Seth Rollins had a hell of a twelve months in 2014. In the first half of the year, he rose to the summit of WWE as part of The Shield - one of the most dominant professional wrestling stables in a long time. Then, the night after his team's huge win over Evolution at the Payback pay-per-view event, Rollins blasted Roman Reigns in the back with a steel chair - bringing The Shield to an end and aligning with the Authority. Since then, Rollins has excelled at the heart of Triple H's corporate faction. He picked up the Money in the Bank briefcase, earning him a guaranteed shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and main-evented consecutive PPVs towards the end of 2014. There's little doubt that the alliance with the Authority has given Rollins time in the spotlight and allowed him to nurture a heel persona that few thought he could convey as well as his Shield companion, Dean Ambrose. Rollins had been lacking in forward momentum since the dismissal of the Authority in the wake of Survivor Series. However, on the December 15 episode of Raw, Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman interfered in the main event steel cage match between Rollins and John Cena to hand the victory to the Architect. It later emerged that Rollins had orchestrated the entire attack, forming an alliance that fed into the return of the Authority on the December 29 episode of Raw. This new partnership opens up a whole new set of possibilities for Rollins' character. The situation creates interesting dramatic potential between Heyman, Rollins and the former ECW promoter's current client, WWE champ Brock Lesnar, in the lead-up to WrestleMania 31. In the meantime, though, a union with Paul Heyman can only be a good thing for Seth Rollins.
Freelance film journalist and fan of professional wrestling. Usually found in a darkened screening room looking for an aisle seat and telling people to put away their mobile phones. Also known to do a bit of stand-up comedy, so I'm used to the occasional heckle.
