Now that the WrestleMania Madness is over, I would like to give my assessment on Seth Rollins becoming the NEW WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Throughout 2014, Rollins has been the most consistent workhorse not only in the Shield, but also on the roster. Rollins was the silent assassin of the group that you would least expect to make the most noise. From the time that the Shield split up, Seth has been poised for the highest ceiling beside Roman Reigns. However, Seth did create a roadblock for himself with his Twitter fiasco. As everyone knows, Rollins pulled his "Money Out of the Bank" for the world to see and came under intense fire as others posted the pictures on FB, Instagram as well as Twitter. Looks like Seth took "Rated R Superstar" to a whole different level. I don't think that is what Edge meant when he said that he was passing the torch. Fortunately, WWE swept it under the rug, as Rollins did not face a severe punishment. Vince McMahon has dealt with things much worse than this and saw enough in Seth not to put him the doghouse. What Rollins did was foolish, but he was saved. This is something that he will never live down. In spite of that, I still believed in Seth to do incredible things. Seth's cash in at Mania further validates me giving him the "Wrestler of the Year" Award in my Year End Review. Much like his predecessor Randy Orton in Evolution, Seth has become the Diamond of the Authority and of the Future for WWE. This adds the biggest dynamic to this rivalry. Like many people, I was skeptical about the breakup of the Shield. Since they have been disbanded, you can see some of the cracks in the armor of the members.
Dean Ambrose:
Dean Ambrose has been on a horrendous losing streak at Pay Per Views, in spite of his popularity. However, being "over with the fans" can only get you so far when you are on the verge of making the climb up the ladder. When you are just making a name for yourself, any and every PPV win is crucial. If you are Shawn Michaels or Chris Jericho, it really doesn't matter. Even though Dean has had high profile feuds with Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt, he came out on the losing end in both feuds. If you think that Bray Wyatt's stock has been falling, you got another thing coming. At least Wyatt has defeated Y2J at Summerslam. Ambrose has 0 victories in Big Matches. Following the feud with Bray, Ambrose gets put into the Intercontinental Title picture. While it may seem admirable, it was not the best position to put him in when you have someone like Daniel Bryan in the mix as well. Also, when you look at recent history, IC Champions have been on a losing streak (Ziggler, Barrett). With that said, clearly Dean is not the guy that WWE has the biggest plans for. In the group, Ambrose was perfect as the mouthpiece. On his own, we can all see the flaws. Ambrose is a combination of Brian Pillman, Roddy Piper, and Terry Funk but has the losing streak of Tommy Dreamer. I look forward to seeing WWE turn things around for him.
Roman Reigns:
Roman Reigns seemed destined to be Vince's new Golden Boy because of his image. Many fans have not been very welcoming of Roman, because of those qualities along with his lack of charisma. Much of the backlash comes from the fact that Roman seems out of place when he opens up his mouth. I want to see him succeed to carry on the tradition, but the guy cannot talk his way out of a paper bag. His promos were clearly forced by the Powers that Be in Titan Towers. However, Roman was on a streak of his own after the Shield's Destruction. He was in the MITB Ladder Match for the WWE/WHC, that was later won by John Cena. He scored the biggest win of his career at this point over Randy Orton at Summerslam. However, Roman's in-ring flaws have been greatly exposed when he does not have two workhorses covering them. Unfortunately, Roman's push was derailed as a result of an injury. He would return just in time to win "Superstar of the Year", which is when the hatred from the fans was amplified even more. The level of disdain towards Reigns was turned up to maximum levels at the Royal Rumble when he was vilified. Then, his flaws become even more glaring when he puts his Number 1 Contender Spot on the line against Daniel Bryan at Fastlane. Finally, we get to WrestleMania 31 and the show was destined to become a critical disaster among fans and critics because of the Main Event (Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns). If the Royal Rumble was bad, WrestleMania was even worse. Brock was cheered throughout the entire match as he beat Roman's brains in. Then as Lesnar is ready to finish things off, Seth's music hits.
Seth Rollins:
Rollins comes in to save the show, in a way that would make Edge very proud. In Edge like fashion, Seth cashes in as the opportunist to ride off into the sunset as the new Champion. Rollins was the darkhorse of this match, because of the Briefcase. Many thought it were best for Roman to win, then have Seth cash in after Mania. However, Vince had to pull the trigger to keep the show from ending in destruction. WrestleMania 31 was reaching WM 11 and WM 29 levels in terms of how bad it would be received. Thankfully, that did not happen. Seth's night was similar to Bret Hart's story at WrestleMania 10. At the start of the show, Bret lost to Owen. By the end of the night, Bret defeated Yokozuna to become WWF Champion. Fast forward 21 years later. Seth loses to Randy Orton with an RKO that became the highlight of the show. By the end of the night, Rollins leaves Mania as the Champion. The best part about this cash in is that Brock Lesnar was never pinned, which still makes him look strong. Rollins was already very impressive in his Triple Threat Match with Lesnar & Cena at The Royal Rumble. The feud with Rollins and Randy Orton has been heating up since Orton's return. Seth and Randy had a classic to kick off Mania. Speaking of one of Seth's other predecessors, Edge himself lost to Ric Flair earlier at New Year's Revolution in 2006 before cashing in on John Cena to become the new WWE Champion. Seth Rollins is poised to become the quintessential ring general of this era. Rollins is a great combination of Edge, Shawn Michaels, and a Prime Randy Savage remixed into 2015. His ring style and image have each of their names written all over. Rollins has a coolness about him that separates him from someone like Dolph Ziggler. With Rollins, I feel like there is a purpose in watching him. He has substance behind him and does not overdo it with his selling. At first, I thought he looked like a rejected version of X-23. He almost reminds me of General Zod, lol. Seriously, Seth's attire fits him perfectly. Seth's psychology, timing in the ring and brilliance in the ring are what make him very special. He may not be a Pipe Bomb dropping legend like CM Punk, but his mic skills are acceptable. Rollins is the right choice to fill the void that CM Punk left. With the right head on his shoulders, Seth could even be a better champion and more accomplished star than Punk himself. What Savage and HBK were to their respective eras, I look forward to Seth Rollins being the premiere in-ring performer and Showstopper for the next 10+ years. Rollins may have skipped the IC Title for now, but he will be the standard that other performers will be measured by. That is Best for Business.
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