The Atlanta Screwjob

Please note that this was written and published before WWE announced that Seth Rollins would vacate the WWE World Heavyweight Championship due to injury.

Survivor Series is one of WWE’s signature events of the year. It is considered to be part of the “Big Four” pay-per-views along with the Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, and SummerSlam, and it has a long and rich history in the professional wrestling world. It is also a notorious scene for controversy and swerves. Infamous incidents such as the “Montreal Screwjob” at Survivor Series 1997 and the way that the Rock won the WWE Championship at Survivor Series 1998 are arguably two of the most well known examples of the chaotic nature of the event. With the 2015 edition of Survivor Series marking the 25^th anniversary of the debut of the Undertaker, I would expect a huge surprise that will leave the jaws of the Atlanta crowd on the floor. The surprise has nothing to do with the Undertaker though, as I believe it will involve Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and the Authority. I predict that the Authority will turn on Rollins and align themselves with Reigns in route to helping Reigns win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

It’s a bold prediction as Reigns has been touted as the next face of the company. That is what makes it such a huge and shocking twist as it is something that nobody will see coming. A heel Reigns would be awesome in my opinion. He will no longer have to go through the typical good guy act and can instead be a monstrous and dominant heel much like he was in the Shield. Rollins on the other hand has been heel for a long time and is starting to get stale. While he is one of the best in ring talents WWE has to offer, his bad guy antics of constantly worming his way to victory through underhanded tactics are getting old. Having the Authority screw Rollins would breathe fresh life into his character as well as that of Reigns, and it would definitely make Raw must see television.

If I were in charge of booking the match, here is what I would do. I would have the Authority come to the ring first and ban every wrestler backstage from interfering in the match. They could say they have invested a lot in Rollins and do not want guys like Dean Ambrose, the guy Reigns had been teaming up with all summer, to get involved with the outcome of the bout. The Authority then remains at ringside for the match as Reigns makes his way to the ring. He walks by the Authority, has a stare down with them, and enters the ring and waits for Rollins. The champ then makes his entrance, gives a prematch hug to the Authority, and gets in the ring to face Reigns. The referee signals for the bell, and the bout begins.

Towards the end of the match, Rollins reverses a move by Reigns and shoves Reigns into the referee knocking out both the referee and Reigns. This allows the Authority makes their move. Triple H enters the ring acting as if he will assist Rollins but betrays his former pupil by delivering a pedigree to him. Reigns gets up and sees what Triple H has done and smiles. The Game smiles back, lifts up the body of Rollins, and holds him so that Reigns can spear the champ. Reigns hits the spear and pins Rollins while Stephanie revives the referee who then makes the 3-count. Your winner and new WWE World Heavyweight Champion: Roman Reigns. The show ends with Reigns standing above Rollins with the championship belt held above his head and the Authority next to him as the “Atlanta Screwjob” is etched into Survivor Series lore.

That is how I would book Survivor Series 2015. Reigns would be the new face of the Authority and Rollins would go from villain to hero. This would allow these two wrestlers to continue feuding while at the same time shaking up the WWE landscape. This could also lead to a potential triple threat main event WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestlemania 32 between all three former members of the Shield. That is something I would love to see, and it would all start with the “Atlanta Screwjob.”