Seth Rollins faces one of his most pivotal career moments when he faces Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam 2019. Fans have started souring on the one who deems himself The Architect. The results of this upcoming title match could range from reestablishing Rollins as a crowd favorite and reinforce his status as a top draw—or irreparable damage to his brand.
Let’s review the most recent chapter of the Seth Rollins vs Brock Lesnar feud. Rollins earned a world title shot when he won the 2019 Royal Rumble match. Since then, they’ve had two fights. During WrestleMania 35 on Apr. 2019, Rollins won a quick match in less than three minutes. During Extreme Rules on July 2019, Lesnar cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to secure a squash victory. SummerSlam 2019 could provide the rubber match for a feud that would needlessly linger on if it continued. Since Lesnar is a part-timer, his unavailability creates a difficulty when developing his feuds on RAW programming.
WWE showcasing two of their most over and best workers in borderline squash matches? How unsatisfying. The rest of this feud features multiple TV-14 style beatdowns that have made Rollins look downright pathetic. Rollins is a top player. Yet, he constantly gets less offense than jobbers facing the Oakland Raiders Minnesota Vikings Experience or whatever they’re called (Viking Raiders). Even that WrestleMania 35 match involved Rollins using controversial tactics unbecoming of a face character. Let’s leave low-blows with heels, tweeners, Bobby Hill, and faces with unique characters who can pull it off (e.g. Eddie Guerrero).
Remember Seth Rollins in 2018? Rollins was involved in captivating storylines. He issued Intercontinental Championship open challenges resulting in superb showdowns. That helped him get over. It got his opponents over. Rarely used talents like Mojo Rawley capitalized on the opportunities.
Twenty-nineteen has presented a unique challenge. This includes The Shield reunion, a feud against a part-timer who wrestles a few special events, and a Baron Corbin feud with whom he shares limited chemistry. Rollins has needed to rely more on cutting promos and acting skits. Those aren’t his strengths. WWE hasn’t even given Rollins the chance of having that memorable match with Lesnar.
Another issue is that he hasn’t enchanted himself with Internet wrestling darlings. Below is a comment Seth Rollins made via TVInsider:
“I have always been proud to work for the company. I just think it got to where it became cool to criticize WWE because we are so big and popular. It just sucks that this is the society we live in now where it’s much easier to point out all the things you think is bad as opposed to pointing out all the awesome stuff that is going on in the world.
It just felt to me nobody was standing up for WWE when we have a lot to be proud of. If taking on a leadership role is what you want to call it, it’s certainly something where I stepped forward and put my foot down…The fact I had people from different departments shoot me texts to let me know they had my back because they felt I had their back. That was cool and validating. I felt really good I was representing many people who felt the way I felt.”
How ironic that the same bookers whom Rollins strongly defends—much to the chagrin of Internet fans—are the ones with tremendous power over his future prestige. WWE hasn’t been putting him in the best situations. It’s hard to carry a feud when one opponent’s best ability isn’t his availability. As far as Corbin, he’s nowhere near important enough for world title matches. Kind of hard to matter with a 20-80 record. A much smarter option would’ve been an extended feud with A.J. Styles.
Rollins finds himself in a corner. His credibility can’t afford another hit. During that awkward Aug. 5 segment, the crowd started chanting “What” at him (although the “Burn It Down” chant afterward was louder). At the same time, some fans have turned on the superstar for expressing an opinion which merits a lot of truth, especially in the social media realm. Critics criticize endlessly, now they want any wrestler who dares to defend against the criticism to encounter the Golden Shovel.
Seth Rollins has had WWE’s back. Come SummerSlam 2019, will Vince McMahon and WWE have his?
Simple advice: don’t overbook it. No prematch beatdowns. No low blows. Avoid shenanigans. Just give Lesnar and Rollins enough time to have a memorable match. A minimum of 20 minutes. Lesnar has created a reputation of having better matches against smaller talents. Rollins made a name for himself largely because of his work rate and in-ring ability. Give these two performers the opportunity to have a Match of the Year candidate that reminds fans of why they respected both of these workers in the first place. The match they should’ve had at WrestleMania 35.
Let them go. For the love of wrestling, just let them go.
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Joshua Huffman was born and edumacated in Middle Tennessee. He has published content for Yahoo! Sports (via Contributor Network) and Titan Sized, among other venues. At SoBros, he’ll provide Daily Fantasy Sports suggestions and broad sports coverage. Follow him on Twitter (although I rarely use it).
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