What Seth Rollins Told Live Crowd After WWE NXT Went Off The Air
Tuesday was a special night for Seth Rollins as he returned to his old stomping grounds of "WWE NXT," a decade after he was crowned the inaugural champion of WWE's developmental brand. After successfully retaining his World Heavyweight Championship against Bron Breakker, Rollins had a whole lot to say to the faithful "NXT" fanbase, and his words seemed to hint at him making appearances across all three of WWE's brands going forward.
"The reason I come down here to NXT is because I love this, and this title deserves that respect," Rollins told the live crowd in a WWE Digital Exclusive. "There are champions like Harley Race, Ric Flair, Bret 'The Hitman' Hart, and 'Mr. Five-Time' Booker T who took pride in taking the heavyweight title to every city and every town in every single country they could, and putting on a fight to raise the prestige of a World Heavyweight Champion."
"If I can even lace those boots for two seconds, and if I can be a part of that lineage, then I'm doing something right," Rollins added, as he thanked the fans for giving him the opportunity, and the likes of Booker T and Shawn Michaels for allowing him to fill their shoes.
'your energy is what has made me a visionary'
Seth Rollins proceeded to narrate the story of how his match against Bron Breakker came about, and his immediate thoughts about returning to WWE's Performance Center.
"When I accepted [Breakker's challenge], I had a lot of people asking me, 'Seth, does it feel nostalgic? Are you getting emotional?'" Rollins revealed. "To be honest, it had been so long since I'd stepped foot in an NXT ring, and I've been fortunate enough to do so much across the world, that my honest answer was 'no.' It wasn't hitting me like I thought it would. Until I got out here!"
At this point, the crowd broke out a loud "welcome back" chant as Rollins appeared to get more emotional.
"That right there, all of you, you guys embody the same energy that I left NXT with a decade ago," Rollins stressed. "You guys are still the proving ground for every single person back there, you guys and your vitality, your love, your energy is what has made me a visionary, it is what has made me a revolutionary, it is what has made me [crowd chants Seth Freakin' Rollins]."
EXCLUSIVE: @WWERollins talks to the NXT Universe after an eventful night in his return to #WWENXT. #NXTGoldRush pic.twitter.com/ommDU0KvhQ
— WWE (@WWE) June 21, 2023
Rollins' post-show speech was delivered soon after "NXT" Champion Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams rescued him from a beatdown at the hands of Finn Balor, who will challenge Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank. It's unknown if Rollins plans to defend his title in the lead-up to his match against Balor on July 1.