Seth Rollins vs. Sting: What's Next for Both Superstars After Night of Champions

Sting's second in-ring appearance at a WWE pay-per-view ended in similar fashion to his first, although The Icon's performance certainly caught the eye.

His first effort against Triple H at WrestleMania wasn't exactly a mat classic, but Sting was in great condition for his bout against Seth Rollins, and the WWE world heavyweight champion also played his part.

But after Rollins' victory to close the show at Night of Champions, what lies in store for both men? Predictably, the path for one of these two stars is clearer than the other.

Sting 

As mentioned, The Icon put on a great performance at Night of Champions, with an effort that ranked as one of the best across the entire night.

Credit: WWE.com

For a guy 56 years of age, some of the spots and bumps Sting was involved with were hugely impressive, not least the moment he was sent through a table by Seth Rollins.

But the fact that he didn't lose controversially means there's little scope for a rematch, which will be sad for Sting and his fans. WWE will likely have been concerned by the end of the bout, when Sting suffered what appeared to be a legitimate injury.

WWE confirmed that injury themselves on their official website on Monday, but WrestlingInc's Marc Middleton noted that Sting could still appear on Raw on Monday night.

This will potentially set up an angle in which Sting steps away from WWE again, as it's hard to see him coming back for a second match against Rollins at Hell in a Cell, especially with the events surrounding Rollins and Kane.

It seems likely that unless someone interferes with Sting's promo on Raw and sets up another match, The Icon may step out of the limelight again for a while.

With his injury thrown into the mix, too, this might be the best thing to ensure that he will come back for WrestleMania season sharp, fit and ready to go again.

Seth Rollins

For once, it was nice to see Seth Rollins pick up a clean win on a pay-per-view, even if the ending was a tad disappointing.

Despite losing to John Cena, Rollins was able to walk away with his other title around his waist, and the fact he's no longer in possession of the U.S. title is no bad thing.

He can now solely focus on his reign as world champion, allowing Cena to remain in the midcard and defend the U.S. title just as well as he did before losing it to Rollins.

But with Sting likely to step out of the world title picture and Cena back in control of his own championship, who will be Rollins' next challenger?

Judging from what we saw at the end of Night of Champions, it looks certain as if it will be none other than Kane.

The old-school Kane returned to close the show, laying Rollins out with a chokeslam and potentially setting up a feud with him for the world title. If The Authority is in two minds about who to support, its champion or its corporate stooge, it could be a potentially interesting rivalry.

There looks to be little else for Rollins to do at the moment, so he's on a collision course with Kane at Hell in a Cell.