MR. TITO: How to Repair Seth Rollins’ WWE Character
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It’s time to take a pause from the usual review of Current Events and reach out a helping hand… For years, I’ve observed one highly talented individual just stumbling from one bad character to another. Meanwhile, he just can’t get enough of roasting wrestling fans on Social Media whenever to criticisms are too harsh. Yet, when you look at the actual talent that he has, what a good guy he is outside of the ring, and the desperate need for a top guy that the WWE has, it’s a shame that Seth Rollins isn’t a bigger star.
For today, I’m here to help…
Just like I did with my How to Push Big E in the WWE, I’m going to advise the WWE on how to FIX Seth Rollins. In my opinion, he is in dire need of repair with regards to his character and presentation. He’s still a great wrestler and still a great talker… But it is how he is presented.
In my opinion, Seth Rollins‘s career may have peaked at Wrestlemania 31 during 2015. If you’ll recall for that event, it was headlined by Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar. Reigns was being booed heavily for winning the 2015 Royal Rumble at a time when he was still too green in the ring yet he was receiving all kinds of booking favors during the prior year. For example, Roman was the only one who pinned CM Punk out of the 3 members of the Shield. Then for the Shield vs. Evolution tag matches at 2 separate Pay Per Views, Roman scored the winning pins in both matches. After those 2 Shield Tag Matches, Roman ignored the fact that Seth Rollins broke up the shield and went on to receive 2 straight World Title shots at Pay Per Views. Then, he defeats Randy Orton cleanly at SummerSlam 2015. After being injured for 3 months after the Orton feud, the WWE gave him the Slammy for “Wrestler of the Year”. Fans began revolting on Roman Reigns as the next babyface project shoved down their throat.
Seth Rollins held the Money in the Bank briefcase on June 29th, 2014 and held on to that damn thing until cashing it in DURING the Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns match at Wrestlemania 31. Somehow, this morphed the match into a Triple Threat and with one big CURB STOMP to Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins became WWE Champion and the fans in San Francisco went bananas! It was a huge pop to join the match and then it was a huge pop to steal the title out of Roman’s hands.
So how do you follow that?
Well first, the WWE banned Seth Rollins from using his Curb Stomp finisher. That happened immediately despite him winning the WWE Title with that very move. The complaint was over the name “Curb Stomp” which involves a violent act of placing someone’s mouth onto a curb and then stomping it to cause severe injuries or even death. If you have ever watched the film American History X, you’ll see a violent depiction of this act.
Instead of just renaming the “Curb Stomp” as something else like “Seth Stomp” or as it is called to today, the “Black Out”, WWE outright banned the move from ever being performed by Rollins. Making matters worse, Rollins tried to deny that it was banned but then proceeds to work most of 2015-2017 without even trying the move again. Instead, his new finisher became the freakin’ Pedigree as he was a part of Triple H and Stephanie’s Authority stable. Rollins, as WWE Champion, was using someone else’s finisher…
Then, he started feuding with Corporate Kane. Just endless backstage bickering between these Authority co-workers and it went no where to help Rollins as WWE Champion.
2015 was the year where WWE RAW’s ratings began to fully slide from their 4 million viewers. On the ratings scale, WWE went from being around 3.00 on Nielsen Ratings to being consistently below 2.50 and would continue to keep sliding in viewership to this very day. WWE was no longer pushing John Cena as the top guy and “suspended” Brock Lesnar after he attacked everyone on Wrestlemania 31… Thus, much of this decline, fairly or unfairly, fell on Seth’s shoulders.
And he just never recovered from 2015…
He went back and forth on being a babyface or a heel… He reunited with the Shield briefly and that was fun. I liked his 2017 feud with Triple H, but that was a year or so too late to get revenge for the Authority days. Then, they flipped him into the Intercontinental scene during 2018 only to flip him into defeating Brock Lesnar TWICE during 2019. TWICE!!! And they follow that up with turning him into the “Monday Night Messiah”. You can just see that his booking is just all over the place… Is he he a heel or is he a face? Is he a friend of Triple H or is he not? Is he a talent fighting over the IC Title or can he legitimately defeat Brock Lesnar twice in a single year, the only man to do that. Hell, he technically has 3 wins over Lesnar if you count the Triple Threat from Wrestlemania 31.
On top of that, he gets snarky with wrestling fans on Social Media. Now, I understand what wrestlers go through, particularly on Social Media. That stuff gives fans too much access and way too much freedom to tell any celebrity what is on their mind. The problem repeatedly with Rollins is that he’ll be in the middle of a Babyface push but you wouldn’t know that based on how he is sniping ignorant wrestling fans on his Twitter account. And these aren’t just smartass replies, these are harsh replies in return.
And that is the big problem with Seth Rollins… His PRESENTATION.
Seth Rollins is a good guy outside of the ring, as he’s a devoted husband and now a proud parent. If you watched his My Son is a WWE Superstar, you’ll see that he’s not only loves his momma, but he room & boards the wrestlers that he’s training his wrestling school. In addition, Rollins is well liked backstage and was highly respected at previous stops before the WWE main roster (PWG, Ring of Honor, FCW/NXT). Even when an ex-girlfriend posted intimate pictures of herself and Seth, the WWE and most fans gave Seth the benefit of the doubt. Leaked stuff like that has BURIED other wrestlers. Not Seth because again, he’s well liked by other wrestlers and many understood who leaked the photos.
Yet, the Seth that you see responding to marks on Social Media or the Heel character that is whiny on the microphone is 100% contrary to the actual Colby Lopez (his real name). That’s 100% of the problem why his characters struggle to get over. They are characters conceived out of the WWE Creative Team meetings and he’s reading scripted lines. When he’s a babyface and thrashing marks on Social Media, once again, it’s not consistent with who Seth really is.
Now that I have added some context to what has been going wrong for Seth in the WWE since Wrestlemania 31 during 2015, it’s time to make suggestions of FIXES or REPAIRS to his WWE career. Again, I’m only here to help. Seth is about to turn 35 years old and thus still has about 10 prime years left in him. By fixing him now, he can return to the upward growth he experienced through early 2015. Most of what I’m about to say is to fix the presentation of Seth Rollins, as has the essential skills to return to being a top guy. What I fear is that nobody provides the right criticisms timely for Seth, he’ll continue to being an enhancement talent as seen by Wrestlemania 37.
WAYS TO REPAIR SETH ROLLINS
Find Better Theme Music
Both his “Burn it Down” theme and the Messiah music are hot garbage and as generic as humanly possible. That said, Seth Rollins suffers from what the entire roster suffers from and that is a lack of a good music producer on set to compose music that matches the wrestlers personality. That said, the creative on Seth Rollins since Wrestlemania 31 would probably confuse Jim Johnston if he were still around. Seth would have the same “Burn It Down” music whether he was a heel or a face.
Change-up Your Look
Seems like the WWE has many wrestlers who brunette, have long hair, and have a beard. They are everywhere in the WWE, as if that’s the only look that males go for in the United States. Wrong… When you start looking like the rest of the roster, it’s time to change up your look. I’m not exactly calling for the half blonde hairstyle again, but it was something that made Seth look unique at the time when being part of the Shield. Now, he just looks like a typical guy on the roster. When you look “typical”, you’re not standing out or looking “larger than life” to wrestling fans.
Embrace being married to Becky Lynch
Remember when the WWE began mentioning their relationship and even tried to weave it into storylines? Well, they halfassed it because they weren’t sure whether to go there or not… In the immortal words of Jim Ross, there is no such thing as half-pregnant. Either you are or aren’t. The WWE should make Seth Rollins’s character proud that he formed a relationship with Becky Lynch, got married, and fathered a child with her. Look at how Triple H has always embraced his relationship with Stephanie McMahon and how ridiculous the pair looked during 2002 when they were fake feuding. Finding love in the WWE should be an asset to market, not something to run away from.
Furthermore, here is something else to consider… Much of the WWE fanbase IS older, as the Forbes article laid out that the median age for WWE fans is actually 54 and that study was conducted during 2016. Thus, we’re all Dads and we can relate to attempting to juggle work and being a parent at the same time. Why not embrace who you’ve become? You’re a Dad, just like us… But the difference is that you can go into the ring and stomp the co-workers that hate you, we can’t. We can live vicariously through you.
More Psychology in Your Matches, Please
To me and this based on watching almost a hundred Seth Rollins matches by now on television or whatever, but he seems to be reliant on specific moves and high spots while bumping for his opponent to eventually get to the finish. There’s no psychology in between… When he’s a heel, he needs to be screaming in agony and begging for his life while torturing his babyface opponent with weardown moves or working on limbs. As a babyface, he needs to sell taking a beatdown until making a miracle of a comeback to potentially win the match. Much of Seth’s matches involves him trading moves as if he’s playing a tennis match, back and forth, back and forth.
The Move is called the CURB STOMP
I am so fed up with political correctness here, along with double standards. How is it that Roman Reigns can call his ring apron move the “Drive By” but Seth Rollins had to endure about 3 years of move censorship on even performing the “Curb Stomp” move, let alone calling it “Curb Stomp”. They call it the “Blackout” now and that is SO LAME. It just doesn’t have the sizzle as calling something after a violent street event. And again, this double standard of allowing a move to be called “Drive By” and not allowing “Curb Stomp”.
If remaining Heel, join Roman Reigns.
Right now, Seth Rollins is floundering as a heel on the Smackdown roster. If he were to remain a heel, why not reteam him with Roman Reigns as one of his top henchmen? And once Jimmy Uso is healthy, Roman will have a stable of 4 wrestlers. Within Roman’s stable, Rollins can just keep quiet and do his job as a loyal friend to Roman Reigns. Certainly, when the time is right, he could break away from the group. What Seth Rollins needs is some time to lay low and not expose his character with overdoing it on the microphone. Within Roman’s group, he can work as an upper midcarder and work matches against Roman’s future opponents before they work Roman.
Stop Calling Out Fans on Social Media
Especially when he was a babyface and in the midst of defeating Brock Lesnar twice in a single year, Seth Rollins was getting snippy with fans on Social Media who were trolling or attacking him. Here is what ALL wrestlers need to realize about Social Media wrestling fans: most of them LIKE you. You’re allowing the 1-2% haters to get under your skin and in the case of Seth Rollins, he’s publicly attacking them back. It just doesn’t look good… Seth should just ignore these basement dweller haters who make 1/100th of the salary he makes and couldn’t get a woman as hot as Becky Lynch even if they made as much as Seth does. Just use your Social Media account to promote the POSITIVES, such as what is happening with your character or if one of your followers sends you something really nice.
Also on this subject, let fans be critical and don’t embrace their criticisms… I attended WWE’s Extreme Rules 2018 and that was the infamous 30 Minute Iron Man Match between Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler where fans in attendance were trolling the match. Yeah, the fans could have been more professional, but there was a method to their madness. People have lost faith in Dolph Ziggler for a while based on how the WWE has booked him. The issue was the build towards the match and the lack of reasoning to even have an Iron Man Match. Had the match not been called “Extreme Rules”, they probably wouldn’t have selected a gimmick to fit being on that Pay Per View. Seth Rollins spoke out against fans regarding that match INSTEAD of going to WWE management and scolding them for putting himself and Dolph into an embarrassing situation.
In other words, Seth… Complain more behind close doors with WWE management and not publicly in front of fans!
Find a Submission Hold to Trademark
I recommend this for all wrestlers… Every wrestler should have a finishing move and then a submission hold to make them multi-dimensional on how to defeat opponents. On top of that, having a submission hold gives you a reason to work on a limb, or a back, or whatever to build up towards locking in that submission hold. I have seen him try a few leglocks, crossfaces, and sleeper holds, but nothing sticks and there aren’t any cool names to attach to it. Even with that black glove he wears, using that for something like the Claw or heartpunch (I know, not a submission hold) could work.
WWE needs to start to Brag about your big Victories
Seth Rollins actually has several major wins over bigtime stars… Yet, you never hear about it being promoted by the WWE itself. Sure, Seth’s snarky character would brag about it, but in that tone of voice, it went over everyone’s head. The WWE, themselves, never makes mention in a serious manner that Seth Rollins defeated Brock Lesnar TWICE in a single year. Furthermore, Seth has serious wins over John Cena and Triple H.
Embrace NXT Roots
Did you know that Seth Rollins was the first ever NXT Champion? Say what you will about NXT, but it is succeeding as a 3rd brand of the WWE. Had to start somewhere and Rollins would have remained champion if he didn’t later join the WWE for the Shield during 2012. Use the 1st ever champion to cross promote what he’s doing in the WWE with the NXT brand. Too often, the WWE acts like being from NXT is the “kiss of death” and that is probably because most NXT champions since Seth Rollins have failed hard as Main Eventers in the WWE. Seth is that exception to the rule and should be the guy to help promote both brands and the system of talent elevation.
Start saying “NO” backstage.
Seth Rollins has been in the WWE since late 2012 and is a multiple time champion. Why can’t you just say “no” from time to time with WWE Creative? Why can’t you say your own lines instead of the WWE Creative Team’s scripted garbage? You should be able to have a better say over your character as a veteran by now. Seth is a 15+ year veteran and a trusted WWE hand at this point. He should have some say over his what his character does, how they are presented, and what he says on the microphone. Monday Night Messiah was a dumb idea and pairing him with jobbers was even worse. Some of the stuff he said on the microphone was pure scripted garbage and made Seth look like a fool for over a year.
Needs Consistency of Character
As I said above, when he’s a babyface, he’ll attack fans on Social Media. That makes zero sense… But then when he’s a heel, the WWE will present behind-the-scenes footage of Seth being a good family man. His own Social Media confuses fans as well, as he’ll post family stuff in the midst of being a Monday Night Messiah. It is just inconsistency of character… Hence why the Undertaker rarely did interviews and stayed away from Social Media for all of his life. Hence why fans easily could “suspend disbelief” about his character for nearly 30 years. When fans see a glimpse of your real self on Social Media and/or behind the scenes WWE materials BUT then see the complete opposite on television with the Seth Rollins character, confusion happens and you cannot draw due to that inconsistency.
And finally…
No more Man Buns
Just stop it… Remember from my earlier discussion how the WWE seems to have a ton of long haired and bearded guys in the company? Well, they all seem to want to embrace the “Man Bun” hairstyle. You can’t say that it’s just a heel move, as Edge had the bun in his hair recently. Come on, man… Might as well go the full distance by sticking a pencil up there to hold up the bun, much like our OLDER FEMALE teachers used to do in school. And I understand the idea when heels do it, as they are trying to look obnoxious for the audience. But when you go to that well too often, it looks like you enjoy that hairstyle. Once again, however, it seems like a common hairstyle for the MANY guys on the WWE roster who have longer hair and are with beards. So why not try something different?
LAST WORD: I personally like Seth Rollins and have enjoyed him in the ring for many years. Fact is that I can name many great matches that I really liked and can go back to. The issue remains how inconsistent his character is and how he is presented by the WWE. Seth Rollins is a good dude and a tremendous in-ring talent, yet those assets aren’t always what the WWE wants you to see. The overall inconsistency with Seth Rollins as a character versus who he really is in real life is also harming him.
Hopefully, this column is helpful to Seth Rollins and the fans who support him… If not, I tried…
So just chill… Until the next episode!
Comments and feedback are welcome. Follow and Tweet me @titowrestling or login in below to post comments.
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