WWE Hall Of Famer Singles Out Seth Rollins For Praise

It's no secret that Seth Rollins clashed with some of the coaches in then-WWE developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling during his early days with the company. Most famously, as he described in his 2021 "Broken Skull Sessions" interview, he was constantly at odds with Terry Taylor, who had a similar reputation in his days as a wrestler for having a very high opinion of himself and not being shy about it. Not all of the FCW coaches butted heads with Rollins, though. While being interviewed for "WrestleBinge," WWE Hall of Famer Ricky Steamboat spoke of Rollins as a standout from his time coaching in FCW.

"I had my hand in helping Seth Rollins and think he's a pretty good worker," Steamboat said. "The [WWE] protocol is they don't care how good of a worker you are, you have to go through the school. You might be here a month, you might be here a year, but you still have to go through the school." And in those 15 months that Rollins spent in FCW before being called up to WWE as part of The Shield, he impressed Steamboat because he showed a particular interest in the storytelling side of wrestling.

"He was one of the guys that you could tell [was invested] when you were talking to him about psychology," he continued. "Basically, all of the guys knew how to do moves. [...] But I found my role was to talk to them and tell them the psychology of the reasons why we do things in the match that helps tell the story of the match. And I could tell when I was talking to Seth that lightbulbs were clicking on around his head, [unlike] other guys who give you the deer in the headlights look." Rollins wrestles in the titular men's match at WWE Elimination Chamber this Saturday, for Austin Theory's United States Championship.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "WrestleBinge," with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.