Seth Rollins does not lose at SummerSlam often. He has a 7-1 win-loss record at the event; the only defeat coming at the hands of Finn Balor in 2016 which was for the inaugural WWE Universal Champion. No wonder he often referred to Mr Summerslam and talked about in the same breath as ultimate perfectionist Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart. This year, with Roman Reigns vs John Cena and Bobby Lashley vs Goldberg headlining the event, one would think Rollins would have it relatively easy this time around to extend his dominance at WWE’s biggest event of the summer. Only trouble is, Rollins is up against the veteran Edge, who has got a second wind ever since returning to action recently. Coming off a fantastic programme with Randy Orton, Edge has proven he still can deliver at the top level and with the much younger Rollins, the story-telling has been top-notch. Rollins, or his character of the Messiah, draws a lot from Edge’s past gimmicks itself and over the past month their build-up is proof that both performers will pull off another story-telling masterpiece. Ahead of their match – surprisingly their first one-on-one joust in the WWE – Rollins talks about the rivalry, Roman Reigns and the return of Cena among other things.
Excerpts:
On SummerSlam…
I have had a good run of SummerSlam matches. And being compared to the Hitman is high regard. This year, SummerSlam is huge, the match itself with Edge and the event is special. It will be the first time we are going to be inside a full stadium in a year and a half; so, the pressure is on. SummerSlam always has been No.2 in the WWE calendar. I have always loved the event as a child and being part of the lore, history and legacy of the event is pretty special. So I always lace them up extra tight for SummerSlam.
On Edge…
It is nice (to work with him). Since he came back from a career-threatening neck injury, he is not taking anything for granted. He is extra sharp and wants to put in extra effort to do everything the best he possibly can. Obviously, because he is on borrowed time and he knows that. He is also a perfectionist and a lot of times, as we have detailed on-screen, our characters are very similar and in real life also we are two similar type of personalities. Sometimes it can work for you and sometimes it can work against you, but if you watched the last month of television I feel like it works for us. It is one of those situations where iron sharpens iron. I want to work with the best so I can be at my best and I think he feels the same way.
On John Cena’s Return…
John is a special cat. He has devoted so much of his life to WWE, carrying the company literally on his back for over a decade when there was nobody else who could handle it. And I learned so much from him in the ring, and outside of the ring. He coming back at this event is just perfect. Whether this is his swansong or not, who knows. Obviously, he has a career in Hollywood, he is doing big things so we are not going to have him in moments like this very often so to be able to utilise his star power, to put more eyes on WWE – am all for it. And he is not showing up to just do SummerSlam. He is been at SmackDowns, RAWs when he does not have to be, he has been with us on live events this past month. He does not have to do that, that’s a schedule he does not need to keep, but the fact he is devoting that much of time to WWE and putting in the work and showing up and doing his thing and being awesome; I love it; and I am happy for John and looking forward for Cena vs Reigns for the Universal championship
On Roman Reigns and connecting with the audience…
He was in WWE few months ahead of me, but I have watched him grow as performer. And one thing people don’t understand is that it takes time to be really good at this business and to figure yourself, find your comfort level. And even though he was put in a position to succeeds early on, that’s is a lot of pressure for a young man. He is in the middle of an incredible run in terms of Wrestlemania main events and being put in the Hulk Hogan-John Cena top spot, and it has not been easy. That is a difficult thing to do. From SummerSlam to SummerSlam he has evolved so much as a character and he is in a place right now where he feels comfortable and you can really sense that, his personality has started to shine through, or shades of it anyway. And that’s really what connects you to the audience – that authenticity. For years he was kind of struggling to figure out who he was on screen and now he has. It’s been cool to see his growth from someone who was a mentor to him in his young years and to watch him grow now, I feel real good about that.
On Becky Lynch and fatherhood…
I wish I knew (Lynch’s return). It is her goal to return at some point but when is it going to be, we don’t know. She is a timing person, timing needs to be right for her. I am sure you will get some trolling posts this weekend from her as big the event approaches. She has been keen to do that over the last few months to just to mess with you guys. Personally, they (Lynch and their daughter Roux) are doing great and are healthy. They are the loves of my life and I love the fact that I get to spent time with them whenever I can. Being a dad and a husband is way cooler than what I could ever imagine.
On Crowd Returning to Full Capacity at SummerSlam 2021…
It is going to push my adrenaline through the roof; I can’t wait. Those big moments is what I live for and that is why we get into the business. For me this SummerSlam is going to be a wild one and it will be almost like a second WrestleMania this year. You can feel it in the locker room as well. It is going to be extra special and I think that everyone is going to bring out their A game and have a killer match and give a killer performance.
Live coverage of WWE SummerSlam 2021 in India on SONY TEN 1 (English), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) and SONY TEN 4 (Tamil and Telugu) on August 22, 2021 starting with WWE SummerSlam 2021 Kickoff from 4.30 am IST followed by WWE SummerSlam from 5.30 am IST
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