Q&A: Wrestler Seth Rollins is passionate about WWE, food, Cardinals
By: Carlos Ayulo

Growing up in Iowa, Seth Rollins had a passion for sports and music.
That passion became a profession when he began wrestling in the independent circuits before signing a contract with the World Wrestling Entertainment’s developmental program.
Since being called up to the WWE main roster in 2012, Rollins, 28, has blazed a trail by tangling with the company’s elite talents and being involved in prominent angles on pay-per-view cards.
Rollins looks to continue his rise on his return to St. Louis on Friday for “WWE Live” at Scottrade Center. He will face off with former champion John Cena in the main event, inside a steel cage.
He talks with us about his favorite feuds, a dream opponent and his loyalty to the Cardinals.
Predict your match result at the “WWE Live” event versus Cena. Of course, I’ve got a little bit of bias there, but I’m pretty sure it’s gonna go very well for me. John Cena has been around the block one or two times, and he’s got the advantage: experience. But I’m youthful, and I’m a lot more talented than him. I think I’m gonna beat him and show people in St. Louis why I’m the future of the WWE.

You’ve been added to the World Heavyweight Championship match at the “Royal Rumble” against the champion Brock Lesnar and Cena. What are the odds of you winning the title?
My odds are two times better than their odds because I have the Money in the Bank briefcase (he can turn in the briefcase at any time to challenge the champion). That’s one advantage neither of them have, so, I have two opportunities and they only have one. This is my first shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, hoping that it only takes me on shot and I don’t have to resort to the briefcase, but we’ll see what happens.
I’m looking at it as a once-in-a lifetime opportunity. I’m going to go out there and do what I do and give it everything I got.
When I get out there, I don’t really care who thinks I don’t have a shot against two guys. The point is Cena vs. Lesnar vs. Rollins. I think that says a lot.

Best moment so far during your main-roster run?
Man, there have been so many. I honestly think my top moment personally was main eventing “Hell in the Cell” because of what that meant overall in the grand scheme of things. I don’t think people understand the immediate impact of that (performance). As we move forward, into the next generation of this company, I think people are really going to look back at this time period and at pay-per-view particularly as a breaking point.

With whom do you have the most chemistry in the ring? Probably Dean Ambrose, as much as I hate to say it. Or John Cena, to be honest with you. Those two guys, I seem to be able to go in the ring and have good matches every single time. Two guys who are obviously nemeses of mine but two guys who bring the fight every single time, as well. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that they are the only guys that can match my passion. And that’s what’s truly shown in our matches.

Favorite feud since arriving to the main roster? Ambrose has been one of my favorite feuds. Also, the Wyatt Family were phenomenal foes for (The Shield) for very similar reasons I mentioned before. … (The Wyatts) matched our passion as far as wanting to take over the world. And when you get two crazy forces like the Shield and the Wyatt Family, you’ve got a combustible element. Those were some of my favorite, for sure.

Was the feud between your former team, the Shield, and the Wyatt Family too short? Yeah. Maybe. We only got one pay-per-view match out of it at “The Elimination Chamber.” I would venture to say that the fans of the WWE Universe would have liked to have seen another one of those (matches) or two. But it was like one of those shooting stars: You got to catch it while you can.

Which current main-roster superstar is a must-watch? Besides myself, that’s a tough one. Honestly, they are few. Bray Wyatt is the first one that comes to mind, just because he is extremely captivating with the way he speaks and moves and walks. He is a lot different than a lot of the characters we’ve got now. Another, actually, is fellow ex-Wyatt Family member Luke Harper. I think Harper is one of the most underrated talents on our roster right now. He is a big man. He has it all, and he is exceptional in the ring. I think he brings a lot to the table, and he is going to be a big piece moving forward.

And a must-watch superstar from the NXT (developmental) roster? There are tons of guys there. I could go with the obvious ones — Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville. You have the guys just getting in there getting their footing now — (Hideo) Itami, Finn (Bálor). And then we have guys that have been there for a minute — Tyler Breeze. The girls are phenomenal — Sasha Banks and Charlotte. There is a cat I really like, CJ Parker, that I don’t think gets nearly enough credit for being as awesome as he is. I think there are so many guys down there. Kevin Owens, also. Guys who I’ve been friends with a for a long time.
I’m really excited to see what they do down there, but I’m more excited to see what the roster looks like in a few years when they all are hanging out with me up here.

Which wrestler do you model your in-ring style after? Two that come to mind for me are Shawn Michaels and Eddie Guerrero. These two guys are about my size. They were two guys that could do everything. It didn’t matter where they were, they were wrestling against, they could mesh styles with pretty much anybody.
I grew up in the early 2000s, being one of the first-generation wrestlers to have access to the Internet and watch independent wrestling. We usually didn’t have to trade tapes anymore. We could just get online and search AJ Styles or Low Ki. I’m heavily influenced by guys similar to Samoa Joe, as well. My styles range quite a bit. I go for an all-around kind of fan. Never wanted to be the dude that could do one thing. I wanted to be the guy that could hang with anybody.

Talk about the success your former teammates from the Shield, Ambrose and Roman Reigns, are having in singles competition? Everyone is doing great, as we all knew that we would. Essentially, this was the goal. Our goal was to take over the industry — create (our own style) instead of watching other people and try (to imitate theirs). Now when you look at myself, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, who are three top stars in the company, maybe besides John Cena, there’s maybe nobody else who’s even close. And that’s a testament to how badly we’ve wanted (success) when we came in and how hard we still work every single day to make sure one of us is not going to be ahead of the other. That’s certainly a competition and something we are interested in.

Could Seth Rollins have had success in the “Attitude Era”? Absolutely. I’m as talented as they come. I would have success in any era. People want to talk about that as the golden era of anything. It was the perfect storm is what it was. I’m not going to take away from what those guys in that era did who are hall-of-famers and are incredible. But it’s a different world we live in now, and to compare 2015 to 15 to 18 years ago, it’s apples and oranges. It’s not the same thing. People need to take it easier on what we got going on today. We put out an extremely good product with a lot of talented guys.

Favorite all-time wrestler? Shawn Michaels. He is the best. Nobody in big-match situations could top him. He had so many moments at “Wrestlemania.” He literally could do anything with anybody. He is the best ever.

Who is your dream opponent? It’s Shawn at “Wrestlemania.” I would be hard-pressed to say anybody else.

Rick Flair or Hulk Hogan? Hogan, yeah. That’s no knock on Flair. I love Rick. He did things Hogan never did, but I grew up watching WWF, and Hulk Hogan was one of the main reasons why I got into wrestling. He is the first guy who ever captivated me as kid. So yeah, Hogan.

How many days a year are you on the road? I would say 250 to 300 — somewhere in there — 275, maybe. Between tours, we are on the road five days a week, usually, plus international tours.

How did you come up with your ring name, Seth Rollins? Seth was one of these names no one was jumping on. I thought it was a good one. And Rollins was kind of a tribute to Henry Rollins, who is one of my favorite people. He is an awesome dude. I love what he stands for and the way he lives his life. He is a funny guy. If you never listen to him or checked out his music, I suggest it. He also has a nice role on “Sons of Anarchy.”

What the reason for the two-toned hair? I was down in Florida Championship Wrestling, which was NXT before NXT. There were a lot of guys walking around with long dark hair. Roman (Reigns) had it. Adam Rose, was Leo Kruger at the time; he had it. Bo Dallas was down there, as well; he had it. There were a plethora of gentlemen who wore long, dark hair. I kind of wanted something to carve my own niche. I wanted to have (hair) that stood out. If you showed up at the show for the first time, you were able to see this cat with half blond hair. You can remember that.

Source: STL Today (Website)