At the Fandemic Tour in Houston on Saturday (October 20), a fan asked WWE’s Seth Rollins about a potential match against AEW’s Kenny Omega at WrestleMania in the main event. The fan simply wants them to face off to determine who is the best.
It’s a simple question that fans have thrown out there a million times over the decades, so it should be easy for Seth Rollins to deflect it and give the fan something to hope for, right?
Seth Rollins: Hold my beer
After joking how the fan already had the match set, Seth Rollins then set out to show his limited microphone skills and undying support of the company paying him millions by saying, “When Kenny’s done playing in the minors over there (cue the chorus of oohs and scattered applause) he can come work in the top absolute top wrestling company in the world, in front of the most people, and make the most money, and have the biggest matches, which is with me at WrestleMania.”
Thanks to Brad Shepard of ProSpotsExtra.com for sharing on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/TheBradShepard/status/1186252781067427840
Not so tongue-in-cheek
Many will argue this was nothing more than a tongue-in-cheek moment from Seth Rollins. He may even argue that. The fact is, it was far from it. This was Seth Rollins doing what he’s always done when confronted with this sort of topic.
Seth Rollins mentions money (Remember Will Ospreay?)
Seth Rollins claims the WWE is the best in the world. To a degree he’s right. McMahon has built the WWE into the Disney of wrestling. It’s also stagnant and ignores the fans. The fact their “developmental” brand (NXT) is critically and fan most liked of their shows is telling.
Seth Rollins showed a disrespect to the Indie wrestling world that made him, and fans see this.
In a way, it’s in line with Tony Schiavone’s comment about Mick Foley winning the WWF championship, “That’ll put asses in the seats,” during the Monday Night Wars.
That Indie comment’s gonna hurt
Like most stars, WWE Seth Rollins got his start in the Indies in promotions like IWA, NWA Midwest, and ROH.
It’s easy to lose oneself in the limelight when getting the mother of all pushes down the fans’ throats, and this will be chalked up to a “slip of the tongue” or a “misguided attempt at humor” or be ignored altogether because that’s what the WWE does anymore.
His fans will continue to love him, his detractor will continue to not.
But in the end, the fact that “the minors over there” sell out arenas in minutes to hours where even the mighty WWE hasn’t is far more telling than a pampered superstar’s paid for commentary.
On the plus side, Seth Rollins displayed his natural heel tendencies. If only WWE creative was paying attention and listening to fans wanting him to turn back to a heel instead of hoping the fans will eventually embrace him. Roman Reigns 2.0 continues.
