WWE 'Monday Night Raw' Preview 11/9/15: 'Survivor Series' Setup After Seth Rollins Injury

WWE will present the November 9, 2015 episode of Monday Night Raw on tape delay from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, and this episode will have the tall task of reconfiguring the entire landscape at the top of the card after Seth Rollins' injury as we set up the Survivor Series pay-per-view on Sunday, November 22. We've got a full preview of tonight's action for you, so let's get to it.

If you're a wrestling fan who has been living under a rock these past few days, then let us catch you up to speed. Rollins shredded his knee during a house show in Ireland last week. More accurately, he tore the ACL, MCL, and medial meniscus in his right knee, and his expected recovery time is six to nine months. This is obviously a heartbreaking situation for Rollins, who was doing great work as champion and was on top of the world.

And yet, the show must go on. Rollins was set to face No. 1 Contender Roman Reigns at Survivor Series, but obviously that plan now has to change. WWE has opted, wisely, to go with a tournament at the pay-per-view to determine the next champion, but this also raises a host of new questions.

There is precedent for this tournament, though the situations are a bit different. In 1998, WWE vacated the championship in kayfabe because Undertaker and Kane had both pinned Stone Cold Steve Austin at the same time. When that match didn't yield a clear winner, Vince McMahon forced Austin to be the special guest referee in a match between Taker and Kane at the following pay-per-view to determine a champion. Austin, unsurprisingly, laid out both Brothers of Destruction, counted three on them, and declared himself the winner.

To rectify this situation, McMahon created the "Deadly Game," a 14-man tournament at Survivor Series to determine the new king of the mountain. The night ended with The Rock's famous heel turn and his alliance with the Corporation as the new champion.

That was all a storyline situation, though. This time, the vacated title stems from a real injury, though the end result is the same. We need a champion.

So how do we determine one? WWE could decided to hold the entire tournament the night of Survivor Series just like in 1998. The only other announced match for this pay-per-view at the moment is Paige vs. Charlotte for the WWE Divas Championship, so theoretically, the company could pull it all off in one night.

But that would require, in theory, sacrificing some other stories, such as Bray Wyatt's new supernatural powers. Plus, Undertaker has to appear on the card (we don't know if you've heard, but this is his 25th anniversary), and WWE isn't putting him in the title tournament.

The more likely option is we see the first-round matches on Raw tonight and next week, and then we get the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals on the pay-per-view.

And what of Roman Reigns? Does his No. 1 Contender status mean nothing? He could get a bye into the second round because he's earned some type of advantage in this tournament, and it's likely he's going to win the whole thing anyway.

Point is, there are dozens of different directions that WWE could go with this, and we're excited to find out what happens starting tonight.

We'll have full results of the show once the taping is complete but for now, let us know your predictions for tonight in the comments section below.