10 Wrestlers Who Gambled On A New Character

9. Seth "Freakin'" Rollins: The Drip God

CM Punk
WWE.com

The Messiah character was dreadful. Subjectively.

The interminable sermon promos, the drab look, the word soup that scanned as self-important nonsense with no real meaning behind it: the meta locker room leader martyr gimmick stopped making sense when Seth Rollins learned how to use Twitter better after the wild events of 2019, and after undertaking paternity leave in late 2020, he himself recognised that.

Speaking to Steve Austin on the Broken Skull Sessions, Rollins surveyed the roster and wondered where the "pizzazz" had gone.

He then arrived at the "Drip God" character, which he further explained to Z100's Josh Martinez as "the Joker if he were a narcissist going through a midlife crisis".

That would explain the relentless laughter and garish suits.

At worst, it's obnoxious cheap heat that doesn't make any sense. What caused him to become the Joker? Did he realise that he lives in a society (and it f*cking sucks)? What traumatic event triggered this descent into madness? Being made to work the Eye For An Eye match at Extreme Rules?

At best, there's a clownish appeal to his work; his chemistry with Kevin Owens is deeply silly but not not entertaining.

Still: better than the dreary monotonous self-important schtick of 2020.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!