Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins has revealed that he was nearly signed with TNA in 2010.
At the time, Rollins was wrestling as Tyler Black and coming off a strong run in Ring of Honor. TNA, led by Dixie Carter, offered him a contract. Rollins was negotiating with both WWE and TNA, but WWE had not responded to him. Frustrated by the silence, he told his management team to prepare the TNA deal.
However, just minutes before he was ready to sign with TNA, John Laurinaitis who was Head of Talent Relations and Executive Vice President of Talent Operations. He called him and that call changed his wrestling career forever.
Seth Rollins reflects on 2010 contract uncertainty with WWE
Speaking on the Club Shay Shay podcast with Shannon Sharpe, Rollins explained how uncertain things were at the time. He said WWE focused on signing bigger wrestlers and wasn’t recruiting smaller talents like him.
Despite his strong wrestling skills, he didn’t fit their preferred look. Dave and Joey supported him, and he also reached out to smaller companies for opportunities. He said he struggled to get a response from WWE.
Rollins said, “I wasn’t getting any call back from WWE. Nobody was picking up, nobody was answering emails. So, I had a deal on the table for another company with TNA, and I was like, you know what? I don’t want to sign this deal. I just don’t know if I want to sign this deal. Like, WWE is where I want to be.”
Rollins decided to make one final call to WWE’s talent relations department. “I said, ‘I’m going to sign this deal with TNA if I don’t hear back from you.’ It was Sunday night, and I was planning to sign in the morning.” He received a call back. John Laurinaitis told him they would talk to their team and call him again the next morning.
Rollins said he could not sleep that night, unsure of what would happen. “When they called back and said, ‘We’re going to give you an opportunity,’ I remember exactly where I was standing. I didn’t care how much money it was for. I didn’t care. That’s all I ever wanted — an opportunity.”
He admitted he turned down significantly more money from TNA just to chase his dream with WWE. “I probably turned down at least triple the money,” he said. “But this is the biggest wrestling company in the world. This is my dream.”
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