3 WWE matches that Seth Rollins loved and 2 that he disliked

Seth Rollins has been a constant presence in WWE storylines ever since he made his main-roster debut in November 2012.

Along the way, the former Shield member has won the Universal Championship (x1), World Heavyweight Championship (x2), Intercontinental Championship (x2), United States Championship (x1) and Tag Team Championship (x4), as well as the 2014 Money In The Bank and 2019 Royal Rumble.

Needless to say, the man we now know as “The Beastslayer” has been involved in several show-stealing matches along the way, including his very first WWE match when he teamed with his Shield brothers, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose, for the first time to defeat Ryback, Daniel Bryan & Kane in a six-man TLC tag match in December 2012.

While Rollins has had plenty of moments that have been memorable for all the right reasons, his longevity as a prominent character on WWE programming means that it is only natural that he has been involved in some matches that he was not so fond of.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at three matches that Rollins loved and two that he disliked.

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#5 Loved: The Shield’s debut

One of the best WWE matches of 2012 came at the TLC pay-per-view in December when Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose made their in-ring debut as a trio to defeat Ryback, Daniel Bryan & Kane.

The match was the first TLC encounter in history which did not involve the participants climbing a ladder to retrieve a title, and the unique match type certainly did not disappoint.

Rollins’ performance was particularly memorable, as he was sent crashing through a set of tables from the top of a ladder near the stage area.

Asked about his favourite Shield memory during the trio’s final interview together, he said:

“I’m still partial to our first match at Barclays [Center] with [Team] Hell No and Ryback. That one just really hits me. Everything was on the line for me. If we went out there and dropped the bomb, not only was the audience going to lose faith in us but backstage we wouldn’t have any confidence. We would not be where we are if we went out there and laid an egg on that one.”

#4 Disliked: Kofi Kingston match (SmackDown)

Between Seth Rollins’ heel turn in early June 2014 and his Money In The Bank triumph in late June 2014, he faced Kofi Kingston in a relatively meaningless match during a SmackDown taping.

The former Shield member was essentially told to ‘squash’ his opponent, but Rollins respected Kingston and allowed him some offence during their three-minute match.

This frustrated Vince McMahon, who yelled at Rollins backstage and instructed the two competitors to go back out in front of the same audience and redo the match.

“The BeastSlayer” recalled the incident during an interview on Edge & Christian’s ‘Pod of Awesomeness’:

"I was so angry and embarrassed. I was almost ready to walk out and not do it, like, 'Never in my life, never should this happen to me,' but it was such a learning experience in retrospect that it's okay to screw up sometimes."

#3 Loved: WrestleMania 34

Seth Rollins’ babyface turn in late 2016 did not go exactly as planned. While he still had support from many WWE fans, it felt as though his switch from heel to face was too sudden and it took a long time for the majority of the fanbase to get on board with his character.

Fast forward to early 2018, Rollins really began to capture the audience’s attention when he lasted over an hour in a gauntlet match on Raw. However, he was still not featured in a major storyline heading into WrestleMania 34.

Speaking on Edge & Christian’s ‘Pod of Awesomeness’, he revealed that he was the one who pitched the idea about working with The Miz and Finn Balor in an Intercontinental Championship match at the event.

"I wasn't ready to be the guy at WrestleMania but I felt like, with the Intercontinental Championship, some characters, particularly The Miz and Finn Balor... these are guys who I can play off, so I pitched the idea to work with Miz at WrestleMania. That worked out great and we ended up getting Finn in there. Finn and I had some excellent chemistry. Miz is fantastic, as always, and the three of us came together and we had a really good WrestleMania match."

#2 Disliked: Ironman match

WWE took the unusual approach of headlining the Extreme Rules 2018 pay-per-view with the Intercontinental Championship Ironman match between Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler, as opposed to the WWE Championship match between AJ Styles and Rusev.

In terms of drama, the company’s decision-makers made the right call to close the show with the 30-minute Ironman match. However, the encounter was essentially hijacked by the crowd, who counted down from 10-1 every time a new minute ticked over on the big screen.

WWE attempted to stop this from happening by removing the minutes and seconds from the screen, distracting both competitors in the process, while fans in attendance began to count along from 10-1 by using timers on their phones instead.

Rollins, who lost the match 5-4 after sudden death overtime, spoke about the chaotic match on Lilian Garcia’s ‘Chasing Glory’ podcast:

“Sometimes I don’t understand the, ‘I’m gonna be here bored, you’ve been sitting there for five hours, just trying to find anything to keep yourself entertained’, but I never understood the concept of coming to the show and doing anything other than watching the show. I don’t know, I can’t imagine it, but whatever. It is what it is. They pay the money, they can do what they want.”

#1 Loved: WrestleMania 31

When Seth Rollins calls time on his WWE career, the closing stages of WrestleMania 31 will almost certainly go down as his greatest moment.

Having started the night by losing to Randy Orton after one of the most spectacular RKOs in history, “The Architect” cashed in his Money In The Bank contract during the main event between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career.

What made the moment even more special is the fact that, following his match against Orton, Rollins had not yet been told by WWE’s decision-makers that he was going to cash in at the end of the show.

Regarding his famous ‘Mania moment, Rollins told news.com.au:

"That seems pretty surreal to me. I think back at my classic moments, you have that one, The Rock-Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior-Hulk Hogan, The Rock-Stone Cold Steve Austin. To think that you're in the same company as those, to be in that conversation, it's pretty wild."