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The Wrestling Observer Newsletter has reported lately that WWE is trying to desperately make a change to Seth Rollins' character. This stemmed from the 29th July episode of RAW, where Rollins had a rather funny interaction with the NXT Tag Team Champions The Street Profits. Cageside Seats wrote
Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE is “desperately” trying to make Seth Rollins cool, and that’s why he had the interaction with The Street Profits on Raw this week.'
You can watch the segment here.
Now, we do admit that the segment was absolutely entertaining and that The Street Profits have added good value since joining the main roster. However, is it necessary to force Seth Rollins to look "cool"?
Either way, that's not our decision and at this stage, all we can do is speculate five reasons why WWE is desperately trying to change Seth Rollins' character.
#5. He isn't pulling high numbers at live events
Live event attendance matters a lot to WWE and the main champion heading in is considered the leading star and draw. Unfortunately, Seth Rollins has historically become the lowest-drawing World Champion at live events, averaging an attendance of just 3,334 fans per event - lower than even Jinder Mahal (who averaged 3,497 on a weaker brand). This stat is brought to you by wrestling analyst and Twitter user nWo Wolfpac TV
Now don't get us wrong - we're not solely blaming Rollins for the attendance going down. The product as a whole hasn't been too strong despite having 2 consecutive PPVs that delivered big time.
There have been improvements in terms of the quality in the last month or so, but it's too early to say. Creative hasn't done Seth Rollins any justice as well.
#4. He has become a bit stale as a babyface
Seth Rollins took quite a bit of time to find his footing as a babyface. He turned in late August 2016 and it was really only in 2018 early on where he truly began to find his momentum as a babyface.
That momentum is what led him all the way to WrestleMania 35 and the Universal Championship, but lately, he seems to have lost a bit of that footing again. Now, we're not blaming Seth Rollins by any means.
Perhaps this is an indicator that he is better of as a heel, or perhaps the Becky Lynch storyline didn't really do any favours for either of them as characters. However, Seth Rollins has lost a bit of his momentum as a babyface and perhaps that's why WWE is trying desperately to make him look cool and regain that lost momentum.
#3. He lacks an edge that other top stars of the past had
This is an absolutely undeniable fact about not just Seth Rollins, but a lot of top superstars of today. While we admittedly can't fully blame them, the fact of the matter is that there aren't really any top stars today that have the edge in their character that many top stars of the past.
If you look at all the major all-time greats of the past, particularly post-New Generation Era, you'll find that each of the top star had something about them that stood out and at the end of it, they had an edge to their character that complimented them.
Seth Rollins, unfortunately, does not have this edge to his character. He did have an edge about himself as a heel, but replicating that as a babyface is no easy feat. That could be one of the reasons why they want him to look cool.
Also read: 5 superstars who could be Roman Reigns' mystery attacker
#2. His recent comments against Jon Moxley have turned people against him
There's no denying that Seth Rollins hasn't exactly gained fans after his latest comments on Jon Moxley and defending Vince McMahon. To put it specifically, here is what he said:
“I’ve kept enough tabs on him to know he’s doing super well for himself right now, and I’m happy for that, but I just don’t think there’s any reason to hop on a soapbox and complain after the fact. You need to take the first step, and that’s looking in the mirror and asking yourself, ‘Did you do every single thing you possibly could to make yourself and your situation what you want it to be?’ And if the answer is, ‘Yes, you did,’ then you can go elsewhere and complain. If that’s where he’s at mentally, then go right ahead. But if he hasn’t done that, he hasn’t looked in the mirror and made the decision, then maybe he should think about that.”
It became clear that WWE fans weren't happy about these comments and Rollins himself admitted that in the eyes of the internet, he had "already turned heel".
#1. A way to prevent WWE from resorting to a heel turn
We can completely understand WWE's hesitancy towards turning Seth Rollins heel. Ever since Roman Reigns announced his battle with leukemia, Rollins was the no-brainer #1 choice to take his spot.
Now, even though Roman Reigns has returned, there's a bit of uncertainty still. While WWE is being very careful with pushing Reigns now, they know that his time is limited, with Reigns even stating on one occasion that he estimates he'll work full-time for WWE for another 5 years or so (granted his health is fine).
Seth Rollins is the obvious defacto pick to take that spot and now holds more value to WWE as a babyface - so they'll do everything they can to desperately prevent turning him heel. As we said, we can't really blame them in this case, but they need to build more top babyfaces.
