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WWE‘s delivery of two back-to-back action-packed pay-per-views (Extreme Rules and Payback) was due largely in part to one man’s efforts. Colby Lopez, known to WWE fans as Seth Rollins, executed incredible aerial feats alongside his Shield brethren during their battles with Evolution. Rollins has clearly and consistently fought to steal the show during every performance. He is a veteran in the wrestling industry with many accolades of which he might boast. These accolades include both the Ring of Honor (ROH) World Championship and the recently coveted NXT Championship (Rollins was the inaugural champion).
There is no doubt that Rollinshas distinguished himself on the independent circuit and in smaller promotional venues, but it remains to be seen if he can cash in to win the proverbial Big One. Perhaps Rollins sought to solidify his position as a top-tier competitor, when he brutally betrayed his comrades in arms on the 6/2/14 edition of RAW. No one can say that they expected Rollins to turn on his former friends, to whom he affectionately referred to on multiple occasions as “brothers”. Rollins has made it 100% certain that all anyone can do is watch his probable ascension to super stardom.
Despite the bewilderment and hatred of many WWE fans, Rollins’ decision to single-handedly dissolve The Shield was truly best for business. As I predicted in a previous article, The Shield have simply been left with nowhere else to go. There is no more territory to conquer. I’ll go as far as to give kudos to WWE’s COO Triple H for pulling the trigger on his “Plan B” to purchase Rollins.
Seth clearly has the potential to shock and amaze an entire generation of fans with his high-flying and innovative offense; he has a believable character psychology both in and out of the ring. Furthermore, I’m not ashamed to say that he’s good-looking enough to be appealing to the ladies. I wouldn’t be surprised if Triple H is vicariously managing his own young “Shawn Michaels” in the pattern of his father-in-law Vince McMahon. I’ll leave it up to the reader to connect the dots, compare and contrast on this point.
However, I will piggyback on an outstanding observation made by Booker T on RAW Backstage Pass this past Monday. He stated how many legendary wrestling careers have been shaped as a result of superstars breaking from their respective tag teams and factions. Case in point: Shawn Michaels’ betrayal of his tag team partner Marty Janetty. You might ask, “Marty who?” Exactly! Booker T himself had to break from his partnership with his brother Stevie Ray to taste his first ever singles gold. Scott Steiner ditched his brother Rick and drastically changed his image in order to be recognized as a viable competitor in singles competition. Therefore, Seth Rollins is arguably following a path to greatness.
Ultimately Rollins has all the tools and even the powerful associations to get the greatest gold there is to gather. He’s done it before and in WWE he can certainly do it again. My only concern is that he’ll need to radically distinguish himself as either a lone wolf or corporate lackey. Seth has got some tough choices to make in the weeks to come. These are choices that will certainly define his career. What are your thoughts? Is Rollins ready?
Brian Jemison is a writer for CouchRiderReport.net. Follow him on Twitter.