Why WWE Are Making A Huge Mistake With Seth Rollins
WWE
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.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
