If WWE Was Being Honest About Seth Rollins

The Bray Wyatt programme was deeply forgettable, but no real condemnation of his form. It was only when paired once more with Dean Ambrose that Rollins rediscovered his mojo. The Rollins of old - the Rollins boasting a kinetic energy calibrated to pop even the most deflated of WWE fans - rose from the ashes with the help of his old Shield stablemate.

Still, questions remained. Rollins, borrowing heavily from the arsenals of Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kenny Omega, resembled a composite New Japan Pro Wrestler at times - a pale imitation even, gauging by his woeful approximation of the Cleaner’s V-Trigger. Where Omega created a sickening audio effect even photographic scrutiny cannot explain, Rollins barely drew a pop with a move oddly referred to as “the Knee”. The move was a placeholder, much like the man who performed it was.

Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose Vs. The Bar was superb, breathless stuff. Ironically, the bad luck that had undermined Rollins turned at No Mercy, in which Cesaro planted his front teeth into his gum. This grisly, unplanned moment cemented the series as something bruising and memorable. This became a theme; the subsequent, “snake-bit” Shield reunion did not curb Seth’s momentum.

Seth Rollins was stronger than fate. Seth Rollins, propped up in storylines by the Authority in 2015, and his best friend two years later, needed nobody other than himself to get over.

All the way over.

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