From its inception, the World Heavyweight Championship was presented as a mixed bag of things.
First, it seemed like it was going to have the lineage from the WCW title put behind it and continue its legacy, then it was announced it would be brand new and that effectively took the wind out of fans’ sails.
Seth Rollins Admits the World Heavyweight Championship isn’t on the Same Level as the WWE Undisputed Championship
The biggest issue with the title is it’s starting fresh and the WWE has a history over the last twenty years of creating new titles as an added merchandise revenue and they’re quickly discarded.
They’ve become props instead of something that’s supposed to be honored and desired by everyone in the company. In many ways, the WWE killed its own lineage with having so many titles around for both shows.
But this title feels different and that’s because of its inaugural champion Seth Rollins.
Reverence and awe
From the beginning, Rollins looked at the title as something special, something to be cherished and he sold it hard core every chance he got. He’s got us believing it can be something special, but the lack of history behind it limits even the best spin.
Rollins recently appeared on Ryan Satin’s Out of Character podcast and they discussed several topics, including Reigns’ part time schedule and how his title has more equity than Rollins’.
“I’m under no illusion that this title is the same as Roman’s title. That title has been around and so much equity has been put into it over the past few years. It means a lot. You saw how evident it was, even at Money in the Bank when Roman got pinned for the first time in three and a half years. You can’t just come in and pretend that all of a sudden this title is that important. No one is going to buy that crap. The way that I always saw champions that I looked up to and that I aspire to be were the champions that took the title to every territory and every town and defended it, and then, over time, people believed that it was a big deal. I came in when Cena and CM Punk were the world champions. I grew up watching Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, Triple H. These were the people that did that for the world title they were wearing. I’m trying, as I might, to fill those shoes and make this World Heavyweight Championship as big as it possibly can be for myself and the rest of the roster.
“Here’s the thing, if Roman was doing what I’m doing, there wouldn’t really be a need for a secondary championship. There wouldn’t be a need for another World Heavyweight Title on Raw because we would have somebody who was doing those things. It would give direction to the characters on the show and the show itself. Because of the route he has chosen and what he wants to do with his schedule and his title reign is not what I’m doing, somebody has to fill that void.”
Rollins has been extremely thoughtful and respectful to wrestling history and we can see how much he respects Reigns in this interview and wants to make the World Heavyweight Championship mean something.
What do you think about Rollins’ take? Let us know in the comments below.
SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get The Overtimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
