WWE: Seth Rollins flourishes when he’s an absolute jerk

Seth Rollins has become WWE Raw’s top male heel again, and it’s a spot that suits The Authority’s former golden boy perfectly.

In 2018, Seth Rollins caught a wave of momentum. After a brilliant Gauntlet Match performance before the Elimination Chamber, the Architect captured the Intercontinental Championships at WWE WrestleMania 34.

He then put on amazing matches with the title week after week, reunited with Dean Ambrose in the summer, and then feuded with the former Shield brother in the winter. And his momentum culminated in a wild victory over Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship to send the WrestleMania 35 crowd into a frenzy to start the show.

But Rollins cooled off during his title reign. Even though he won the title back from Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, achieving the almost unprecedented feat of beating Lesnar in two title matches at major PPVs, the crowd wasn’t feeling Rollins as a babyface anymore.

So WWE did what the fans quietly wanted to see. They turned Rollins heel, sending him on an ego trip around Survivor Series. Rollins cut arrogant, scathing promos on the fans and the locker room before orchestrating an attack on Kevin Owens with the Authors of Pain.

And although the heel turn isn’t even a month old, it’s been wonderful to watch Rollins as a jerk. Because that’s when he’s at his best.

Rollins was a strong babyface from late 2016 to 2019, but he was at the peak of his powers before that as a heel. The fans booed him, but they respected his character work with the best of them. Years later, Rollins is a more accomplished and experienced performer, and it shows.

He has been absolutely despicable as a heel again. Rollins pretended to ease up on Rey Mysterio after getting Rezar and Akam to do the dirty work on the United States Champion by attacking him, only to Stomp Mysterio’s lights out after faking an apology. He brutally attacked Mysterio one week later, even getting the Authors of Pain to “finish” Samoa Joe through a table.

The Architect cares for nobody but himself. He sees himself as above everyone else in WWE, and he is willing to go at any lengths to induce pain. Rollins’ promos make so much more sense and carry more bite as a heel, as everything from his facial expressions to his vocal inflections make more of a dent as a villain.

It’s going to be exciting to see how Rollins progresses in 2020 as a bad guy with Rezar and Akam as his “protection”. He is easy to dislike as a heel, since he’s a flat-out jerk who is conniving, selfish, and brutal. But since he’s so good at what he does in and out of the ring, fans won’t get tired of his heel act, so long as his work is eventually used to get the right faces over. And in Kevin Owens, WWE have certainly found the right “everyman” to push hard next year.