Obviously, the character herself won’t know the turn until it comes, but perhaps she just needs some guidance of her own.
Enter Seth Rollins, who could recognize that Nattie may need some help picking up wins and find herself as a person while at a crossroads. Him offering his gospel could turn her life around. Maybe she can bring a Women’s Championship to the group to boot.
Humberto Carrillo
Bit of an oddball choice on the surface, but if Rollins’ gimmick is that he takes those under his wing who he feels need guidance, Humberto Carrillo may be in desperate need of some guidance. Since joining WWE Raw last year, Carrillo has not had the best of luck on Monday nights.
He has tried and failed to capture the United States Championship from current champion Andrade on multiple occassions and continues to lose high profile matches against everyone from AJ Styles to Murphy. Humberto has essentially become the regular fall guy on Monday Night Raw.
In storyline, all of those losses are going to stack up eventually in Humberto’s mind. Eventually, he is going to get sick and tired of losing. That is, until one day, he gets the opportunity to join a crop of winners. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, as the saying goes.
Plus, after seeing him lose over and over, fans have not been super invested in Carrillo as a character and if they ever were, the losses helped them lose interest. Finding a new leaf as a disciple could be the rebrand that Carrillo needs right now.
Brendan Vink and Shane Thorne
If you have not been watching WWE Raw for the past few weeks, then you may be asking yourself: WHO?
If that question is on your mind, Brendan Vink and Shane Thorne are two guys from NXT who since the pandemic started, they have had guest appearances on Raw mostly to be used as enhancement talent, but have appeared on Monday nights enough times to not only earn themselves a permanent spot on the roster, but briefly found themselves managed by MVP and once picked up a tag team win over Cedric Alexander and Ricochet.
Vink and Thorne have not been seen or paired with MVP since the trio lost a Six Man Tag Team match against Cedric, Ricochet and R-Truth. Now, it looks like MVP has moved on from managing a rookie tag team to a main eventer in Bobby Lashley, who just earned himself a shot at the WWE Championship at Backlash.
Needless to say, MVP is on to bigger and better things, leaving Vink and Thorne without a manager to guide them. Maybe they could use an upgrade by getting Seth Rollins as their new leader.