Q&A with WWE Superstar – Seth Rollins

WWE Live is finally back in Malaysia after 12 long years, what can fans expect from the show?
They can expect the absolute best in sports entertainment and WWE brings a product unlike any other in the world.

As this is your first visit to Malaysia, are you excited about it? What are your looking forward to the most?
I’m stoked about it. Never been to Malaysia and I look forward to experiencing the culture. I really enjoy trying local food whenever I’m outside the US.

You will be going head-to-head with former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, John Cena, at the live show here in Malaysia, how are you preparing for that?
John Cena is widely recognized as the top star in the company and preparing for him is like preparing to fight a lion; he’s strong, fast and clever. But I have all the confidence in the world that I am on the same level as Cena and the WWE Universe in Malaysia will soon experience that in person.

How did you rivalry with Cena begin?
Well it all started a few days at Night of Champions when I interfered in Cena’s championship match with Brock Lesnar. I saw an opportunity with the champion (Lesnar) down and I tried to cash in my briefcase for a shot at the title. John Cena took is personally that I interfered in the match and now we have a problem.

Your fans from Malaysia can’t wait to see you in action this October; do you have any special message for them?
Don’t sell out, buy in…

What inspired you to be a WWE Superstar?
I guess my main inspiration has to do with the way it felt when I was a kid and saw a WWE live event. It was so exciting and I never experienced something like that before and I wanted to be in that ring and give that same feeling back.

How did your family and friends react to your decision of being a professional wrestler?
Most of them thought I was crazy. My family was very cautious about it and thought it was something I would try for a little bit but then get back to the real world. My friends were very supportive as we all loved WWE, but I was the only one with the drive. But whether family or friends didn’t agree with my career path, everyone was very supportive of me.

Who were your favourite wrestlers growing up, how did they influence you to be a WWE Superstar?
Some of my favorites were Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Mr. Perfect, Eddie Guerrero and Rob Van Dam.

Hogan was the pinnacle of entertainment when I was young. He was the closest thing to a real life superhero. The other guys made me think that I could be a wrestler; they weren’t the biggest guys but they had charisma, they moved well around in the ring and were great technical wrestlers.

What was your ‘plan B’ if you were not a professional wrestler?
What “Plan B”….there was never a “Plan B” in my mind.

Your WWE debut came at Survivor Series 2012 alongside Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, talk us through that experience.
It was very nerve racking but also a major relief to finally make our big debut and have an immediate impact. This was the opportunity I was waiting for after years of training.

Why did you ‘turn your back’ on The Shield to join The Authority? What was going through your mind moments before you attacked Reigns and Ambrose?
I knew that I wanted to be “the” top guy in WWE, not “one of the” top guys. I didn’t want to share the spotlight with Reigns & Ambrose either. The Shield was a great starting point but I was the only one with the guts to branch out. It’s time to sink or swim and see who really has it as a singles competitor.

There has been a lot of negative feedback from the fans since you left The Shield, how do you deal with that?
You just let that stuff go in one ear and out the other. That’s my motivation to get better, move forward and prove that I’m a top guy in the WWE.

What is your routine before a match?
No specific routine. I just try to get as loose and as warmed up as possible.

What is your favourite type of match and why?
I like the chaos of a TLC (Tables, Ladders & Chairs) match. Anything can happen and there’s a lot of creatively goes into a match like that.

Your signature move is the Curb Stomp, what is the story behind that?
Not much of a story really. I saw it first by a Japanese wrestler and I really liked it so I adapted it as my own. 

How do you find the balance between your WWE and you free time?
For me, I try to separate those two worlds as much as possible. When I’m on the road with WWE nothing else matters and when I’m home I try to relax and keep my mind clear.

What is your best and worst moment so far in WWE?
Best: First WrestleMania (WM 29 in Miami) because you only get one first WrestleMania and that’s something no one can ever take away from you.

Worst: Losing to Heather Slater a few weeks ago; that was embarrassing.

You are the current ‘Money in the Bank’ winner, when do you plan to cash-in for a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship?
Well, I tried at Night of Champions but that didn’t work out too well. But whenever I see an opportunity, I won’t hesitate to take advantage; and that could be any place, any time.

What are the perks of being ‘Mr. Money in the Bank’?
Most obvious one is that I can cash in for a title shot any time I want. I’ll keep that briefcase in my back pocket and I have until July to take advantage of it.

What does the future hold for Seth Rollins?
The future holds a championship title cash in and title reign. After that, the sky is the limit.


Twitter Profile: @WWERollins

WWE Seth Rollins

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 217 lbs.

From: Davenport, Iowa

Signature Move: Curb Stomp
Career Highlights: WWE Tag Team Champion, NXT Champion, 2014 Money in the Bank Ladder Match winner

Seth Rollins began his career as an independent wrestler who wasted no time making an impact in the world of sports-entertainment. After becoming the first NXT Champion in August 2012, Rollins quickly moved on to join forces with fellow NXT standouts Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns to wreak havoc on WWE.

The trio debuted in WWE at Survivor Series 2012, smashing Ryback through the announce table and costing him a title match against WWE Champion CM Punk. The group returned the following night on Raw during Punk’s 365-day championship celebration, sending Ryback through the announce table once more.

When Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns finally spoke a week later for the first time in WWE, the trio denied any involvement with Punk. Rollins said they “saw things heading in the wrong direction,” so the group “stepped in and righted those wrongs.” Rollins referred to himself and his cohorts as “a shield from injustice in WWE,” and Ambrose aptly named the group “The Shield.”

Although they occasionally stumbled in singles action, The Shield was unstoppable as a collective unit, besting any and all Superstars who dared to cross their path. At Extreme Rules, The Shield established themselves as WWE's most dominant trio with Ambrose capturing the United States Title, Rollins & Reigns defeating Team Hell No in a Tornado Tag Team Match to capture the WWE Tag Team Titles. Following SummerSlam, The Shield allied themselves with WWE COO Triple H to become the muscle of the corporate Authority; despite losing the WWE Tag Team Titles to Cody Rhodes & Goldust, they remained a force to be reckoned with for The King of Kings’ most persistent enemies, particularly Daniel Bryan.

The Shield’s first true test came in the form of CM Punk, who used mind games to drive a wedge between the three of them. The group’s frustrations continued to mount all the way into 2014, when Rollins entered the 2014 Royal Rumble Match at No. 2 and lasted deep into the contest. However, he and Ambrose were eliminated by Reigns, who came in second to Batista. The next night, The Shield were prevented from earning their way into the Elimination Chamber Match and challenging for the WWE World Heavyweight Title when The Wyatt Family interfered in their qualifying bout, handing the DQ victory to Daniel Bryan, John Cena & Sheamus. As a result, The Shield demanded, and were granted, a showdown with The Wyatts at Elimination Chamber. After a couple weeks of circling each other, the two factions finally came to blows at the end of the Feb. 17 Raw.

But at Elimination Chamber, The Hounds of Justice fell in a hard-fought battle to The Wyatt Family, and fell again in a rematch eight days later when Rollins – fed up with his teammates’ infighting – abandoned them to make a statement. His point taken, The Shield rallied and eventually turned on The Authority altogether, decimating WWE Director of Operations Kane and The New Age Outlaws in one of the most dominant WrestleMania showings ever.

So persistent was The Shield’s resistance that The Game re-formed Evolution with Randy Orton & Batista to combat them, but at Extreme Rules, The Shield emerged victorious, thanks in no small part to a gravity-defying effort by Rollins. But The Hounds weren't done with Evoluton, as Rollins, Ambrose & Reigns shut out all three members of legendary faction in a brutal No Holds Barred Elimination Match at WWE Payback. Even though Batista quit WWE the next night, the evening still threw the future of The Shield into question, however, when Rollins attacked Reigns and Ambrose with a steel chair and seemingly allied himself with Evolution.

The next week, Rollins explained his actions as a business decision and dared his former allies to attack him; despite a timely escape by The Aerialist, Ambrose & Reigns allied with John Cena to defeat The Wyatt Family later in the evening. Rollins not only continued to antagonize Ambrose, but Triple H entered him into a traditional Money in the Bank Ladder Match for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship contract ... without having to qualify first. The next week, he successfully convinced Triple H to allow Ambrose into the match along with The Game's other handpicked competitors so Rollins could better thwart his former teammate's plans against The Authority.

Seth Rollins’ plan came to fruition at WWE Money in the Bank 2014 when, with the aid of the Demon Kane, took out his fellow Shield cohort and earned the right to be called “Mr. Money in the Bank.” Ambrose vowed to keep Rollins from cashing in at every turn and has kept his promise thus far. The two former teammates were scheduled to go head-to-head at WWE Battleground, but never had an actual match as Ambrose attacked Rollins backstage, again in the ring after being ejected from the building, and once more in the arena's parking lot by hiding in the trunk of Rollins' car.

In the midst of all-out bedlam in a Lumberjack Match at SummerSlam, Seth Rollins hit his former "business associate" Dean Ambrose with the Money in the Bank briefcase to overcome his unstable opponent. During their rematch the next night, Kane helped Rollins Curb Stomp Ambrose through a pile of cinder blocks in an attack that would have sent Ambrose to a local medical center, had he not thrown off his restraints, refused treatment and escaped from WWE officials altogether.

In the aftermath, it quickly became apparent that Roman Reigns would take up Ambrose's crusade on Rollins in his place, but Reigns suffered a severe hernia one day prior to his match with The Architect. Rollins arrived at Night of Champions 2014 smug as ever, claiming victory over Reigns and calling surgery "no excuse" to miss their contest. Continuing his arrogance that night, Rollins issued an open challenge, which was answered to his shock by a returning Dean Ambrose. The unstable Ambrose assaulted Rollins until Triple H had WWE Security restrain and eject Ambrose.

With both Ambrose and Reigns out of the picture, Rollins attempted to finally cash in his Money in the Bank contract by getting a seemingly beaten Brock Lesnar disqualified and trying to pick the bones of The Beast. Before the bell could ring, however, Cena got back to his feet and beat Rollins into a retreat. Mr. Money in the Bank will have to wait another day to get his title match.

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