WWE: Seth Rollins showed his best qualities on Monday

Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman had a Universal Championship rematch in the main event of WWE Raw this week, but what happened when the lights went out stole the show.

The upcoming Hell in a Cell match between WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt’s alter-ego “The Fiend” will be one of the most highly-anticipated men’s matches of 2019. Not only will it be Wyatt’s first title match as “The Fiend”, but it will also be an opportunity for Rollins to either end his second title reign with a bang or take his game as a champion to the next level.

There’s so much intrigue around the matchup, and, on Monday, Wyatt and Rollins did a fantastic job of building towards their Oct. 6 battle.

Wyatt interrupted the title match between Rollins and Braun Strowman by turning out the lights and jumping in, suffocating Strowman with the “Mandible Claw” in a sickening display of cruelty. As this was happening, Rollins put on a face of incomprehensible terror, audibly screaming in panic at what was unfolding before him.

And this was absolutely wonderful.

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I’ve seen some version of a “Heel or face?” argument regarding Seth Rollins; so many wrestling fans want to figure out if they like Rollins more as a face or a heel. Despite it not being that long ago, there’s still so much nostalgia for Rollins’s heel run as the poster child of “The Authority”, and I think that exists because, as a heel, Rollins went above and beyond as an actor. He’d make himself look like a pompous ass, excelling not only when he was conceited but also when someone like Dean Ambrose humbled him by making him an utter fool. (Remember that time he got “Slimed”?)

So, Rollins selling for Wyatt reminded me of that. I mean, the man was 100-percent dedicated to the role, screaming like his life depended on it (to be fair, if Wyatt wanted to kill him, the deed would have been done) and giving off the “bug eyes”.

I’d also like to personally thank him for the memes.

In a short space of time, Rollins did a lot to put over Wyatt as a merciless monster and THE threat in WWE. If he loses the Universal Title to Wyatt at Hell in a Cell, then his title reign will have been ended by an entity that has been almost stripped of its humanity. The Fiend is the physical manifestation of fear itself, so why not sell the hell out of it? Rollins gave wrestling fans a special, meme-able moment right there that also serves the distinct purpose of accentuating the threat of The Fiend.

Even during the match, Rollins has to be praised for his physical selling in the match with Strowman. It was hilarious watching how he sold being run over by Strowman, flailing into the air and flopping on the ground, making sure to act as if his head had been bashed on the unforgiving floor. He also had a more purposeful, ingenious sell, stumbling during one of his patented suicide dives so that Strowman could catch him in the air and batter his back on the apron.

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Stumbling during a dive? I have a feeling Rollins will pull that trick to progress an in-ring plotline in a bigger title match one day…

Hopefully, we can see more wrestlers like Rollins sell the living hell out of fear. Wrestlers like Dana Brooke who aren’t in the main event scene make a regular habit of this to set themselves apart, but top stars should also be willing to go this route to enhance their feud. No, it won’t make them look weak. If anything, it’ll gain them respect as performers, as fans will take notice of the effort.

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