Undoubtedly one of the most exciting angles in recent Raw history occurred on the Aug. 29 edition, which saw Triple H return to WWE TV for the first time in five months to help Kevin Owens capture the WWE Universal Championship.
Monday nights have since become home to the Kevin Owens Show, and rightfully so. Owens has been one of the most entertaining aspects of the flagship show for some time now and thus has long deserved to be at the elite level atop the card.
But one thing that has been almost completely overlooked coming out of that monumental milestone has been that Seth Rollins at long last is a babyface, a role that has suited him since the start.
Rollins spent the better part of his NXT stint as a fan favorite and quickly ascended the ranks, becoming the promotion's inaugural NXT champion shortly following his debut. As soon as he arrived on the main roster, however, he was cast as a heel as part of The Shield along with Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns.
Embracing the heel persona
The writing was on the wall in regards to what would happen to each member of The Shield once they went their separate ways: Reigns would be a main event caliber competitor, Ambrose would flourish as a hated heel, and Rollins would thrive as a babyface.
Granted, Reigns did ultimately wind up in the WWE World Championship picture, but Ambrose and Rollins had their spots switched. Ambrose organically got over as a fan favorite in singles competition while Rollins instantly generated heel heat when he joined forces with The Authority.
Although his flashy move set has always painted him as the perennial babyface, he without a doubt found his footing as a vindictive villain almost immediately. His mic work started out slightly shaky, but as he became more comfortable, he embraced his inner jerk and evolved into the best bad guy in the entire organization.
A missed opportunity
There were few better than Rollins in 2015, especially when he ran the joint for a whopping seven months as WWE World champion. It was only after he suffered a serious injury at the tail end of the year and it was revealed he would be out for many months that the tides turned against him.
The story essentially wrote itself: Rollins was forced to relinquish the prestigious prize as a result of his extensive surgery, and when he resurfaced he would be a babyface. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and the WWE Universe was ready for Rollins to take his place as the company's top face.
Despite Rollins receiving a raucous reaction from a rowdy Newark, NJ crowd in his initial appearance back from injury, WWE was determined to keep him a heel for the foreseeable future. They refused to listen to their audience and Rollins remained an antagonist for months before plans changed due to Finn Balor getting hurt at SummerSlam.
Better late than never
With Raw needing a new top babyface, they looked to Rollins to fill the vacancy, which was long overdue. Nevertheless, it was better late than never and WWE officially pulled the trigger with Rollins' anticipated face turn at the end of August.
Everyone was excited about the idea of Rollins feuding with Owens over the WWE Universal Championship, and so far, it has been an enjoyable rivalry. Their Clash of Champions encounter may not have lived up to the lofty expectations of many, but I'm positive they will contest an even better bout at Hell in a Cell next month.
That said, the biggest problem this program is that fans don't have much of an incentive to cheer Rollins at this point in time. They want to rally behind him, and perhaps his latest loss to Owens at Sunday's pay-per-view will cause him to become a sympathetic figure in the eyes of the audience, but he has yet to have that one memorable moment to cement his status as a babyface.
The promo that would solidify the turn
Sure, jumping off the stage and off the top of steel cages is cool and all, but he is no different than he was at this time a year ago. I understand it would have been illogical for him to undergo a complete character change overnight, but the seeds should be planted for him to be a more likable figure for the fans.
His exceptional in-ring work makes it relatively easy for fans to cheer him, but his championship chase will not fulfill its full potential until he cuts a promo that solidifies him as a good guy. Thankfully, there is plenty of time between now and Hell in a Cell to accomplish that, so it isn't too late whatsoever.
Once he is able to overcome that obstacle, sky is the limit for what he can accomplish as the breakout babyface he was destined to be.
