Seth Rollins: Started from the Bottom...

...Now we're here.

 

 

I felt for one of my first pieces I had to write about Seth Rollins. Not just because he is one of the best in the business at the moment but because of what he represents to me. The best way to describe this, is to compare it to a good song. We all have songs in our lives that represents moments in our lives. That could be your school days, a particularly wild night out or your first dance at your wedding. And Seth Rollins is one of those moments for me. Because Seth Rollins was the wrestler who got me hooked on Indy wrestling.

 

The year was 2008. I had been a WWE fan since childhood and started watching TNA’s monthly PPV’s for the past few years. I knew about Indy wrestling but wasn’t clued in on who’s who. We used to have a channel in the UK called “The Wrestling Channel”, which showed some old ROH matches. Sadly, whenever I turned over, the old World of Sport matches were on

 

But it was Rollins that got me hooked. It was ROH’s Take No Prisoners PPV. I found it randomly searching online and decided to give it a watch. I am so glad I did. Without that event, maybe I would never have been so into Indy wrestling. Maybe I wouldn’t be writing this blog today.

 

 

 

Let’s contextualise, Seth wasn’t called Seth back then, he was called Tyler Black. He had “invaded” ROH as part of a group called “The Age of the Fall”. The storyline was red hot and Black was always going to be the breakout star and this was his moment. The opener pitted four guys (including Claudio Castagnoli, now WWE’s Cesaro) against each other with the winner challenging for the World title in the main event.

 

I must add the rest of the show was fantastic. There’s Kevin Steen (WWE’s Kevin Owens) in action, the Briscoe Brothers in a Tag Team War against the rest of the Age of the Fall and a semi-main event between Bryan Danielson (WWE’s Daniel Bryan) and TNA’s Austin Aries. Also, I remember liking Davey Richards in his tag match. He alongside Black would be my two favourites on the Indy scene until they both left.

 

Black wins the opener and goes onto main event the show where his opponent was the reigning ROH World Champion, Nigel McGuiness. What follows is one of my favourite matches of all time. I knew that McGuiness would walk out champion but the display that Black put on made me question (a few times) that Black would win the belt. No other match has ever done that. No other match has made me question the result that I knew as a fact. It was something truly special.

 

In fact, while researching for this post. I found out some comments Seth made on the match. In a feature on WWE.com, Black picked this match as 'the match that changed his life'. Here's what he had to say about it:

 

"The match that changed my life was me versus Nigel McGuinness, my first shot at the Ring of Honor World Title. It was in Philadelphia, Pa., at the National Guard Armory. Nigel was a world-traveled, top-of-the-line, first-class professional wrestler. I was 21 years old and really had no idea what I was doing. I had just broken into Ring of Honor. I hadn’t quite been established yet. At that point, I had been there for maybe six months, and Nigel took this guy who had just gotten started, but had a bit of a following, and made him a star in one match.

 

It was a huge educational process for me, just learning the beauty and the art form of what we do. It doesn’t necessarily have to be hero versus villain, but it was about a young, hungry up-and-comer against a veteran who’s the standard of a company. Feeling the momentum of that match, from the beginning until the very end, was something I’ll never forget.

 

When I came out of it, I had such a greater understanding of what professional wrestling could really do to an audience. To be a part of that is something that is fairly indescribable. You can’t compare it to just seeing it.” — SETH ROLLINS

 

Despite being heel, he pulls off the underdog performance of a lifetime and gets the crowd on his side. But after a spirited fight, he falls short to the champion. But in doing so makes a name for himself. I understand that to others indy fans this might not be special and that’s why I have never watched the event back, in fear that it doesn’t live up to my expectations and damage one of my favourite wrestling memories.

 

Tyler soon broke away from the Age of the Fall and turned face. He finally captured the ROH World Championship in 2010. Then signed with the WWE, transforming himself into Seth Rollins. It’s been a journey. From the breakout Indy star to challenging for the grandest prize in pro wrestling at the Royal Rumble. As well as holding the Money in the Bank briefcase, it’s only a matter of time before he wins his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

 

To have achieved all this and still be under 30 years old, it is clear Seth has a bright future ahead of him. It is plain to see why he has been called the Future of the WWE but to me he will always be the guy who opened my eyes to the world of Indy wrestling. Now if you excuse me, I've got a certain match to re-watch.

 

WWE.com Article link