Seth Rollins Discusses Differentiating Himself From Roman Reigns

Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns entered the WWE together as members of The Shield alongside Jon Moxley (Dean Ambrose in WWE) in 2012. 

Nearly a decade later, Rollins and Reigns are still at the top of the WWE mountain with Reigns carrying the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and Rollins being one of the most decorated superstars over the last decade while maintaining a featured position. 

Speaking to SPORT1, Rollins discussed how he’s been able to differentiate himself from Reigns as a “visionary.” 

“Yes and no,” Rollins said when asked if his reinvention was to contract Reigns. “Let’s put it this way: I definitely want to be different from a novel. Roman has a certain way of doing things, how he talks, how he runs, how he acts. Doing the same would not make sense, so I wanted to differentiate myself and that played a role in the development of what I now embody. I don’t want to be the one who imitates what others are doing successfully, I want to be the one who does what no one else does. But of course: I am also a big fan of the wrestling stars of the past and the shrill stars were my favorite. The Macho Man was one of them and thus had an influence on what I am doing right now.”

When asked about creating a larger-than-life character as a perceived smaller wrestler, Rollins said, “I was never visually the prototype of a WWE superstar. I don’t look like John (Cena), Roman or (Hulk) Hogan, never did it and never will. That’s why I never received as a gift from what they received. Don’t misunderstand: All those mentioned had to or have to work enormously hard and I admire very much what John Cena and Hulk Hogan have achieved. And I admire what Roman is doing now. But the truth is also: Someone like me doesn’t get the ball as naturally as they got it. People like me who don’t have a certain size have to work non-stop all the time. Shawn Michaels had to, Randy Savage had to, Eddie Guerrero and even Bret Hart. We have to wrestle up, fight ourselves upwards in all the senses of the word, that is the package we carry. Becky (Lynch) has become one of the biggest stars in the history of our industry with her personality, she is now the greatest wrestler of all time for me. And you can see from it: There is more than one way to be “larger than life.” If you are already in terms of physical conditions, it is definitely easier, but there is another way. You don’t have to look like Hulk Hogan or John Cena. Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather are also “larger than life.” In the end, it’s not about the physical conditions, it’s about what you make of your prerequisites.”

Rollins was scheduled to take on Riddle at WWE SummerSlam, but the bout was postponed as Riddle was “not medically cleared” by WWE. 

Fans can check out the current lineup for WWE SummerSlam by clicking here.