Considering the amount of limelight on WWE stars, it often becomes hard for them to portray their storylines as real events. However, the reigning World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins, did a great job with an “injury” storyline in July, which made even John Cena think that he had sustained a real injury.
Rollins went a long way to protect the kayfabe as he lied to Cena about being injured in reality when the 48-year-old enquired about his health after learning about his condition. In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina, ‘The Architect’ revealed that he didn’t feel pretty good about having to lie to Cena to protect the secrecy of the “injury” storyline. (via Sports Illustrated on YouTube)
“Maybe [I felt a bit guilty about lying to] John Cena. John reached out and I had to do my best to wiggle around it. But John and I are cut from the same cloth, so when John saw the final outcome, he was happy. He was proud in a way. So, at the end of the day, it all works itself out.”
However, Cena was the only one who made Rollins feel “guilty.” He confessed that he “didn’t feel guilt” about having to lie to anyone else.
The Background Story of Seth Rollins’ Injury That Deceived John Cena
Rollins sustained the kayfabe injury to his right knee while taking on LA Knight during the July 12, 2025, edition of WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event
Check out the video of Rollins selling his kayfabe injury:
During the Sports Illustrated interview, Rollins also admitted that he had no idea about the origin of his “injury” storyline, but he got hooked on it after listening to the idea. ‘The Architect’ detailed how he felt extremely confident about being able to sell the move efficiently due to his commitment to his role. He said (via Sports Illustrated):
I’m not exactly sure where it [the idea of my injury] was hatched. It was presented to me in advance quite some time for our business. It was a few weeks. I thought the idea was brilliant when I first heard it. Obviously, the execution was gonna be important, and the details were gonna need to be ironed out. But I felt the crux of the idea was brilliant, and I was the guy to be able to pull that off. I was very excited at the prospect of it. My level of commitment to our industry is second to none. I was the guy for the job.
However, Rollins didn’t stop at selling his storyline injury inside the ring. The 39-year-old revealed that it was “annoying” for him to walk with “crutches” in the subsequent days to protect the kayfabe.
I did not anticipate how annoying it would be to crutch around the city for a few weeks, though. That was an unexpected part of it. That was pretty obnoxious.
It’s quite apparent that Rollins also deceived Cena, along with scores of fans, with his commitment to protect the secrecy of the storyline. However, the injury that Cena sustained from Rollins wasn’t part of a WWE storyline.
Seth Rollins Subjected John Cena to a Terrible Real Injury
Cena’s empathy towards Rollins’ storyline injury showcased that the two have an amicable relationship in real life. However, a little mistake from Rollins in 2015 resulted in Cena sustaining a gruesome injury in reality.
Botched moves inside the ring can have a devastating effect on a wrestler’s career, including forcing them to give up performing forever. Cena had a similar experience during his United States Championship match with Seth Rollins on the July 27, 2015, episode of Raw.
Amid the match, Rollins accidentally connected a flying knee to Cena’s nose, leaving it broken and bleeding. Still, the 17-time world champion completed the match and defeated ‘The Architect’ to bag the United States title.
Check out how Rollins accidentally broke Cena’s nose:
While Rollins went to incredible lengths to protect his kayfabe injury, Cena didn’t give up even after sustaining a real injury inside the ring. This is probably why Rollins mentioned that he and Cena were “cut from the same cloth”.
Which task are you more impressed with, Rollins’ commitment to protect his kayfabe injury or Cena’s dedication to complete his performance with real damage? Let us know in the comments below.
