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Still only 29 years old, you can’t help but to marvel at how much Seth Rollins has already accomplished at such a young age. His recent injury made everyone realize just how valuable this guy really is. Some go as far as to claim that Rollins is the only thing right with the WWE today. Sting recently backed up this statement by saying that Seth was the best worker he had ever worked with throughout his career; those are some pretty big words coming from Sting who fought just about everyone. Many believe that Rollins is way ahead of anyone else right now in the WWE, and his injury truly comes at the worst possible time.
Despite all the praise Rollins gets though, his path to the WWE wasn’t so easy. There was a point in time where Rollins almost quit the WWE and also almost got fired during his time with NXT because of a poor attitude. It certainly wasn’t all bright lights on his way to super-stardom. Let’s now checkout 15 other things you never knew about the former WWE Champion Seth Rollins; enjoy!
15) He Started Wrestling At The Age Of 14
At the young age of 14, Rollins began backyard wrestling with some of his friends from school. They typically used a trampoline to perform their matches, and they would also hold monthly events. This ultimately led Rollins to believe that he truly wanted to become a wrestler and had no interest in going to college. Only 3 years later at the age of 17, Rollins would wrestle his very first match for Scott County Wrestling (SCW) in 2003. Rollins wrestled under the name of Gixx.
14) Tyler Black
Before ever becoming a household name for the WWE, Seth Rollins went by the name of Tyler Black, wrestling on the independent circuit. Rollins actually made his debut as Tyler Black during his first ever match with the WWE prior to a SmackDown taping. His name was later changed to Seth Rollins when he made his debut for the WWE’s developmental brand at the time, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW).
13) Wrestled for TNA
Along his way through the indies, Rollins actually made a brief stop wrestling for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), in October of 2006. Wrestling under the name of Tyler Black, Rollins teamed up with Jeff Luxon. The two were defeated by The Latin American Xchange featuring Homicide and Hernandez. The match was featured on an episode of Impact. Rollins almost returned to TNA later in his career, but finally decided to join the WWE on a developmental deal instead.
12) Evan Bourne Convinced Rollins To Join The WWE
It was actually former WWE superstar Evan Bourne that convinced Rollins to join the WWE. Rollins had many offers on the table at that point, including contract offers from ROH and TNA Wrestling. Rollins was maineventing ROH events at the time and did not want to take a step back by joining the WWE while carrying around so much momentum. Ultimately, Evan Bourne convinced Rollins to join the WWE because at the end of the day, that is the place you want to be in. In August of 2010, Rollins signed a developmental deal with the WWE.
11) Loses To Curtis Axel In His Debut
Like in everything else in life, you have got to work your way to the top. For Rollins, winning wasn’t always as easy as it seems to be today. In his debut match with WWE’s territory FCW, Seth was defeated by Michael McGillicutty (aka Curtis Axel). Don’t feel too bad however because following the loss, Rollins won the Jack Brisco Classic Tournament becoming the FCW 15 Champion. He later moved on to a feud with future partner and rival Dean Ambrose. Rollins eventually became the first ever NXT Champion.
10) The Meaning Behind The Name Seth Rollins
Many people may not know this, but the name Seth Rollins is actually a tribute to one of his childhood idol’s growing up. Rollins claims he took his name from Henry Rollins, the leader of his favorite band Black Flag. Seth decided to use the name as a type of tribute to the musician. In case you were wondering, Seth’s real name is actually Colby Lopez, a name he used early on in his career.
9) He Credits Joey Mercury For Saving His Career
It is an understatement to say that Joey Mercury has done a lot for Rollins throughout Seth’s run with the WWE. Not only was Mercury the brains behind The Shield, but Mercury also helped Rollins get out of some pretty rough times while he was in developmental. Rollins was very frustrated while in development, believing he was by far the best wrestler there and believed he was long overdue for a call up. Rollins was so frustrated that he wanted to quit WWE altogether. Mercury was huge in calming Rollins down and telling him that with some patience he would one day be the face of the WWE. Thanks to listening to Mercury’s advice, this statement became true a couple of years later. What a turning point this was for the career of Seth Rollins.
8) Armenian, German and Irish Decent
Seth Rollins is actually Armenian and not of Latin decent, as many people are said to believe. Rollins' real name Colby Lopez, actually comes from his mother’s first husband that was Mexican. While Rollins' real biological father was Armenian, he spent most of his childhood eating Mexican cuisine as a child. Rollins unfortunately never got to meet his real biological father.
7) Originally Aspired To Become A Football Player
At a very young age Rollins originally aspired to become a football player. When asked what was his first ever dream job Rollins said during an interview that he always dreamed of being like Jerry Rice. Rollins grew up a 49ers fan, but admits as a kid he was a major bandwagon fan. His passion for football later diminished and his new passion for pro wrestling eventually took over (and we are obviously very thankful for that).
6) Intense Gamer
Rollins admitted that on his well earned days off from the road, he really enjoys doing absolutely nothing and playing video games all day. Rollins enjoys games like Metal Gear Solid, he also claims that when he does play wrestling games, he’ll only ever chose himself or Cesaro. As you can imagine, playing these games as of late had been very difficult but now with his recent injury, engage “gamer Seth”.
5) Fan of Punk Rock
Rollins was a big metal head early on his life, and he later transitioned to a more punk rock style. Rollins admits though, that the Punk Rock genre of today isn’t even close to what is used to be. Rollins looked up to many Punk Rock bands, with the first one he ever came across being Atreyu, and their single entitled, Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses. Rollins admits that he would love to combine his passion for music with his character in the WWE one day.
4) Rollins Joins CM Punk and Daniel Bryan In The History Books
Seth Rollins joined some pretty prestigious names in the history books when he was crowned WWE Champion. Rollins became only the third ever superstar in history to capture the WWE Championship and ROH World Championship. Seth joins only WWE superstars CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, on the list of other wrestlers that have ever done so. This past summer Rollins also became the first ever wrestler to hold the US and WWE Championship at once.
3) Shawn Michaels Is His Dream Opponent
Rollins admitted in an interview that it’s truly a long shot but admits his dream match would be against The Heart Break Kid Shawn Michaels. Like many others have said in the past, Rollins believes that Shawn is the greatest performer in the history of the WWE. Rollins also used a lot from Shawn in his gimmick today. It remains to be seen if this match will ever really take place. If Shawn would ever come out of retirement, this would certainly be a Match of the Decade contender.
2) He's The Only Wrestler To Ever Hold The Prestigious Triple Crown
Truly remarkable to look at how many records Rollins has already broken at the young age of 29. In addition to some of his great records, Rollins is also the only wrestler to have ever held the FCW Championship, the NXT Championship and the WWE Championship. Basically, this guy has been the best at every level he’s ever competed at. What makes it even more remarkable is the fact that Rollins accomplished all of this in just 4 years, between January of 2011 to March of 2015. Rollins goes down in history as the only superstar to ever accomplish this outstanding Triple Crown.
1) He Was Told He Was Winning The Title 90 Minutes Before He Cashed In
Although Seth still remains tight lipped about the situation, he did admit during an interview that as the show started, he still didn’t know that he was going to win the Championship. Several creative meetings were held throughout the day before it was finally determined that Rollins would become the first wrestler to ever cash in his Money in the Bank contract at WrestleMania. Some rumors indicate that Rollins was told 90 minutes before it was going down. Rollins met with Michael Hayes, Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar a little bit before the main event to put together the finish of the match. Following the match, Rollins had no time to celebrate and was put on a private jet and told to make his way to numerous interviews he had to do the next morning. Rollins basically admitted to getting no sleep in 48 hours. Talk about a turn of events for Rollins; that truly was a day he’ll never forget.
Sources: complex.com, bleacherreport.com, thesportster.com
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