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It’s been almost three years now since Seth Rollins has been on the main roster, and by three years, it actually means three whole years with no breaks.
Rollins hasn’t missed a single Raw since his debut, and with the way WWE uses him now, it doesn’t look like he’ll be missing one anytime soon. If that record does remain intact until November 18th, Seth Rollins would have gone three straight years without taking a day off.
Given that, one has to wonder how well WWE has utilised Rollins, and this article looks ar precisely that. It is to be noted that this is opinionated, and anyone can have a different take on the matter.
The introduction
This article does not consider anything of Rollins during his days in the Independent circuit or his time in NXT.
Seth Rollins debuted as part of arguably one of the most popular stables of all time, The Shield (Sierra, Hotel, India, Echo, Lima, Delta), along with Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose.
Their introduction to the mainstream audience came at Survivor Series 2012, where they attacked Ryback and allowed CM Punk to pin John Cena and retain his WWE Championship in their Triple Threat match. Even though The Shield denied working for Punk, they continued to protect him, suspiciously and attack anybody who Punk had to deal with. Their debut match came at TLC that year, where they defeated Team Hell No and Ryback in a breathtaking match.
They interrupted in the main event of the Royal Rumble 2013 and attacked The Rock. That match was restarted, however, and The Brahma Bull won the WWE Championship.
After Paul Heyman, Punk’s manager at the time, admitted that he was paying The Shield, the trio faded away from them and feuded with Sheamus, Ryback and John Cena, who they defeated at Elimination Chamber. They would continue to feud with Sheamus, into WrestleMania 29 where they defeated him, along with The Big Show and Randy Orton, in the opening match of the night.
Initial championships and domination
It was after this that The Shield began to taste gold. Up until this point, WWE made them look especially cohesive and unbeatable, quite literally, as they were not pinned or made to be submitted. It was logical that they needed some titles, and all three men won championships at Extreme Rules.
Dean Ambrose defeated Kofi Kingston to win the United States Championship, and Rollins and Reigns defeated the long-reigning Team Hell No to win the Tag Team Championships. Very soon after, however, the undefeated streak ended with Daniel Bryan making Seth Rollins tap out in a six-man tag team match on SmackDown.
This did not affect the impact of The SHIELD, however, and Rollins and Reigns would go on to have an entertaining reign with the championships (on the contrary, Ambrose’s reign has been highly criticised as he didn’t defend the title too often).
One of their most famous title defenses was against The Usos at Money In The Bank, which was the opening match, but arguably stole the show. It was a fifteen-minute masterpiece that had fans on the edge of their seats and showcased exactly what Reigns and Rollins are capable of doing. It portrayed why The Shield were great heels. They weren’t the cowardly type, they were the ruthless type, and that’s what made them special. It was apparent that if those three men had each other’s backs, they were as good as anyone could be.
Tension and eventual babyface turn
Rollins and Reigns lost their championships at Battleground but would advance, ironically, into a feud against CM Punk, in which they lost to him in a three-on-one match at TLC. This was due to Roman Reigns accidentally delivering a Spear to Dean Ambrose, and that led to some arguments within the stable.
Seth Rollins played the role of desperately trying to keep the group together, and succeeded, as The Shield then turned face. This made a match against The New Age Outlaws and Kane at WrestleMania XXX, in which they demolished their opponents.
The next night on Raw, however, The SHIELD was elevated to all new heights. After Triple H, Batista and Randy Orton proceeded to attack Daniel Bryan, the trio made their way down to help Bryan and initiated a feud with the immediately reformed Evolution. What made this special was the nostalgia and the old vs new feel, and clearly, the new was made to look the better side here.
Their first match was at Extreme Rules, in which the highlight of the match was Rollins taking out Triple H and Orton by diving off a balcony, somewhere in the crowd. This led to Reigns delivering a Spear and pinning Batista, both of whom were left in the ring.
After that spectacle, we were treated to one more, when The Shield got their first taste of the main event, as they had a clean sweep over Evolution in an elimination match at Payback, in which the highlight was Seth Rollins flying off the entrance Titantron.
It was at this point that The SHIELD was the force to be reckoned with. The took out the boss, the viper and the animal twice in a row, and in dominant fashion. Seth Rollins was made to look like a beast with his stunts, and overall, the crowds were loving the unit more than ever. Everything seemed right, or so we thought. Everything was assumingly perfect, until...
That fateful night in Indianapolis
Even though there were rumours running wild that someone from the Shield was going to turn heel and end the faction for good, they were dismissed by many because of how over The Shield was at the time. The rumours also mostly pointed to Dean Ambrose being the culprit, and some towards Roman Reigns.
What happened was something very few people foresaw, and almost everyone couldn’t believe.
After Batista was written off television to allow him to attend public promotions for Guardians Of The Galaxy, Triple H said there was a ‘Plan B’. At the end of the night, when The SHIELD was in the ring, with Seth Rollins holding a chair, that Plan B unfolded. While Orton and Triple H watched on from the entrance ramp, Seth Rollins would proceed to attack Reigns with the chair, and then Ambrose.
At the end of the night, Seth Rollins, the man who claims to have created The SHIELD, the one who was the cohesion, the one who tried to keep the stable together through a rough phase, was the one who well and truly destroyed it.
Money In The Bank and ascent to the top
Seth Rollins would go on to feud with Dean Ambrose immediately following the collapse of The Shield, and both men would be inserted into the Money In The Bank ladder match, with the focus of the match being around both men. After an entertaining sequence, Ambrose seemed poised to win the contract, but Kane would come out (being a part of The Authority) and assist Rollins to the victory. It seemed more fit for Rollins, being a heel, and a sneaky heel at that.
Ambrose and Rollins would go on the feud for numerous months, putting on the most entertaining Lumberjack match of all time at SummerSlam and producing a masterpiece in the main event of Hell In A Cell, in which Rollins emerged victorious (with help) in every match. Following, Rollins would captain Team Authority in the Survivor Series main event, in a losing effort, and would lose to John Cena at TLC.
According to the stipulation of the match, Cena would go on to face Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble. However, Triple H inserted Rollins into this match, being the boss. How was Seth Rollins vs Brock Lesnar vs John Cena at the Royal Rumble? It was a match that changed Rollins forever.
Not only was Rollins the most active in the match, he pulled off the biggest spots. First, delivered an elbow drop on Brock Lesnar, through the announcer table, and then delivered his first Phoenix Splash in WWE to John Cena. Even though Brock Lesnar pinned him, it put Seth Rollins on the map and is considered by many as the greatest Triple Threat ever.
Then came WrestleMania 31. Rollins had a match with Orton, which was the second of the night, and even though he lost, it was one of the biggest nights of his career.
Winning the big gold, and then the bigger gold
Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumble this year, and many people were extremely unhappy with it. WWE had to pull off something incredible to have its fans happy, and it did.
The main event was good in itself, with Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar putting on a hard-hitting slugfest, and eventually, both men were down, covered in blood and apparently unbeatable. Then, Seth Rollins’ music hit and he ran down the ramp like he had never run before, and cashed in his Money In The Bank contract, and oddly turned the match into a Triple Threat.
After delivering a Curb-Stomp to Brock Lesnar, he tried to hit another one but was caught by Brock in mid-air. Before Lesnar could deliver an F5, Reigns speared Lesnar, taking him out, and Rollins delivered a Curb Stomp to Reigns, pinning him and winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Within two and a half years, Seth Rollins had captured the biggest prize, and he was the first of his SHIELD brethren to do so. He had stolen that claim from Roman Reigns in the process.
This began a classic heel run with the championship, which many people hate, which is exactly why it is such a great heel run. His first defense was against Randy Orton, in which he debuted the Pedigree as his new finished and beat Orton using an RKO. He pinned Orton again in a Fatal Four Way involving Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose at Payback (which also had a Triple Powerbomb with which everyone lost their minds), and would continue to feud with Dean Ambrose until Brock Lesnar returned.
Even though Lesnar destroyed Rollins, he still disappeared (quite literally) with the gold, and would meet John Cena in a title-for-title match at SummerSlam, in which he also emerged victorious, making him the Champion Of Champions at the moment.
Now, Seth Rollins is set to face Sting at Night Of Champions, and that is an honour in itself. WWE has believed in Seth Rollins and it has paid off. There is no better way WWE could have used Rollins, even if they tried to.
