Television Interview
WWE The Shield’s Seth Rollins: ‘We could triple-powerbomb Hulk Hogan’

By Mayer Nissim
Friday, Jan 24 2014, 9:38am EST

Tag team wrestling is a big deal at the WWE at the moment and a major part of its recent appeal has been The Shield – Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose.
Ahead of a Royal Rumble where all three men will compete, Digital Spy got on the phone with Seth and asked if this is the beginning of the end for the faction.
We also quizzed him on Hulk Hogan’s rumored comeback, Daniel Bryan’s success, Goldust’s winning return and why he wants to dethrone John Cena.

It’s every man for himself in the Royal Rumble – is this where The Shield start to part ways?
“I don’t think so. It’s every man for himself but there’s 27 other guys in there that need to get out of that ring before we figure out which one of the three of us is the best. I would be worried for the 27 other dudes who are gonna be having to deal with hopefully the three of us in the ring at the same time.

“No-one has gotten away from that the whole year. Not The Rock, not The Undertaker, not John Cena. When there’s three of us in the ring at the same time, it’s disaster for anybody else.”

What are your favorite Royal Rumble moments from the last 25 odd years of the pay-per-view?
“I loved the Rumble that Shawn Michaels won. Bulldog threw him over and he hung on by the skin of the teeth and dumped Bulldog – that was one of my favorite ones.

“I always like the Hogan ones, I think 1990 was a really good Rumble. It’s a cool thing to watch, such a spectacle. It only happens once a year and there’s so much on the line, so much at stake. Everybody’s out there working it as hard as they possibly can to get that shot at WrestleMania. It’s nuts. It starts WrestleMania season – it’s just an exciting time in the WWE.”

It’s 30 years since Hulk Hogan first won the WWF title – what do you think of rumors of his return at WrestleMania XXX?
“I mean hey, he’s a legend, if he comes back in the WWE that’d be great for us just to have him around. He’s an icon in the history of our business. But, if he steps in our way, he could end up getting triple-powerbombed too.”

Talking legends – you were in the ring with Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts and his new reptile on Old School Raw – what was it like?
“It was great to see Jake, it was terrible to see that ugly, disgusting snake! That thing is big and slimy and scary and gross! Even though he wasn’t on our side that night, just to see Jake back and looking good and healthy and clean, that’s cool man. He came from a dark place, so just to see him doing well with his life is really awesome and inspirational.”

Assuming you’re the last man standing on Sunday, who would you most want to take on for the WWE Heavyweight Championship come WrestleMania?
“Randy [Orton]’s the current champ, but John is the guy and he’s been the guy for the last ten years. If there’s anybody I’d want to dethrone, John would be the guy. If you asked me whose spot do I want, I’d say I want John Cena’s spot, so to beat him at WrestleMania would be a feather in my cap, for sure.”

With The Shield, Cody Rhodes & Goldust and the Wyatts – is the tag division as exciting now as it’s ever been?
“I would say so. We went through, as a company, a good chunk of time there where tag team wrestling just fell off. Then Bryan and Kane [as Team Hell No] had the tag titles for a long period of time. We took them from them, which really is a great honor, because they really brought ’em back to really meaning something.

“I think myself and Roman Reigns, even Dean Ambrose with him to an extent, we took tag wrestling in a different direction in the WWE. We showed people what it could be.

“I love tag team wrestling. I’ve loved it my whole life. A lot of my favorite teams – The Rockers [Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty], Legion of Doom [Michael ‘Hawk’ Hegstrand and Joseph ‘Animal’ Laurinaitis], The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express [Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson], Midnight Express [Bobby Eaton and Dennis Condrey].

“The excitement with all the guys in the match. There’s so much more you can do with four bodies in the rules of a tag team match than two guys in a singles match. It’s just a completely different thing.

“I think we just took it to another level. I felt the writing on the wall with what we can do, and there were a lot of guys in the tag division who were on board. And once we stepped up our game everybody else had to measure up. That was a cool thing.”

How surprised and impressed have you been with the way Goldust has turned back the years?
“Maybe the greatest comeback of all time. If you really look at it… he’s in his 40s at this point. I don’t know what his age is because he’s got that stuff on all the time. He’s literally in the best shape of his life – the best matches he’s ever had.

“You put 20-plus years behind that of history, he’s amazing. And what he’s doing right now with Cody? It’s incredible to see. It stinks, because they took the tag titles away from us, but they’re doing well with them and he’s just incredible. If I can be in that good a shape when I’m his age, then I’ll be thrilled.”

What’s it like to have The Ultimate Warrior back in the fold with his induction into the Hall of Fame?
“I can’t wait for his speech! I hope I’m there, I can’t wait. That’s just going to be immense. I don’t know what they’re going to do with that. If you’re not there live, then wait for the DVD, because they’re going to have to edit that thing for a Hall of Fame special for sure!

“To have him back is really cool because he’s an icon in our business and the history of our business. He was like a whisper in the wind. Like a firecracker – a few years, BOOM! blew up and then gone. To have him back, doing his thing with us is pretty cool. He was one of my favorites growing up.”

Your old rival Daniel Bryan seems to be getting the most love in the singles at the moment, why do you think that is?
“Those of us that have known Daniel Bryan for a long time, such as myself, it’s really no surprise what he’s doing right now. For some people in the company maybe it is a surprise and maybe it’s not what they expected out of him. But for me, I’ve seen Daniel do this for years.

“In tiny little gymnasiums with just a couple of hundred people in them to WrestleManias with tens of thousands of people, Bryan is a captivating performer in the ring, and people recognize that. He takes a while to grow on you like some weird fungus, but once he’s there and you accept it and you just let him into your life I think you’ll be better off because he’s one of the best, he really is.”

Is it going to last? Will the crowd be loving him for a long time to come?
“I think so. I think he’s put himself in that position where he’s got it good for the next 10, 20 years if he wants it.”

The singles belts are unified at the moment as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship – is that good for business or can you see them being divided after WrestleMania? Do you have a preference?
“I don’t know, it’s been a long time since we had one major championship. I’m not told what they’re doing with it. All I know is one WWE World Heavyweight Champion, that’s what I’m used to. When I grew up watching wrestling, that’s what I saw.

“I think it adds a lot of prestige, not only to that belt but the other belts, the other championships as well – the IC [Intercontinental] Championship – Big E Langston’s got that, and Dean Ambrose has the US title. Now those are right next to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship – that’s the next step. Having those is a springboard to greatness, hopefully.”

You mentioned the desire to dethrone John Cena – apart from him is there anyone living or dead, Superstar or otherwise you’d love to have a bout with?
“Shawn Michaels, no doubt. Shawn’s been the driving force in my stylistic approach to professional wrestling, and he’s Mr WrestleMania, so to have a match with him at any point would be great – to have a match with him at WrestleMania would be on another level.”

Seth Rollins and The Shield compete in the Royal Rumble this Sunday, January 26 (8pm ET/5pm PT). Available on Pay-per-view in the US and on Sky Sports Box Office at 1am (Monday, January 27) in the UK.

Source: www.digitalspy.ca
Follow us: @digitalspy on Twitter | digitalspyuk on Facebook