The 10 Most Memorable Moments Of Seth Rollins' WWE Career
Seth Rollins began to make a name for himself when he appeared on the independent wrestling circuit in 2005. Throughout his time on the independents, Rollins became a mainstay in Ring of Honor, winning both their World Championship and Tag Team Championships during his tenure with the company. In 2010, WWE signed Rollins to be part of their developmental program Florida Championship Wrestling, which was renamed NXT shortly after Rollins joined.
Seth Rollins remained on NXT for two years before making a major splash on WWE's main roster shows alongside his Shield brothers, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns. Since then, Rollins has continued to reinvent himself and remain in the spotlight of "Raw" and "SmackDown." Whether Seth Rollins is The Architect or The Visionary, he has always found himself in major WWE storylines. Due to his ability to always connect with the crowd and capture the essence of the character he is playing, Seth Rollins has created some very memorable moments throughout his WWE career.
Becoming the first NXT Champion
In 2012, two years after Seth Rollins signed with WWE, the developmental brand of Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was rebranded to "NXT" and it was shot at Full Sail University. Rollins made his "NXT" debut on June 27th, 2012 episode, and entered himself into the Gold Rush Tournament to crown the first ever "NXT" Champion. The finals came down to Jinder Mahal and Seth Rollins, which was shocking to many as Rollins was seen as an "indy darling" that did not fit the WWE mold.
The finals of the tournament happened as most of the roster and some legends watched from the ramp. The match was highly competitive, with a crowd that ate up everything this new brand was offering. The finish of the match came when Seth Rollins hit the Blackout on Jinder Mahal. "Indy darling" Seth Rollins had just defeated Jinder Mahal to become the inaugural "NXT" Champion, setting the stage for the overall direction of the new brand. Emotion was written across Seth Rollins' face as he received a hug and congratulations from mentor, Dusty Rhodes. This was the first title run WWE fans got to see from Seth Rollins, and it was far from the last.
Debuting with The Shield at Survivor Series 2012
The main event of Survivor Series 2012 saw CM Punk retain his WWE Championship by defeating Ryback and John Cena in a triple threat match. The most memorable part of the night is what happened after the bout: Three men in SWAT gear appeared through the crowd. These three men were named as NXT stars Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose had made a name for themselves in both FCW and NXT, while Roman Reigns had only made a few appearances on NXT. These men annihilated Ryback, who at the time was being built as a monster.
This team, later named The Shield, viciously beat down Ryback and dragged him to the announce table. Roman Reigns picked Ryback up for a powerbomb and Rollins and Ambrose supported from the sides. The team heaved Ryback through the announce table, his second time going through one that night. This move would later become a signature for The Shield, but WWE had just elevated three wrestlers from their developmental brand in a big way. This setup one of the most memorable faction runs in WWE history and solidified not only the team as main event players, but also Seth Rollins as a major figure.
Turning on his Shield Brothers
For two years, The Shield ran roughshod all over WWE, destroying any team or anyone that got in their way. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. In the summer of 2014, WWE had resurrected the Evolution stable, this time only consisting of Triple H, Randy Orton, and Batista. Triple H took on the role of the authority figure, and set his sights on targeting The Shield. Evolution and The Shield had a memorable feud during the summer of 2014, capping it off with a major victory for The Shield at the Payback pay-per-view event.
The next night on "Raw," Roman Reigns was ready to go back to work and defeat Randy Orton. However, The Shield found themselves face-to-face with Evolution for the second night in a row. Rollins grabbed a steel chair in what seemed like a mode of self-defense. Triple H told The Shield that he always had a backup plan, stating that "There's always a Plan B." The camera cuts back to the ring and Rollins winds up a massive chair shot to Dean Ambrose and a blood curdling scream comes from the crowd. Plan B was Seth Rollins stabbing his Shield brothers in the back. In one night, The Shield's dominant run was over and Seth Rollins had just become the top heel in the company.
Becoming Mr. Money in the Bank
Shortly after Seth Rollins played a critical role in "Plan B," he found himself in his first Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Dean Ambrose, who Rollins had directly stabbed in the back, also found his way into the match. Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins were the focal point of the story telling in the 2014 Money in the Bank Ladder Match. During the match, Ambrose was checked by physicians due to a shoulder injury sustained by Bray Wyatt weeks earlier. The WWE physicians made Dean Ambrose go to the back, much to the dismay of the crowd. However, it led to a wild reaction when Ambrose later appeared and stopped one of Rollins' many attempts of obtaining the Money in the Bank Contract.
Kane was also featured in this match and at the time, as "The Enforcer" for the newly formed Authority stable with Triple H and Seth Rollins as the front runners. Kane attacked the field, clearing a path for Rollins to climb the ladder. With the help of Kane holding the ladder, Rollins easily climbed the rungs and secured his first ever Money in the Bank contract. This win setup a memorable contract holder run for Seth Rollins and had one of the best payoffs since the Money in the Bank concept had started.
The heist of the century
Seth Rollins quickly became must see TV after he won the Money in the Bank contract. His heel character was in full swing and live crowds loved to hate him. The question was, when would Mr. Money in the Bank cash in his contract? The answer came at WrestleMania 31 where the main event saw WWE Champion, Brock Lesnar, defend his title against former Shield member Roman Reigns. Brock and Roman hit each other with finisher after finisher. Both exhausted, Brock countered the Superman Punch with an F5, but could not make the cover. With both men on the mat, Seth Rollins' music roared over the stadium speakers and everyone in that arena knew what was going to happen.
Rollins rushed into the ring and went to land the Curb Stomp on Lesnar, who countered it into an F5. Before Lesnar could pull off the F5, Roman speared Brock, making Rollins topple down with him. This gave Rollins the chance to hit the Curb Stomp on Reigns and win his first WWE Championship. Michael Cole cemented this as a major moment, letting everyone watching at home know, they just watched "the heist of the century!"
On an episode of "E&C's Pod of Awesomeness," Rollins stated that he came up with his own cash in plan, saying, "I felt like I was the guy. Again, I went to [Triple H] and said, 'I want the ball.'"
Defeating John Cena at Summerslam 2015 to win two titles
After Seth Rollins turned on The Shield, he found himself as the face of The Authority and his heel run was unstoppable. A major milestone of this run was when he, as the WWE Champion, faced United States Champion John Cena at SummerSlam 2015. The match stipulation was "winner take all," meaning someone was walking out of the Barclays Center with two championships. There was concern going into this heavily hyped match as Rollins had broken Cena's nose on "Raw" a few weeks before. However, "Big Match John" did not let this slow him down.
Seth Rollins and John Cena put on a spectacle of a match, marking one of Rollins biggest matches to date. The WWE crowd saw Rollins pull out some amazing offense such as, the superplex into the falcon arrow. Unfortunately, the finish of the match had some classic WWE shenanigans preventing Rollins from getting a clean victory. Jon Stewart, host of "The Daily Show," entered the ring and hit Cena with a chair while the referee was down. Seth Rollins, ever the opportunist, hit Cena with a pedigree and got the pinfall to become both the WWE and United States Champion. Despite the screwy finish, this marked two major milestones for Seth Rollins: He had just beaten of the best in the business, and became a double champion all in one night.
A huge return at Extreme Rules 2016
Despite a successful WWE Championship win in 2015, Seth Rollins found himself sidelined. On November 4th, 2015, Rollins was forced to relinquish his WWE Championship due to a real life knee injury. This really took the wind out of the sails of the momentum that Rollins had built since his cash-in at WrestleMania 31. Fans clamored for the day that Seth Rollins would return to the ring and they got their wish at Extreme Rules 2016. The main event of the pay-per-view saw Roman Reigns defeat AJ Styles to retain his WWE Championship.
It seemed as if the show was over, but suddenly Seth Rollins slid into the ring, kicked Roman in the gut, and hit him with a Pedigree. Rollins picked up the WWE Championship and held it high above a downed Roman Reigns. Seth Rollins did not need to speak any words to let fans know exactly what his return intentions were. This was the beginning of what would become another historic run from The Architect.
Defeating Triple H at WrestleMania 33
Since Seth Rollins' heel turn in the summer of 2014, Triple H had taken Rollins under his wing in The Authority stable. However, like any corrupt authority with too many egos, this partnership eventually imploded. Rollins was forced to relinquish the WWE Championship toward the end of 2015 due to a knee injury. Upon his return, it was clear that the Kings of Kings was no longer on Rollins' side. On the road to WrestleMania 33, Triple H hired Samoa Joe to take Rollins out, resulting in Rollins "reinjuring" his knee putting his chance at a WrestleMania match in jeopardy.
Seth Rollins went to work rehabbing his knee and when he got the all-clear, his sights were set on getting revenge on Triple H at the Grandest Stage of Them All. The match would be a non-sanctioned match which Triple H threatened during the contract signing, "You sign this contract ... you can walk into WrestleMania, but ... you ain't walkin' out!" The stipulation was perfect, as Triple H and Rollins needed to settle the score in a fight more than a match. Come match time, Seth Rollins got his revenge by hitting a very poetic Pedigree on The Game for the victory. Seth Rollins had just beaten The King of Kings at the biggest event of the year, cementing the storytelling of the past couple years — Seth Rollins was the guy.
Winning the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 34
After defeating Triple H a year earlier, it was once again time for Seth Rollins to find himself in a big match at WrestleMania. At this point in his career, Rollins had already captured Tag Team and World Championship gold. However, Rollins wanted to become a Grand Slam Champion in WWE by winning the Intercontinental Championship. Finn Balor and the current Intercontinental Champion at the time, The Miz, stood in the way of his ultimate goal.
This triple threat match at WrestleMania 34 between the three competitors started off fast paced, with The Miz trying to either retain his championship quickly or weasel out of having to wrestle. Like any great triple threat match, all competitors got their flurry of offense in, and it looked as if Finn Balor was going to capture the gold at many points. Finn landed the Coupe De Grace on The Miz, but had trouble getting the pinfall due to his leg being worked earlier in the match. Seth Rollins capitalized on this by hitting the Curb Stomp while Balor was struggling to the cover. This scored Rollins the pinfall and the title of being a Grand Slam Champion in WWE.
Defeating Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 35
Fans were once again clamoring for a Seth Rollins World Championship win after he won the 2015 Royal Rumble. He challenged Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 35 and fans got what they wished for a lot sooner than expected. In a shocking change of events, Paul Heyman came out shortly after the show started announcing that The Beast doesn't want to wait around to defend his title. Instead, the opener of WrestleMania 35 would see Seth Rollins attempt to slay the beast for the second time on The Grandest Stage of Them All and capture the Universal Championship in the process.
The match was fast paced from the beginning, with Rollins man-handling Lesnar. However, The Beast took a lot of damage, including a low blow by Rollins, who wanted to win by any means necessary. The live crowd did not mind Rollins' dirty tactics, as they were heavily behind Seth the whole match. It took a whopping three Curb Stomps to finally put Lesnar down for the pinfall. The crowd in MetLife Stadium erupted for an unexpected World Title win for Rollins and the second time beating Lesnar in a major fashion at WrestleMania. This opener setup WrestleMania 35 for a hot start and set up Seth Rollins for his first Universal Championship run.