Seth Rollins Hypes Up Title Defense Against Shinsuke Nakamura At WWE Payback 2023
WWE Payback 2023 emanates from the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, tonight, with Seth Rollins set to defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura in the main event.
Ahead of tonight’s show, Rollins was a guest on the “After The Bell” podcast with WWE announcers Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves, where he hyped up his title defense against Nakamura, discussed Shinsuke’s comments about his back injury and its extent, and more.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On his title defense against Shinsuke Nakamura tonight: “He’s a dangerous cat. You look at his catalog, it’s second to none. He’s one of the greatest in-ring performers there is. In many ways, I’m thrilled our audience is finally getting to see the version of Shinsuke Nakamura that you and I fell in love with many years ago. I’m excited for him to be able to get himself to a place where clearly his confidence is rocking. You can see it, you can feel it, there is an electricity every single time he’s out there, often at my expense, but even the pre-tape packages have been something to behold. You can see it. He’s a special dude. He’s vibing, he’s feeling himself. The only issue for him is I’m also vibing and also feeling myself. We’re two dudes at the top of our game. It’s going to be special. A few years ago, some people might have called this a dream match. I think now, more than ever, it’s a dream match. The fact that we have the World Heavyweight Championship on the line, it’s only going to add to it and it’s going to be a special night for both of us.”
On his back injury, how he plans to overcome Nakamura: “He’s not wrong. My back sucks. I’ve had these injuries for four or five years now. I have two stress fractures in the lowest vertebra you can possibly have in my low back. Occasionally, they flare up. If they accrue too much damage, it can become extremely painful, and it can be very difficult for me to get through matches and it can be very difficult for me to get up for morning activities. There is absolutely a danger in that. If he does take a specific target to that body part, there is a possibility that it would debilitate me for the match and for a time after that. On the other side of that, I’ve had this injury for a long time. I know how to manage it. I’m smarter than I’ve ever been in the ring. I’m able to take the punishment. I’ve trained my body to take the punishment. I know how to work around it. That’s going to be my intent as he is going to intend to target it. I won the World Heavyweight Championship with these injuries. I beat AJ Styles, Finn Balor with these injuries. I see no reason why I wouldn’t be able to do the same thing with Shinsuke Nakamura, regardless of him targeting my back or not. This is the first time I’ve had someone really come at this injury, so that does make me a little nervous, but I feel confident I’ll be able to handle it and push through.”
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