Seth Rollins' Injury Will Highlight His Massive Value to WWE Roster

When Seth Rollins landed awkwardly on his right leg, shredding the ligaments in his knee, WWE was robbed of its MVP in an instant.

Rollins' injury forces WWE to scrap its Survivor Series plans. It leaves officials scrambling to crown a new champion.

But the full impact of his absence won't be felt until well into his recovery period, when WWE struggles to find someone to replace his workload, produce the number of stellar matches that he did and serve as the company's top heel. The void he leaves behind will be a clear reminder of his value.

The company is going to find out that those old Chicago lyrics—"You don't know what ya got until it's gone"—hold weight.

On Wednesday night in Dublin, Kane and Rollins battled in a Street Fight. Rollins rolled over Kane, looking to power-bomb him, when his right knee buckled.

DroidStar Electronic caught the injury on video:

"

Seth Rollins Botch @ #WWEDUBLIN pic.twitter.com/ovXpfvFHi5

— DroidStar Electronic (@DroidStar_com) November 4, 2015"

It soon became clear how serious it was. On Thursday, WWE announced on its official website that "Rollins has torn his right ACL, MCL and medial meniscus." The report estimated that he will be out of action for six-to-nine months.

That has WWE not only looking for a new world titleholder but a No. 1 heel. It has to fill that vacancy with fewer options than usual.

Randy Orton is out with a shoulder injury. Rusev is dealing with a ruptured bicep. John Cena is taking a hiatus, per F4WOnline.com. And Daniel Bryan hasn't been cleared to compete since April.

As Wrestling Observer Newsletter founder Dave Meltzer noted, Rollins moving to the disabled list comes at a bad time:

And WWE leaned on Rollins more than it did those other men. His youth and durability, along with a robust workload, had him on his way to hitting the 200-match mark for 2015.

Rollins has wrestled 174 times this year. Compare that to Cena's 129 matches, Orton's 92 bouts or Rusev's 127 matches in 2015.

WWE has relied on Rollins in a big way. It had Rollins pull double duty at Night of Champions, as well as on the Raw before that pay-per-view. He has competed on seemingly every Raw and is constantly wrestling on SmackDown.

The last time Cena stepped into the ring on SmackDown was in April. Brock Lesnar hasn't had a SmackDown match since 2004.

It's not as if Rollins was just taking up space in these contests, either. He was thriving, delivering standout performance after standout performance.

As announcer Kyle Edwards pointed out, his ring acumen will be missed:

"

As Seth Rollins recovers, the @WWEUniverse, even those who don't like him, will miss him. He is that good in the ring. #GetWellSoonSeth

— Kyle Edwards (@KyleEdwardsWWE) November 5, 2015"

WWE could plug Rollins into the card with just about anyone opposite him and expect something special. Ryback's best work all year came against the champ. Rollins was excellent against guys like Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler, but more impressively he and a well-past-his-prime Kane had some strong showings together.

And when WWE need a main-event-quality showdown featuring a 56-year-old Sting, it turned to Rollins.

Their bout at Night of Champions was well on its way to blowing expectations away before Sting suffered a mid-match neck injury.

Tally up the best candidates for Match of the Year, and Rollins' name will pop up several times over:

• Lesnar vs. Cena vs. Rollins (Royal Rumble)
• Ambrose vs. Rollins (Money in the Bank)
• Cena vs. Rollins (SummerSlam)

As many talented, emerging stars as the roster boasts, you can't just switch out anyone in those spots and get that level of excellence. Rollins has been consistent beyond his years, a foundation WWE has depended on for much of the year.

He's shown that to be true from a verbal standpoint as well.

Given more spotlight and responsibility on the mic, Rollins has flourished. Just as WWE has inserted Rollins into the lineup again and again to wrestle, it has asked him to provide a good number of promos, too.

He is often tasked with opening Raw, barking at the top babyfaces and making a story about Kane's split personality not a laughable one.

Rollins has been stellar in this role. That was true when he bemoaned Ambrose stealing his title and told Sting he was going to crush his "old bones to dust."

Cesaro's not going to be able to give WWE those kind of promos. Neither is Roman Reigns. And WWE just can't rush Cena back and plaster his mug over Raw and SmackDown.

Rollins was a fresh face atop the company, a rising star gaining handfuls of momentum despite terrible booking. He has been tremendous as a heel.

The champion has been an irritant, braggart and chicken-stealing fox of the highest order.

Grantland's David Shoemaker called him both the potential "babyface future" and "the heel standard." Finding a way to replace that is going to be mighty difficult.

The longer Rollins is out, the more WWE will find itself pining for The Architect.

Match statistics courtesy of CageMatch.net. Injury information from WWE.com.