Seth Rollins, the Authority Must Break Up to Create Better Storylines

This past Monday, following the "in memoriam" to the legendary "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Raw kicked off as it has much of the past year: Seth Rollins delivering a promo.

But this one was different. Rollins stood alone in the ring and delivered what might have been his best promo since becoming WWE Heavyweight champion. It was succinct, straight and impassioned.

And most importantly, it was without The Authority by his side.

Besides a throwaway comment from Rollins about The Authority authorizing his championship open match that evening, Rollins stood on his own. It was refreshing, and it's something WWE Creative should consider making permanent.

Now is a perfect time for a split between The Authority and Rollins.

The Authority, as a collective, is too cumbersome to continue in today's WWE. With the star power present in the company, there's no need for one faction—heel or babyface—to rule the roost.

There's no doubt Triple H and Stephanie need to continue to wield their power, both for good and evil. That power, however, should be on display throughout the roster, not on a single wrestler who, frankly, doesn't need the platform. Rollins has proved he can handle that on his own.

How Seth Rollins Would Benefit

Rollins has shown he can handle the stage on his own. For too long, WWE has subjected fans to the weakening of Rollins at the expense of furthering an angle involving The Authority.

No matter the opponent—Cena, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Brock Lesnar—Rollins has been the proverbial whipping boy for any WWE Superstar who stood against Triple H and The Authority.

Never mind that Rollins has been part of, and shined in, some of this year's biggest matches, both on pay-per-view and regular TV programming. Rollins has taken the fall too many times to be a main event superstar, let alone WWE champion.

He holds that title, however, because he is aligned with The Authority, a dynamic that has caused friction among The Authority itself in recent months. That friction led Rollins to deliver his best promos as champion, first when he agreed to challenge Ambrose at Money in the Bank then in his lead-in to Battleground against Lesnar.

The "me against the world" mentality Rollins displays can only work when there is no one standing behind him to prop him up. Rollins did this again Monday night, delivering on his own convincingly.

WWE needs more of this from Rollins, but the only way to accomplish that is to set him off on his own path. When he first joined The Authority, Rollins needed Triple H and Stephanie McMahon's power to shield him in order to climb the ladder to the WWE Heavyweight Championship.

More than a year later, both nothing and everything has changed. While WWE continues to follow the same script with this faction, the landscape is vastly different, especially concerning Rollins.

Both in the ring and on the microphone, he is arguably the best in the company. He has grown by leaps and bounds, holding his own against the best and brightest. He can lead a match with proven veterans like Randy Orton or up-and-comers like Neville. 

Keeping him with The Authority drags him down, making him play into their stories instead of advancing his own. Rollins truly is the future of WWE, but the company needs to let him escape the present to accomplish more.  

How The Authority Would Benefit

To say The Authority angle has gotten stale would be far too tame. SummerSlam will mark a two-year anniversary of sorts for this storyline, as it was the 2013 edition of this event that launched this angle.

In that time, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and whomever they've chosen to run with have, in essence, run roughshod over the entire roster. Among his many excellent musings regarding The Authority angle in WWE, Bleacher Report's Tom Clark wrote:

"

There is no drama in a heel faction that simply cannot lose and there is no reason to keep tuning in to see them fall if there is no real possibility of it truly happening. The Authority is neither evolving nor perishing.  But they are in danger of becoming irrelevant and that is perhaps the worst fate of all.

"

That was nearly a year ago, and nothing on screen has changed even though there are so many fresh ideas that can be had with Triple H and Stephanie.

Take the recent Divas Revolution. In kayfabe, Stephanie was the driving force behind the call-ups of Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks. It showed that The Authority cared about more than just keeping the WWE title on Rollins.

The rest of the WWE roster could use more of that involvement from Stephanie and Triple H. Imagine Triple H inserting himself into the midcard scene, issuing challenges to guys like Ryback, Wade Barrett, Cesaro, Neville, Kevin Owens and others to help them grow.  

To do that, though, The Authority would have to not just loosen the reins on Rollins, but let him go altogether. The main event card is chock full of guys who can hold their own: Rollins, Lesnar, Cena, Reigns, Ambrose. Even Bray Wyatt can keep the top of the roster going on its own.

Of course, Triple H and Stephanie would insert themselves into main event storylines, but it could happen organically. It could be pushing the midcard wrestlers they've focused on into main event stories. It could be booking matches based on their previous relationships with main eventers.

The best part: It allows Triple H, Stephanie and The Authority to remain in control of everything within WWE and not just one aspect of the company that is already thriving.