Opinions

DeMarco: I Acknowledge You, Seth Rollins

Greg DeMarco

While the word “Acknowledge” is often thrown around WWE, Greg DeMarco thinks it’s time we acknowledge Seth Rollins!

For some of you, this is the first time you’ve read a Greg DeMarco column. If so, please know one thing: I am acknowledging Seth Rollins for many reasons–but I am not acknowledging him as my (or anyone’s) Tribal Chief. So don’t yell at me…for that.

I’ll save the pleasantries for the bottom of my first column at NoDQ, but know I am happy to be here, and excited to entertain you through my writing. Hopefully, you’ll either love it or hate it–just care!

Now then, let’s talk about the man who is getting a ton of love and respect right now–and it’s probably still not enough: Seth Freakin’ Rollins.

Seth Rollins Was The WWE WrestleMania 40 MVP

The tweet above says it all, but damnit it’s true. And it’s not even an arguable point in my opinion When Seth Rollins was–to me–randomly shoehorned into the WrestleMania program between The Rock, Roman Reigns, and Cody Rhodes, I was honestly taken aback.

“Why in the world is Seth Rollins part of the Las Vegas Press Conference?”

I was also a little miffed that Rollins was largely portrayed as a side show act to Cody Rhodes. There were times that Rollins, as World Heavyweight Champion, entered to Cody’s theme song. (Speaking of theme songs, check out Mr. Tito’s outstanding column on the topic of modern day theme songs.)

It was so odd to me that Seth Rollins was part of all of this that I swore (like many others) that Rollins was in this so he could turn on Cody Rhodes, adding yet another twist to the story that, in hindsight, might have been too gut-wrenching for some to handle. Instead, it should have been “In Triple H We Trust (As Long As It’s Not The Women’s Division*)” because Rollins was likely headed to the injured reserve for a bit, so they were going to maximize him on the way out.

And maximize him they did! Seth Rollins:

  • Added an extra layer of intrigue to Cody’s attempt to Finish The Story.
  • Put in major effort to help get Drew McIntyre even more over (this was the best work of Drew’s career, by the way).
  • Gave The Rock tons of promo ammunition (like he needed it).
  • Continued to be Seth Freakin’ Rollins every step of the way, and stand out in the crowd that included The Rock, Cody Rhodes, and Roman Reigns.
  • Wrestled a 45-minute WrestleMania main event  with a bad back and injured knee.
  • Came back to open up Night 2 and put Drew McIntyre over (which, in turn, put over CM Punk and ultimately Damian Priest–the latter doing what only Rollins’ had ever done and cashed in Money In The Bank at WrestleMania).
  • Hobbled his way to the ring in full Shield gear (and theme) as a call back to one of the greatest stables in WWE history (The Shield) and one of the most fun rivalries of the past few years (Seth vs Roman from the 2022 Royal Rumble).
Seth Rollins Entrance, WWE Royal Rumble 2022
Seth Rollins Entrance, WWE Royal Rumble 2022, credit: WWE

In the end, Seth Rollins was indeed Cody Rhodes’ “Shield,” sacrificing himself so Cody could become the WWE Champion when Roman Reigns elected to blast Rollins with a chair instead of Cody (which Rollins, despite being in immense pain, sold perfectly in a callback from his destruction of The Shield a decade prior).

After WrestleMania 40, Cody Rhodes left with the WWE Championship, Drew McIntyre got his moment in front of 72k+ people, Roman Reigns became arguably the most revered champion in WWE history, The Rock proved he still had it, and Seth Rollins was left with… nothing.

What’s Next For Seth Rollins?

As reported on Friday, Seth Rollins underwent meniscus surgery on Tuesday, April 16, putting him on the shelf for an as-of-yet unspecified amount of time. According to Tyler Wheeler, a sports medicine physician and adjunct faculty member at Emory University School Of Medicine (via WebMD), “If you have a partial or total meniscectomy, you can expect your recovery to take about a month. If your meniscus was repaired, it may take as long as 3 months.”

Plus you have rehab and training, meaning the worst case scenario could be a 9-month recovery for Rollins (and a Royal Rumble return?). It also means a world of opportunity for Rollins upon return, whenever that is.

  • Feud with Roman Reigns? Absolutely!
  • Title shot at Cody Rhodes? It’s warranted.
  • What about a brief alliance with Roman Reigns opposite “The New Bloodline?” I could buy it.
  • Showdown with The Rock? Why not!
  • Start something new with a clean slate? Also an option.

No matter what happens, when Seth Rollins returns (you have to think he’ll re-sign with WWE, along with Becky Lynch), he will be granted a much deserved heroes welcome and will be perfectly positioned for whatever plan WWE has set for him.

Seth Rollins left WrestleMania a broken man who will need time away from the business he loves, and he left it better than he found it. He was the ultimate company guy, and did everything to put everybody else over.

And for that, we should all acknowledge him as our Visionary and our Revolutionary.

Corny? Yes. Appropriate? Also yes.

Bonus Coverage

Each column I do, you can usually expect some extras “down under” because I love to give you more bang for your buck. Sometimes it’s a bonus opinion, might be some shills, but know it’s all important to me.

I also podcast regularly, and this past week The Greg DeMarco Show featured a great discussion with my friend Rob The Genius about the numbers side of wrestling, and which ones really matter. Give it a listen here.

Continuing the trend started on Raw, the Smackdown Tag Team Champions Austin Theory and Grayson Waller (“A Town Down Under”) were rebranded the WWE Tag Team Champions and presented with new titles. And those belts sure are nice!

Some of my podcast friends, the DWI Podcast (I’ll let you guess what DWI stands for), are already looking ahead to the inevitable returns of The Rock and Roman Reigns, along with The Bloodline Civil War. Give them a listen here.

On Friday night, WWE released several superstars, including Veer, Sanga, Xia Li, Xyon Quinn, and most notably former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal. It’ll probably be a later column, but I am a huge fan of Jinder, and called his mega push in 2017 after he made Rob Gronkowski look like a million bucks in the WrestleMania 33 Andre The Royal Giant Memorial Battle Rumble (patent pending). He made plenty of money in his second chance, and will undoubtedly land on his feet.

Several members of the NoDQ YouTube crew joined Aaron Rift to compile their predictions for the AEW Dynasty PPV. How did they do? Find out here. Or here.

A Little About Me

I plan to spend the bottom of the column to introduce myself to you over the next few installments of this. For starters, I do run a wrestling promotion in Phoenix, Arizona–IZW Wrestling. Our next event is on May 11, and if you are in or around the Phoenix area, we would love to have you! You can get more information at IZWTix.com.

I also love the comments section, so have at it. I always do my best to interact, because that’s what it is all about.

And if you’re so inclined, toss a follow my way on Twitter (or, sigh, X) at @gregdemarco44.

Until next time…Always Use Your Head!