Seth Rollins also suffered a broken finger in a recent match at a live event against Erick Rowan, so he couldn’t compete in the match he was originally scheduled for against Cedric Alexander. Fortunately, his official heel turn on December 9 turned out to be excellent; better than what was originally scheduled, which was another gradual hint at what was to come. Seth has always felt much more authentic as a heel anyway.

Sometimes WWE is guilty of stretching storylines out over a little too long of a period of time, causing fans to become restless and lose interest in the result. I feared WWE was headed in the same direction with this story. A minor (or at least he would probably call it minor) injury to Seth Rollins gave WWE a reason to pull the trigger a little earlier than they wanted to, which probably turned out for the better.

A great example of the power of the element of surprise and its effect on fans emotionally when they are invested in a storyline occurred in 2018 on the night Roman Reigns announced the return of his leukemia. It took a real emotional toll on everyone in the building and watching at home, including me. This is precisely why Dean Ambrose’ heel turn later in the same night worked so effectively.