5 WWE backstage secrets that Seth Rollins revealed

Along with establishing himself as one of the best in-ring performers of the decade in WWE, Seth Rollins is also one of the few Superstars who regularly reveals the real-life stories behind some of his most famous moments throughout his career so far.

There have been several memorable milestones in the Shield member’s six-and-a-half years on the main roster, starting with his debut at Survivor Series 2012 when he joined forces with Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose for the first time to attack Ryback in the show’s main event.

Since then, he has been a constant presence on WWE programming, becoming a Grand Slam Champion in the process, as well as the winner of the 2014 Money In The Bank and 2019 Royal Rumble. Simply put, Rollins is one of the most decorated champions of his generation.

In this article, let’s take a look at five backstage secrets that “The Architect” has revealed in media interviews.

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#5 Randy Orton was wary about the WM31 RKO spot

One of the best moments from WrestleMania 31 came when Randy Orton countered a Curb Stomp from Seth Rollins by launching his opponent high into the air before slamming him back down to the mat with a sensational RKO.

Speaking on Talk Is Jericho, Rollins revealed that he originally ran the idea by Cesaro and Joey Mercury. Both men thought the move would work, but it turned out that Rollins and Orton repeatedly failed to get the technique right almost every time they practised it.

Then, on the day of WrestleMania, Orton made the decision to take a risk and go ahead with the move.

Rollins said (quotes via Fox Sports):

"He was like ‘yeah… you know what? I always play it safe. I always play it safe every time. And that’s great, but… let’s just try it. To hell with it…. I have plenty of WrestleMania matches, they’re fine but I want to have [this]. Let’s just try it, if we can hit it it’ll be awesome, it’ll be the greatest thing. Let’s just do it.’"

#4 Vince McMahon forced him to redo a match

Stephanie McMahon often recalls a famous moment from earlier in her career when she was involved in a pre-recorded in-ring promo with Shane McMahon on SmackDown. The two McMahons returned to the backstage area after the segment, only for a furious Vince McMahon to send them back out to perform the entire promo again in front of the same audience.

Well, several years later, Seth Rollins was given exactly the same treatment.

In June 2014, shortly after he turned heel, Rollins defeated Kofi Kingston on SmackDown in what was supposed to be a squash match. However, Vince felt that the Shield member allowed Kingston too much offence, so he sent both men back out to redo the match.

Rollins said on E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness:

“I gave Kofi a little bit, made him look good, and I remember coming to the back thinking, 'Yeah, that was alright,' ... Vince is furious about it, just furious. He's like, 'Get over here,' and he's yelling at me, and he's like, 'If you're gonna be my guy, if you're gonna be my guy, that's not what I want,' and he shooed me out of [the] Gorilla [Position].”

He added that the incident made him feel “so angry and embarrassed” but it was a good learning experience.

#3 How the Curb Stomp returned

Shortly after WrestleMania 31, Vince McMahon informed Seth Rollins that he was no longer allowed to use the Curb Stomp due to the negative connotations of the move's name. The Shield member began to use the Pedigree as his new finisher, then the Ripcord Knee, and now he is allowed to use the Curb Stomp again, with the name changed simply to ‘the Stomp’.

Speaking to The Wrap, Rollins revealed that, while the Pedigree and Ripcord Knee worked just fine, he always wanted to bring back the Stomp because it was a move he was synonymous with when he won the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 31.

Regarding Vince's approval process, he explained:

“When it came down to it, I just went and asked him [Vince] a few years later. I said, 'Hey look, I want to do this. Give me reasons not to and I will tell you why you’re wrong and hopefully, we can meet in the middle.' He was on my side, I caught him on a good day. Luckily it’s back and hopefully, it’s not going anywhere.”

#2 He had a special poster in his office for four years

Seth Rollins memorably cashed in his Money In The Bank contract in the main event of WrestleMania 31, Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns, to win the WWE Championship for the first time in his career.

Three months later, Lesnar returned to WWE and immediately set his sights on Rollins, who was given the beastly task of facing the former champion in the main event of the Battleground pay-per-view. In the end, The Undertaker interfered in the match by attacking Lesnar, reviving their WrestleMania 30 rivalry.

Almost four years later, Rollins was preparing to face “The Beast” at WrestleMania 35 when he tweeted a picture of the Battleground 2015 poster, which he kept on a wall in his office as a permanent reminder of the path that he wants his career to go.

"I’ve had this in my office for nearly 4 years for a very specific reason. It’s a reminder of where I’ve been, but more importantly of where I want to be. In 8 days the world finally gets the right version of this fight. Redemption is upon us. Let’s take it back. #Wrestlemania"

I’ve had this in my office for nearly 4 years for a very specific reason. It’s a reminder of where I’ve been, but more importantly of where I want to be. In 8 days the world finally gets the right version of this fight. Redemption is upon us. Let’s take it back. #Wrestlemania pic.twitter.com/6zFr14ljgX

— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) March 30, 2019

#1 Dean Ambrose almost turned heel in 2014

One of the most controversial heel turns in WWE history took place in October 2018 when, on the same night that Roman Reigns revealed that his leukemia had returned, Dean Ambrose attacked Seth Rollins to become a heel for the first time in almost five years.

His subsequent heel run is widely regarded as one of the worst in recent WWE history – so much so that the man behind the character, Jonathan Good, has decided not to renew his WWE contract.

Speaking on the E&C Pod of Awesomeness, Rollins revealed that Ambrose was originally supposed to be the one to betray The Shield in late 2013/early 2014.

He explained:

"We had just come off this angle with CM Punk. I remember we did this 3-on-1 handicap match at TLC in December and we lost. They [WWE] were ready to split us up then, within the next month. I remember that was the plan.

"We were gonna break up and Ambrose was gonna turn. It was gonna be almost like thrown away. I remember we went to Hunter [Triple H] or Vince [McMahon] or somebody that makes decisions, and we were like, 'We can't do this, we're not ready for this right now, it's not the right time, we've got so much more to offer... we need to pull back on this a little bit.'"

In the end, Rollins turned heel in June 2014, while Ambrose remained a babyface until October 2018.