Seth Rollins recently sat down with Cathy Kelly for a lengthy interview. He discussed his early career, why The Shield was a success and the departure of Dean Ambrose.
Check out highlights below:
Transcription by WrestleZone.com Senior Editor Tyler Treese.
On transitioning from the indies to WWE:
From a talent perspective, I was always confident enough in my abilities that I could get my foot in the door [of WWE]. It was the other parts of the industry that you don’t really think about. On the indies, you don’t develop much of a character, you don’t cut that many promos. Those were two parts of my game that I was struggling to figure out. When people asked “Who is Seth Rollins?” or “What does Seth Rollins stand for?” it was hard for me to articulate that. That was one of the parts of my game I had to work on. Thankfully, Dusty Rhodes [worked with me] every Wednesday.
Why The Shield was so successful:
It worked well because we all had the same goal in mind and we were never trying to one up each other. Iron sharpens iron. We all knew our strengths, our weaknesses, and we were all working together to accomplish the same goal. Early on, that mindset was instilled to us. We had a mentor in Joey Mercury and he was one of the guys that [taught us to be successful]. Triple H was also very instrumental.
His friendship with Ambrose:
The funny thing is that Ambrose and I, we’re polar opposites in personalities. If you asked us to hang out and go get lunch together, who knows what we would talk about. It wouldn’t vibe. I’ve never been like let’s go grab a drink. It’s always about the work. He’s the first guy I ever got into the ring with where it was so easy every single time. [We never wrestled until FCW] and it just clicked right away. When we teamed up, everything just came together as well. We’re great enemies but better teammates. We think on the same wavelength.
On Dean Ambrose leaving
It breaks my heart. I get it. I understand that this place can be frustrating. He’s been doing it nonstop for 16 years now. Sometimes you need to step away and take care of yourself. I wish him luck on whatever he does. We’re still friends and brothers. I love him. He marches to the beat of his own drum … I know how he feels about his creativity. I never imagined us three working anywhere else and I never imagined [us separated]. It’s gonna be weird to come into a locker room where he’s not there. It tugs on my heart strings. I support him.
As he prepares to battle @BrockLesnar at #WrestleMania, @WWERollins opens up about his journey back to challenging for the #UniversalTitle and his REAL feelings about the current champion. https://t.co/aVQzQJDssN
— WWE (@WWE) April 3, 2019
