Seth Rollins' WWE Championship Reign Continues to Be Hurt by Ineffective Booking

Other than for just the briefest of moments, the camera didn't point at Seth Rollins in the closing moments of Monday's Raw. It didn't show him holding tight to his WWE World Heavyweight Championship but rather zeroed in on John Cena.

Considering how WWE has booked the world titleholder, it's fitting. Rollins has been the company's paper champion; it's been Cena who has been made to look worthy of the gold he wears.

With too much focus on Rollins' cowardice rather than his cunning, his reliance on his stooges instead of the sharpness of his own fangs, WWE has gutted the power of his title reign.

Just when it looks as if the cackling heel is going to establish himself as a villain worth fearing, the script has him lose, scatter like a roach or stumble along as champ. Monday's Raw was the latest example of this baffling way to handle his time with the belt.

Cena pulled the company's top champion into the center of the ring and forced him to tap out.

Beyond the match result, note what images played on the screen and what acclaim fans heard from the announcers as the show wrapped up. Cena had just gutted out the finish of a match with blood sticking to his lip, his swollen nose looking like someone had taken a hammer to a ball of clay. He raised the United States title up for the crowd to see and offered a thumbs up. 

"How tough is John Cena?" Michael Cole screamed. 

The announcer went on to say, "John Cena, week in and week out, continues to rise to the challenge." John "Bradshaw" Layfield added, "We are looking at greatness!"

What we weren't looking at was the WWE champion. Rollins didn't defeat Cena, he didn't leave him hurting and he didn't ambush him after the match before towering over him with a predatory grin, laughing at his fallen foe. WWE chose the "elevate the already-elevated Cena" route instead.

That is just the latest installment of a narrative centered on Rollins' inadequacies as the top titleholder.

After snatching the WWE strap from Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, Rollins has mostly looked feeble. An opportunist has turned into a washout. 

The first Raw following his title win saw him lose in six-man tag action. He has since lost four other tag team matches. It seemed that he lost the belt to Dean Ambrose at Elimination Chamber, but the referee reversed the decision, giving The Lunatic Fringe a victory by disqualification.

Credit: WWE.com

His toughest test to date, a showdown with Brock Lesnar at Battleground, wasn't even really about him. Rollins seemed to have been vaporized when Undertaker popped up out of the darkness. The focus was the returning star and his subsequent attack on The Beast Incarnate; the WWE champ was not in the frame.

Rollins was just a pawn to sell a bigger match. 

The low point of his reign was the company booking J&J Security, a duo portrayed as bumbling, ineffectual rubes, to pin Rollins in non-title action.

Randy Orton did not tap out once during his latest run as WWE champ. Nor did he fall to two semi-retired guys.

Yes, he lost in upset fashion to Kofi Kingston, but the result was used as a means to have The Viper explode. Orton's composure disintegrated, and he launched himself into the stands to pound his fists against John Cena's father's head.

Rollins was not afforded a similar bounce-back moment the night of his embarrassing loss.

That's been the theme of his reign. It's fine to make him sneaky, whiny and slippery. It's fine to show him being a coward, but that has to be balanced out with moments where he appears fearsome.

Former WWE writer Vince Russo is one of many tired of seeing the unending display of Rollins' weaknesses. He writes on Chair Shot Reality:

"

For months now I've been begging the WWE writers to give WWE World Champion Seth Rollins a set of Spauldings. The endless weeks of Rollins running from everybody, depending on two midgets to fight his battles, hiding under Stephanie's skirt and Hunter's huge...ego...were just getting to the point of nausea.

"

At Money in the Bank, Rollis finally showed us another side of himself. Throttling Dean Ambrose was an emphatic showcase of his dangerous side. He beat Ambrose mercilessly and decisively. 

There have been far too few instances like that.

Against intercontinental champ Ryback, he ran mid-match, taking a count-out loss. He looked very much in danger of falling to Roman Reigns on SmackDown before J&J Security intervened. And now add a clean loss to Cena to the list of times Rollins has looked inferior to his foes.

Normally, WWE saves this sort of treatment for its midcard champs.

Doing the same thing to Rollins makes it hard to buy in. It deflates interest in his future bouts. His upcoming title matches won't feel like superfights between two titans, as Rollins has been far from a titan.

That's a designation reserved for guys like Cena.

Match statistics courtesy of CageMatch.net.