Why WWE Are Making A Huge Mistake With Seth Rollins
Some of the issues attached to his difficult run as Champion were hiding in plain sight for years before finally toppled Brock Lesnar twice in 2019.
A 'Monday Night Rollins' run seemed to push quantity over quality - Rollins broke longevity records in the ring and sweated half to death in various iron man-style encounters, but on at least two notable occasions, the effort was for naught. He didn't win an exhausting hour+ gauntlet match on Raw, and within days of it happening nobody really cared. Midway through a 30-minute pay-per-view main event with Dolph Ziggler, fans were so bored that they started chanting along with the scoreboard clock. WWE, foreshadowing the thumb they'd try and put on their audience with Rollins the following year, switched it off as a result.
Opening WrestleMania 35 rather than closing it, Seth had the benefit of a hot crowd and unique booking to ensure his pop was maximised, but that was horribly diluted just two months removed from the moment. A first defence against AJ Styles was thrilling but proved to be an outlier, not least when WWE discovered that they had a golden couple.
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