Seth Rollins Recalls Vince McMahon Conversation On Bringing "The Stomp" Back
Seth Rollins recently spoke with The Wrap to promote his WrestleMania 35 match with WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, and said The Shield's recent "final ride" was perfect for him.
"Honestly, it couldn't have been any more perfect for me. Obviously, circumstances all came together at one time with Roman coming back, me having a little break in the action because my WrestleMania opponent (Lesnar) doesn't show up very often, and then news getting out about Ambrose not re-signing his contract. It felt like we had one opportunity to get it right ? almost like destiny in a sense, that all of the pieces aligned at the right time," Rollins said.
"Even though it came together really quick, the audience was ready for it ? I don't think they were really ready for us to split up that last time anyway. So to have this one and go out the right way, do it the right way, it felt so nice. It was one of the most emotional moments I've ever had in a ring, to be out there with those guys with the knowledge that it was gonna be the last time for a while. It really felt super special."
Rollins also talked about the Stomp, and how the finisher was banned (again) until just over a year ago. Rollins recalled a conversation he had with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, over the initial ban and its eventual return.
"It was a conversation that I had to have with [Vince McMahon]. It was something where he had his reasons for why he wanted to get rid of it at the time. That was a fine and dandy, but I was having trouble getting a finisher that I was happy with and he was happy with. The Pedigree worked for a little bit, and the Ripcord Knee worked OK. But at the end of the day, the Stomp was what I was synonymous with, it's what I won the title with, it was part of who I was," Rollins said.
"When it came down to it, I just went and asked him a few years later. I said, 'Hey look, I want to do this. Give me reasons not to and I will tell you why you're wrong and hopefully, we can meet in the middle.'" He was on my side, I caught him on a good day. Luckily it's back and hopefully, it's not going anywhere."
It was also confirmed that the Stomp was previously shelved when it was still called The Curbstomp, because of the name and the nature of the move. Vince decided that WWE's top Superstar should not be winning matches by stomping another person's head into the ground, and the name itself was an issue. Rollins told The Wrap that it was his idea to remove the word "Curb" from the equation as the phrase "curb stomp" can generate a rough mental image.
"Obviously branding it is part of the deal, right? You don't want to have any (negative) connotations? it has nothing to do with what people what think it does," Rollins said. "You want to remove any connotations so you don't give anybody any reason to say, 'Well, but.' It was easy enough to just call it 'The Stomp,' just like The Spear or The Stunner, whatever. It works just fine and no one seems to care."
Source: The Wrap