Ahead of the WWE Universal Championship match this Sunday at SummerSlam, former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins was interviewed by ESPN. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
Upon being asked what can we expect to see from Rollins at SummerSlam, the former champion said that we can expect to see a big match. He said:
"Mostly what you can expect -- a big match, Seth Rollins, WWE Universal Championship, the first time against Finn Balor. Aside from him being a tremendous opponent, I just think you're going to see me go out there and deliver in big match situations, so I'm looking forward to the energy and the crowd and the match itself."
Rollins who faced John Cena last year at SummerSlam is now finding himself in a situation where he is still in the main event but this time, he is the one with the experience in front of Finn Balor who made his main roster debut just 4 weeks ago.. So he was asked how it feels to be on the other side and he said that feels excited:
"It's super-exciting for me, actually, to be on the other side of the coin. it's crazy, you know, how much can change in a year. I'm looking forward to that challenge because it's a new challenge for me; it's not something I'm used to. And now in the locker room, I'm almost a veteran at this point, which is just wild with all the new guys coming up and stuff like that. For me, it's a tremendous honor.
While talking about the incident this past Monday Night on Raw where a fan jumped over the guardrail from the crowd and entered the ring during Seth's promo, the former NXT star said that in such situations, the promo becomes secondary:
"You just have to assess the situation quickly. It's live television. You know, obviously, the promo becomes secondary. You have to make sure you're safe, that he's safe, or she's safe if it's a woman that jumps in the ring, um, but you just got to make sure that everything's kosher, and then, you know, try to go on with the promo and match or the story or whatever you're trying to do there. So you just got to take a step back for a minute and make sure that everybody's cool."
As seen on Raw, Rollins not only tackled the fan during the incident but also completed his promo and the segment brilliantly. When asked how he deals with a situation like this the former Shield member said:
“You know, I'm a professional. I've been doing this for a long time, so for me, it was kind of easy just to -- once I realized what was happening -- to kind of flip the switch and go back into promo mode. So it took us out of the moment for a second, but you flip the switch and you're right back in."
Along with this Rollins also talked about his knee injury, praised his SummerSlam opponent Finn Balor saying that he is one of the most polished performers they have and more.
