Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch managed to fool the wrestling world with one of WWE’s biggest storylines of 2025. What looked like a serious knee injury for Rollins eventually turned into a shocking championship win at SummerSlam. Nevertheless, it wasn’t smooth sailing, since the storyline invited backlash from some fans who felt they had been tricked.
The story began in July 2025 when Rollins appeared to suffer a serious knee injury during a match against LA Knight at Saturday Night’s Main Event. The injury looked completely real, with officials rushing to help him and medical staff checking on him at ringside.
Over the next few weeks, the Visionary fully committed to the story. He was seen in public using crutches and wearing a large knee brace, convincing everyone that he was legitimately injured.
That made the payoff at SummerSlam even bigger. Rollins suddenly threw away his crutches, removed the brace, and cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to defeat CM Punk and win the World Heavyweight Championship.
Speaking on What’s Your Story? with Steph McMahon, Lynch looked back on the reaction to Rollins’ injury angle and explained why she thinks the controversy actually proved the storyline was successful.
Becky Lynch says fans were angry because they were tricked
Looking back, Becky Lynch believes many fans were upset simply because WWE successfully fooled them.
“That thing, that injury, became so controversial, where literally, that’s what we do all the time. It’s called the work. We do that all the time,” Lynch said.
Stephanie McMahon agreed and suggested the backlash came from fans realizing they had been caught by surprise. “People are mad because they got got. That’s all,” she said.
Lynch agreed, saying some fans complained about being misled even though making stories feel real has always been a major part of professional wrestling. She also pointed out that injury storylines have existed in wrestling for decades.
“Anytime. Anybody gets injured, taken out, put through a table, dragged off in a stretcher. If it’s not a real stretcher, that’s what we’re doing,” Lynch said.
The difference with Rollins’ angle was that he stayed in character in real life as well.
Stephanie also added that Triple H used to do the same thing during his wrestling career, appearing in public with slings and other props to make injuries seem real. According to her, that level of commitment has become less common in recent years.
Lynch also praised Rollins for making the story believable and the way he revealed it. “It was so great. The way he did it,” Lynch said.
Even with the criticism, Lynch feels the strong reaction showed that the storyline did exactly what it was supposed to do. Fans may not like being fooled at first, but they still enjoy being surprised. “They love it and they hate it,” Lynch said.
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