WWE Raw’s Top 5 Segments: Monday Night Rollins
By Joe Hulbert
1. Gauntlet Match: Seth Rollins vs. John Cena
As a complete match, the gauntlet extravaganza was something to see but this Cena and Rollins portion was undeniably its individual highlight for me. It started perfectly, with Seth rightly flooring Cena whilst he attempted to do his usual entrance theatrics, mid-gauntlet match. Things quickly turned around though as John gained an advantage and worked an alarmingly heel style, wrestling aggressively with cocky taunts mixed in-between. There was even a victory lap at one point as Cena attempted to ‘stick and move’ whilst telling Rollins to “stay down.”
He was just desperate to finish Seth as soon as possible and it created a dynamic very unique for a Cena/Rollins match. I appreciated ‘Coach’s part of this too, pointing out John’s intention to maintain energy considering what was still to come both here and in the chamber on Sunday. This really gelled nicely with Cena’s facial expressions and body language at the time. Overall, it was all quite bizarre but led to a genuinely great in-ring moment as Rollins fired up in Cena’s face, and finally fought back as things began to escalate.
A whole flurry of major moves followed with Rollins getting the mandatory Attitude Adjustment kick-out, before hitting an AA of his own after doing the classic Cena power spot that Michael Cole loves so much. In the end Seth not only won but he did so definitively, hitting his big knee and the blackout to score a clean win….all after already pinning Reigns of course. This match achieved a handful of things in my mind but none more so than the way it dramatically spotlighted and elevated Rollins.
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Honestly, this is the best I’ve ever seen Seth perform and it was a wonderful representation of his progress as babyface worker. It hasn’t always been smooth for Rollins since his 2016 return but his recent tag run seems to have really sharpened his skill-set and that showed in a big way in this standout gauntlet match. Maybe ‘Monday Night Rollins’ really is here to stay.