Without certain constants, the best stories lose their soul, their very reason for being. Uncle Ben has to cross paths with that robber, Thomas and Martha Wayne must leave the theater through the back exit, the Kryptonian government must deny climate change, and those four tiny turtles must wander close by when Matt Murdock jaywalks. WWE’s constant for the past decade—the catalyst for everything from the end of the Shield to the blockbuster tag match that’s bringing the Rock back to the ring at WrestleMania XL—has been Seth Rollins. Whether he’s leading a small army or a large symphony, you’re getting maximum effort and output, day in and day out. So, as WWE goes into its biggest WrestleMania to date, the man it’s leaned on for the past 12 years says that his best, and his promotion’s best, is yet to come.
“I truly can’t believe that we’re sitting here talking about a tag match where I’m teaming with Cody Rhodes against Roman Reigns and the Rock at WrestleMania,” Rollins contemplates. Hearing him process the moment, you can sense both affirmation and understanding. Two months ago, there was no Final Boss, no Las Vegas press event. The path to WrestleMania seemed fairly concrete: Cody Rhodes would once again try to finish his story by dethroning Roman Reigns, and CM Punk would be challenging the inaugural (and current) WWE World Heavyweight champion, Rollins. A few days after Punk tore his triceps at the Royal Rumble, the Rock was announced as a board member of the TKO Group, an entity that oversees both WWE and UFC. As the business changed, so did the trajectory of the champions and their challengers. WWE called upon the Hollywood star, whose last WrestleMania main event was in 2013, to share the ring with two of the men who opened that show, bringing their journey full circle. Rollins will also pull double duty this year: first as part of the aforementioned tag match on night one and then by defending his World Heavyweight title against Drew McIntyre the following night. In an industry that doesn’t pay by the hour, Rollins wants to work overtime, and that’s been his pace since day one. “You’re always trying to be the best version of yourself,” Rollins explains while unable to narrow down a “favorite” or “best” WrestleMania moment. “My mindset has always been, ‘What’s next? What’s next?’ What’s next, for better or worse, that’s a double-edged sword sometimes, but I have to always believe that there’s something new, there’s something special, there’s something bigger out there for me to achieve.”
Seth’s course for that next thing was almost derailed earlier this year. Back in January, during a match on Raw, Rollins injured his knee against Jinder Mahal, and he initially feared significant ligament damage. What would have likely led to his absence for a large part of the year, including WrestleMania, turned out to be far less severe. With Rollins’s willingness to carry the ball, he likely would’ve found a way to drag that leg from end zone to end zone, but tests would prove the injury to be fairly minor, and he resumed in-ring activities less than two months later. “I was having flashbacks to 2015,” Rollins explains, referring to the time he tore his right ACL, MCL, and medial meniscus during a WWE show in Dublin, Ireland, keeping him out of action until May 2016. And while he won’t have to put his Chicago Bears fandom aside to put the team on his back like a digital Greg Jennings (armchair GM Rollins says he would’ve continued to build around Justin Fields), being in that role, both in and out of the ring, has been his calling.
In 2019, for example, WWE held Stomping Grounds in Tacoma, Washington. Months after the all-time feel-good WrestleMania 35, this new event and the booking would be subject to harsh online criticism. Frustration set in, and Rollins would produce, in kind, some very strongly worded tweets about the lack of appreciation his roster was being shown. Opening with “Best pro wrestling on the planet. Period,” Rollins would sell matches and name names, specifically crediting talent like Drew Gulak, Reigns, and the Usos for contributing to his assertion. He’d even invoke Ricochet’s name to little-brother all-world talent Will Ospreay, who took direct exception to the “best wrestler alive” portion of Rollins’s manifesto. While the two have since developed a healthy respect for one another, with Rollins going so far as to say Ospreay “is absolutely one of the best performers in the world, and I’m happy that he is finally, you know, getting to the very top level in our industry,” Rollins states plainly why he felt obligated to speak his mind. “Well,” Seth begins, “not everybody has taken this stance over the years, but to me, WWE is my home, right? These people that I go to battle with every week on these live events and these TVs—and I’m not talking just the talent; I’m talking about the whole team, the production, the creative—love it or hate it, we’re the best. And I’ve been a proponent of these people in my family and had their back for years because I believe that, and I believe in the work we all put together to make this industry the best it possibly can be.”
Seth’s biggest achievement to date might be coexisting with such a diverse cast. While he was taking a very straightforward path to the top of WWE through the John Cenas and Triple Hs of the world, the other members of his ecosystem were exploring lands both far and wide. Cody would leave WWE in 2016, building himself up to the point of superstardom before making a surprise return six years later. McIntyre, once dubbed the chosen one, would use his 2014 release to build his body, find his voice, and discover his edge, coming back into the fold in 2017 as one of the most fully formed wrestlers on earth. And after tumultuous exits from both WWE and AEW, CM Punk would shock us all by returning at Survivor Series 2023 and being the last entrant eliminated in the 2024 Royal Rumble. While Rollins has been clear on personal feelings toward different acts, he sees value in their various experiences and knows the opportunities they all have to create at the highest level. “I kind of don’t pass a whole lot of judgment on anybody if they think they’re not being used up to their potential,” Rollins explains. “Having options for performers is only going to make the business stronger, and it’s only going to make WWE stronger.” In a world where others might be jealous of opportunities given to those who have been less consistent, less present, and less professional, Rollins is more concerned with how he can be malleable and do his part to make this all work. He is also quick to heap praise on that evolving roster and programming. “In [the] 12 years that I’ve been here, I think this may be the best episode of Monday Night Raw I’ve ever been a part of,” he reflects, referring to the episode that aired on March 25, which featured a war of words between Rollins, Punk, and McIntyre. “You had incredible talent across the board, everybody pushing boundaries in front of an electric-hot crowd in Chicago.”
While Rollins has been consistently pitted against WWE’s top stars since their split, his former partners have found different ways to be just as successful. Jon Moxley embraced the physicality and unpredictability of his deathmatch days to become a global star across multiple promotions, and Reigns is the linchpin in the most intricate, enduring WWE world championship run of this generation. “We were all using the Shield as a catalyst to take over the industry and to rebuild it in our image,” Rollins says. “And if you look at where all of us are sitting right now, I think we’re exactly where we thought we would be in some capacity 12 years ago when we started this journey together. Mox is over in AEW being a revolutionary, trying to reframe everything in his image. Roman sits at the head of the table, as he believes he should, and here I am hustling, busting my ass every single week to try to make the future of the industry better,” Rollins exclaims proudly.
“We’re leading the charge for the next generation and what the future of business is going to look like.”
With Rollins’s focus on his on-screen performance and team empowerment, fashion was far from a priority. Aside from her love and their child, maybe the most important thing Rollins gained from his marriage with Becky Lynch was access to her stylist, King Troi. “We gotta bring some love to the men’s fashion game!” Rollins decrees, reflecting on his conscious change from what had become the professional wrestling standard. “The girls, … they got some wild looks, and they’ve been doing that for years,” Rollins explains before breaking down what he showed up in. “I was wearing the black jeans and my merch T-shirt and maybe a hat from time to time. And I’m like, ‘This is boring, man.’” During the pandemic, an era when many WWE superstars were figuring out different ways to excite the audience who couldn’t be in attendance, Rollins had an idea: “I reached out to my wife’s stylist, King Troi. I said, ‘What do you got for me that’s gonna make this whole thing pop?’” What popped was the bubble of that last bit of yesteryear still hanging around Rollins. Loud colors, louder designs, and the ability to treat his work like it was his hobby, complete with a fleshed-out chant that would make Black Rob proud. “It went from people making fun of it and laughing at it,” Rollins remembers. “It’s taking on a life of its own, and it’s awesome.”
Rollins is the arbiter of attrition. He’s had some of the past decade’s largest moments, solidifying himself as part of the three-headed monster of American wrestling, and he believes that when he does leave this thing, it’ll be leaps and bounds better than it was when he found it. He’s found a life partner who has the same professional drive and creative mind to navigate the world with. And even in the face of movie stars, folk heroes, and the cult’s ruling class, he believes there’s still room to grow both personally and professionally. “I’m about to be 38 in May, and I’m, like, right in my prime, like my mental and my physical are right in the perfect space. And I think the next five years, especially, I’m going to be able to really, really hone it in and kick it into gear. But right now, dude, I’m having a great time,” Rollins says, talking about his experiences with both the audience and his competitors.
“I’m getting to be able to be in the ring with guys who are extremely experienced and extremely good at what they do, and we’re all just elevating each other’s game. And so, like, I feel like this is easily the best version of Seth Rollins that we’ve seen so far. But with that said, I do think the best is yet to come.”
Cameron Hawkins writes about pro wrestling, Blade II, and obscure ’90s sitcoms for Pro Wrestling Torch, Pro Wrestling Illustrated, and FanSided DDT. You can follow him on Twitter at @CeeHawk.