Will Seth Rollins Remain WWE's Top Star Throughout 2020?

Few WWE Superstars had the type of banner year Seth Rollins did in 2019. Through his two Universal Championship reigns and decisive victories over Brock Lesnar, he cemented his status as the company's most prominently featured star, especially once Roman Reigns was moved to SmackDown in the spring.

Unfortunately, all of the goodwill The Architect generated as a babyface was ruined last year as a result of the company's bad booking of him. The backlash he was receiving from fans on a near-weekly basis was too much to ignore, leading to his heel turn in December.

As we enter the new year, Rollins is still being positioned as Raw's biggest star, except now as a heel with AOP serving as his henchmen. However, his change in character begs the question of how long his time on top will last and whether it's merely a matter of time before someone replaces him.

Credit: WWE.com

Rollins proved with his heel run from 2014 through 2016 that's the role he's most comfortable in, specifically on the microphone. During that period of his career, he ruled Raw as the WWE champion for the better part of 2015 and scored several high-profile wins over the likes of John Cena and Sting, among others.

His recent return to the dark side was long overdue and will only help him in the end. There will come a point when fans will be clamoring to cheer him again (much like in 2016), but in the meantime, WWE must go all in with his "messiah" gimmick and use him as a foil for the beloved babyfaces on the Raw roster.

Regardless of how far Owens and Joe go as fan favorites, it's hard to imagine WWE allowing them to surpass Rollins as the face of the flagship show.

That isn't to say WWE should put all of its eggs in the Rollins basket for the remainder of 2020, though. The company would benefit from focusing on a handful of notable names instead of relying on any one Superstar to carry the load.

That was the issue WWE ran into when Reigns was forced to miss time due to illness in late 2018. There was a major void atop the card for many months until the company elevated Rollins back to the main event scene in time for WrestleMania season.

Speaking of Reigns, he appears to be primed to reclaim his spot as WWE's top star in the not-too-distant future. If he goes on to win the WWE Championship from "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36, it's possible he'll be booked as the lead babyface Rollins could and should have before he went heel.

Credit: WWE.com

Outside of Reigns, no one else from either brand poses a true threat to Rollins' standing in the company. There are a number of wrestlers who have the potential to rise up this year (Aleister Black, Drew McIntyre and Andrade are all strong contenders), but none will come close to the level Rollins has reached in recent years.

Face or heel, Rollins is invaluable to WWE both inside and outside of the ring. He may not be as much of a difference-maker in the ratings and overall business as someone such as John Cena once was, but he's easily among the most successful and popular performers today and has been for several years.

Regardless of where he's been slotted on the card over the course of his career, Rollins has ensured that everything he's been involved in is the focal point of the program. With multiple world title reigns under his belt, he'll never again be considered anything less than a top-tier talent.

Just as 2019 was his year, 2020 is quickly shaping up to be the year of The Architect as well. His heel turn has given him a new lease on life, but it's up to WWE to not squander his hot momentum and keep his alliance with AOP as strong as possible.

The longer their reign of terror lasts, the more it will mean when they're eventually vanquished. While he's already waged war with Joe and Owens, both feuds feel fresh now that he's a heel again and can embrace the boos he's been receiving lately.

All things considered, there is no reason to think Rollins will be any less of an important player in WWE in 2020 than he has been in years past. As such, it will be exciting to see what more he has in store for fans in the new decade and how he plans on continuing to build off everything he's accomplished thus far.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is an Endicott College alumnus and aspiring journalist. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.