Why Seth Rollins Is Underrated and Underappreciated in WWE
Why Seth Rollins Is Underrated and Underappreciated in WWE0 of 6
Seth Rollins continues to fly under the radar as one of WWE’s most elite stars.Credit: WWE.com
Despite being the reigning world heavyweight champion, Seth Rollins is actively underappreciated in WWE.
It’s a peculiar spot he finds himself in as one of the top talents in the entire company, but it’s been a recurring pattern for the 37-year-old since the start of his main roster run.
His talent in the ring has never been in question, but during the rise of The Shield, stablemates Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose were viewed as the future breakout stars. Rollins, on the other hand, was expected to get lost in the shuffle once the group split up.
His subsequent singles stardom has been well-documented, but even with everything he’s accomplished in the past decade-plus, he remains underrated by a vast majority of the fans.
Unfortunately, it may not be until after he’s hung up the boots for good that they come around to admiring the exceptional body of work he’s put together. He’s weeks away from getting the elusive WrestleMania main event he’s always wanted, and yet he still feels like he’s playing second fiddle in many ways.
It’s high time Rollins received the recognition he deserves.
Go-To Guy for Elevating Talent1 of 6
Rollins’ ability to elevate anyone he shares the squared circle with makes him an invaluable asset to WWE.
Once he was firmly established as a main event player in 2015, he was booked to put others over fairly frequently—far more than he should have considering he was WWE champion for the better part of the year.
It was a testament to his talent, and how highly the company viewed him, that he could overcome any obstacle put in front of him as both a babyface and a heel. His standing with the fans never wavered, even after he dipped down the card a bit in 2017 and 2018.
Rollins has been protected much less than Roman Reigns for no real reason other than he can lose a lot without it damaging his credibility. Additionally, he’s become the go-to guy for debuting and returning wrestlers to ensure they get off to a strong start.
He lost three straight pay-per-view matches to Cody Rhodes in 2022 and played a pivotal role in cementing The American Nightmare’s status as a world champion-caliber competitor. He was the perfect opponent for the debuting Dominik Mysterio in 2020, gave Edge the best match of his most recent run in WWE, and would’ve lit a fire under CM Punk at WrestleMania 40 had The Best in the World not gotten hurt.
Rollins has earned himself the title of the company’s ultimate workhorse, even though his efforts aren’t always rewarded accordingly.
A Cohesive Character Arc2 of 6
Storytelling is essential to the art of wrestling, yet few stars manage to maintain a consistent character arc throughout their careers.
Rollins’ has been better than most, starting with his Shield debut in 2012.
From their dominance to selling out and joining The Authority, every move he made for the first few years of his main roster run made sense. He quickly became the biggest bad guy in the company as a result.
However, once the audience started to respect him for the outstanding effort he was putting in, he organically turned babyface in the summer of 2016.
He rode that wave through 2019 when he won the Universal Championship from Brock Lesnar, and he was by far the most beloved wrestler on the roster during that three-year period.
His heel turn following his feud with The Fiend also came about naturally, as well as his subtle babyface turn in early 2023. Everything he’s done up to this point has been logical, all while remaining a top-level performer.
The same can’t be said for a majority of WWE Superstars, making the multi-time world champ’s journey a unique one.
Mastering the Art of Reinvention3 of 6
Rollins’ extensive character arc has come with a number of gimmick changes, all of which he’s made memorable.
As noted, he was the most hated heel in all of WWE as The Authority’s No. 1 pupil, and subsequently broke out as a babyface once he was ousted from the stable in 2016.
Although largely directionless with his ill-defined King Slayer persona in 2017, Rollins gradually found his footing as a fan favorite in 2018 and got even more over with the audience by simply showcasing his skills as a wrestling machine.
The Monday Night Messiah character wasn’t able to live up to its full potential when he turned heel in late 2019, but the idea to have him lead a faction was a refreshing chance of pace. That megalomania made him into The Visionary we know today, though it was tweaked several times along the way with his entrance music eventually taking on a life of its own.
Being on the pulse of what fans do and don’t want to see has been instrumental in Rollins’ rise to prominence and giving him the edge over other Superstars.
A Consistent Show-Stealer4 of 6
There can be no doubt that Rollins belongs in the conversation for best wrestlers in the world today, not only for what he’s capable of between the ropes but also for being the complete package as a performer.
Although this has been the case for years, the evolution he’s had and the improvement he’s made in all aspects of his game in the past decade is more undeniable now than ever before.
In the last several years alone, he has stolen the show almost every time he has been in action on a big stage. That’s expected out of a world champion, but this was a trend long before he regained gold in 2023.
From Matt Riddle to Austin Theory to Logan Paul, he brought the best out of every opponent he shared the ring with from 2022 to 2023. That includes Omos, with whom he had a surprisingly fun match at last year’s Backlash.
He lost a majority of the matches he had prior to winning the world heavyweight title but never once looked weak in defeat because of his incredible outings.
Rollins is in the prime of his career and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
How His World Heavyweight Title Reign Has Been Eclipsed by Roman Reigns’ Run5 of 6
To many fans, it felt as if the World Heavyweight Championship was primarily created to crown Seth Rollins, who had gone nearly four years without holding world title gold by the spring of 2023.
The company’s mistake of keeping the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship on Reigns for so long left Rollins and the rest of the roster with nothing to fight for, specifically on Raw.
Giving the red brand a top title of its own post-WrestleMania 39 with The Visionary leading the charge seemed to solve that issue, at least until it became clear that Reigns and Rollins wouldn’t be portrayed as equals.
Number of defenses and appearances aside, The Tribal Chief has been made out to be WWE’s final boss for so long that it was always going to be a tall task to get Rollins to be perceived in a similar light.
Reigns continually criticizing his former stablemate for being in possession of the “loser bracket” title hasn’t helped matters. He isn’t wrong with those claims, but Rollins hasn’t been given an opportunity to fire back or negate that narrative.
Rollins’ run as world heavyweight champion has been filled with excellent matches and moments, but WWE’s failure to present him and Reigns on the same level—or anywhere near it—has been unfair to both him and the title.
Always Falling Short of Becoming the Face of WWE6 of 6
The Visionary has excelled in virtually every spot WWE has put him in for the last decade, even when the booking was to blame and he had no choice but to make the most of certain situations.
He’s had his fair share of success in the company and is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. The run he’s had has been nothing short of storied and decorated.
The one thing he’ll never be able to lay claim to, though, is being positioned as the face of the franchise. At this rate, it’s evident the powers-that-be don’t intend on having him fulfill that role no matter how many times he’s proved himself worthy of it.
Reigns was primed to serve as John Cena’s replacement from the beginning of his main roster run, but Rollins could have easily filled in as the No. 1 babyface once The Tribal Chief went heel.
Cody Rhodes instead swooped in and is on track to fill that vacancy (if he hasn’t already), leaving Rollins to trail behind as the runner-up of sorts yet again.
It’s been a common occurrence throughout his career and that isn’t lost on him if his 2022 interview with Ariel Helwani for BT Sport (now TNT Sports) was any indication.
For as underrated and underappreciated as Rollins is, the permanent chip on his shoulder that drives him to exceed all expectations is what makes him that much greater.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham “GSM” Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.
