Seth Rollins Criticizes Roman Reigns – ‘He Hand-Picks His Opponents’
Seth Rollins defeated AJ Styles to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship this past weekend at WWE Night Of Champions in Saudi Arabia.
Appearing on WWE’s The Bump today, Rollins shared his thoughts on becoming a champion again, and criticized Roman Reigns for hand-picking his challengers and playing safe.
You can check out some highlights from Rollins below:
On finally being a world champion again: “It has been a long road, it really has. Nearly four years since I’ve held a world heavyweight championship, and I said it on Raw a little bit, lots of ups, lots of downs. The audience, they love me, they hate me, they like me, they don’t like me. I’ve loved every second of it. It’s been a transformative four years. I’m a completely different person than I was the last time I held a world heavyweight championship. So this time, it really does feel right. I’m excited to bring a world title back to Raw, a show that has sorely missed a world champion in quite some time, and I plan on defending that title, being present, being the man on Monday nights like I have been, but this time with a title on my shoulder.”
On wrestling AJ Styles for the inaugural title: “It’s special. Any time you’re able to do something for the first time, it’s special, and it feels special. This one was the biggest of the three, and I’ll tell you why. It’s because this was a culmination. This title doesn’t exist if our industry and our company isn’t so healthy with incredible talent across the board. There was a need for a title on Monday nights. There was a need for a new title because everybody is so good. You look across the board, myself, AJ Styles, all the SmackDown guys, really. Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, Gunther. You look at Raw, you got Cody Rhodes, you got Kevin, you got Sami. There’s just tons of guys, tons of competition at the top, and we needed a prize to fight for since our Universal Champion wants to keep his part-time schedule. So we gotta have a title. I was more than thrilled to have it. I’m more than thrilled to be the guy to usher in this new era, an era of change.”
On who he wants to face for the title: “I said it in the beginning. I want the competition. I want anybody from any brand. I don’t care if it’s SmackDown, Raw, NXT, I don’t care if it’s from anywhere across the globe. I want people to come through that curtain, I want them to challenge me, whether it’s a shot at the title, whether it’s the title itself, whether it’s a tag match, six-man, cage match, doesn’t matter to me. I want the fight. I want the excitement. I want to elevate myself and this title along with me.”
On how Roman Reigns picks his opponents: “Just open it up. Roman Reigns hand-picks his opponents. You can see it. He’s been doing it for years. It’s a smart move. It’s a smart move if you’re only interested in yourself. But I’ve been interested in myself for a long time. Myself is great, but also myself is fine. I’m going to be fine, so let’s open it up. I want everybody coming. I want the wolves snipping at my heels. I want to run, I want to climb the mountain, let’s go. I want everybody chasing me to the top. I want to raise the entire scene. I want all the ships to come up with me. I’m ready for that challenge. I want it now more than ever. I’m more ready than I’ve ever been. I’m just hitting my prime, I’m just hitting my hot steak. Let’s ride it til I can’t do it no more.”
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