Seth Rollins has suffered a serious knee injury -- to the knee he just had surgically repaired last year -- and his status is officially in doubt for WrestleMania 33.

WWE announced last week that Rollins suffered a legitimate injury after being attacked by Samoa Joe in the closing segment of Raw. He visited he visited Dr. Jeff Dugas at Andrews Sports Medicine in Birmingham, Alabama -- owned by renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews -- for a diagnosis, and the company revealed Monday that Rollins has a torn MCL and may be unable to compete in two months at WrestleMania in Orlando, Florida. This confirmed a report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, which shared the news first on Feb. 1.

If this all sounds too familiar, Rollins suffered a (more) serious knee injury in November 2015 when his knee buckled in the middle of a house show. He was forced to relinquish what was then the world heavyweight championship and sit out WrestleMania 32, which he was expected to main event. Rollins missed nearly seven full months of action with that injury, returning in May 2016 at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view.

This time around, WWE expects Rollins to miss 6-8 weeks, which would put him right on the verge of being able to participate in a planned WrestleMania match with Triple H that the company has been building to in its storylines for months and was just starting to heat up.


The injury has stalled WWE's plan to announce the match, which may be on hold for another month so trainers and doctors can check in on Rollins to ensure he's progressing as scheduled and able to fight on the card. WWE could also decide to scrap the match entirely and go with something else, though how it would adjust at this point remains to be seen.

Either way, the timing of Rollins' latest injury is once again awful, specifically for him but also for the company, which has seen its storyline plans change drastically over the last 12 months due to similar events.

"Life doesn't always go your way, but that is no excuse to surrender. If anything, obstacles exist to help us grow and evolve. This reinjury to my surgically repaired knee is real and a lot is up in the air right now, but one thing that remains constant: my resolve," Rollins said in a series of tweets.

"This doesn't end for me until I've reclaimed the throne, and for me, fighting and defeating Triple H is the only way. I will work harder than I ever have and push myself beyond what I know. This isn't over. The only way to wear the crown is to slay the king. I know what must be done and there's nothing that can stop me."