Seth Rollins, CM Punk, Randy Orton and More on the Storyline Injury Mailbag

Injuries are all the rage in WWE—some fake, some real. The most recent injury victim was soon-to-be top babyface Randy Orton, as he was Curb Stomped to end Raw. Luckily, this injury was of the fake variety, but "get well" cards couldn't hurt.

"

@ThisIsNasty odds on @RandyOrton returning at #SurvivorSeries to finish team authority? @RusevBUL to be eliminated via countout?

— Ben Mescher (@benmescher) November 5, 2014"

A surprise Orton return at Survivor Series would create the biggest pop of the night and would set Orton off as the hottest babyface in the company. 

Per WWE storylines, Orton is "currently" not scheduled to compete after being stretchered out of Buffalo to end Raw.

An at-times docile Buffalo crowd was most receptive to Orton on a night where John Cena was not on the show, and his babyface turn to end the night was arguably Raw's biggest moment.

Orton confirmed on Twitter he will be off WWE programming to film The Condemned 2. Since this will be a WWE Studios movie, the promotion will have flexibility as to whether or not Orton will be able to make a triumphant return to Survivor Series as the conquering hometown hero.

It would almost seem to be too little, too late if Orton returned after the Survivor Series main event, especially if Team Cena wins. The angle is building up to pit the inmates against the asylum, and Orton has been exemplary as an anti-Authority malcontent.

The table has been set for a dramatic comeback in front of a St. Louis crowd waiting to embrace him, and not just because he's from there. His potential absence at Survivor Series almost seems wrong.

"

@ThisIsNasty I would love if Rollins cashed in at Wrestlemania. Talk about a WM moment.

— Da Knowledge Gawd! (@WeaponIQ) November 4, 2014"

I literally forgot Seth Rollins was a Money in the Bank winner until reading this tweet. The briefcase has been reduced to a prop, as Rollins has put more emphasis on himself as the future of WWE and less of an emphasis on potentially cashing in.

With Brock Lesnar as WWE World Heavyweight champion, Rollins is somewhat of a lame-duck Money in the Bank holder. Lesnar will obviously be protected after receiving the honor of beating Undertaker at WrestleMania, and it's likely his next loss will not come until WrestleMania 31.

Mind you, Rollins has until July of next year to cash in his briefcase, so his window is still plenty open. WWE likes to experiment with new world champions during the summer, so if Rollins is to successfully cash in, that would be a reasonable timetable to pull the trigger on Rollins.

"

@ThisIsNasty any chance cm punk returns at survivor series?

— Sean (@life32891) November 4, 2014"

I actually want the comment section to answer this question.

"

@ThisIsNasty do you think there will be a possible Roman Reigns return to join team Cena?

— Broken arm guy! (@Natthan27) October 31, 2014"

Reports on Reigns' recovery have been the antithesis of Daniel Bryan's hard-luck healing process. Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingInc.com) recently reported Reigns is expected back before Christmas, possibly by TLC in December, but a possible return at an earlier date should not be ruled out.

Reigns has been just awful anytime WWE has aired one of those brutal injury update segments with Michael Cole interviewing Reigns via satellite.

Coming off as wooden, contrived and, even worse, human, Reigns has been reduced to a borderline smiling babyface the likes of Rocky Maivia. It's hard to determine who seems more unlikable during these interviews, Cole or Reigns.

If WWE does not plan to showcase his strengths and hide his weaknesses through a series of shrewdly produced comeback vignettes, Reigns can't return soon enough.

Reigns planted the seeds for a feud with Rollins during his most recent interview. With limited top babyfaces and plenty of room left on Team Cena, returning to fight alongside Cena can be reasoned as Reigns trying to get his hands on his former ally.

Follow @ThisIsNasty