10 Wrestlers You Didn’t Know Have Bad Reputations

6. Seth Rollins

Christian Cage
WWE

WWE, under the creative direction of Paul Leveque, has developed a young, energised, and huge audience. 

This was…not the case just five years ago. WWE was widely mocked for attracting a median viewer aged 62 years old. How was this possible? What did fans of Pedro Morales get out of watching Mike Kannellis pin his pregnant wife for the 24/7 title in some God-awful skit? 

This new audience might not be aware of Seth Rollins and the reputation he cultivated in the mid 2010s.. 

Rollins is the ultimate team player, so much so that he was ridiculed when Standing Up For WWE in 2019: the worst creative year in the history of the promotion. He is a wrestler who will work through injury and virtually guarantee a ***½ floor. 

These new fans might not know that Seth Rollins once endured a spell in which he hurt many of his opponents in a short space of time. Bret Hart blasted Rollins in 2016 for this. Was the reputation earned?

Sting’s neck, John Cena’s nose, Finn Bálor’s shoulder: all in under a year. Sh*t happens, but for Seth, sh*t happened in a very concentrated amount of time. Before and since: spotless. It was a difficult one to debate at the time, less difficult now. 

This rough spell proved to be an aberration, and it should be noted that Bret has since personally apologised to Seth.

Contributor
Contributor

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!