Seth Rollins takes over Monday Night Raw

The final Monday Night Raw before the Elimination Chamber PPV this Sunday was headlined by a Gauntlet Match, and Seth Rollins stole the entire show.

This should really come as no surprise to any wrestling fan but Seth Rollins is coming off a star performance on this past episode of Monday Night Raw. There are seven men in this Sunday’s Elimination Chamber which will decide who faces Universal Champion Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania in April. General Manager decided to put all seven men in a Gauntlet Match until the final man gained victory. Roman Reigns drew the number one spot, and he faced off against Shield-mate Seth Rollins.

After a PPV-caliber match between these two men, Rollins was able to gain victory via rollup and then had to take on superstar John Cena. As WWE has told us countless times, many stars can’t hang with Cena on their best days. Rollins just went through a grueling match with Reigns and really stepped his game up with Cena. Rollins kicked out of multiple moves, and the crowd was firmly behind him as he frustrated Cena. Time and again, Rollins came back for more until he was finally able to fall on Cena to pick up the 1-2-3. Rollins bowed out shorty after against Elias, but in a little over one hour’s worth of work, Rollins had become a heavy fan favorite once again. The most frustrating thing about all of this is WWE almost totally missed the boat on Rollins heading into WrestleMania season.

If we rewind a little bit, Rollins was carrying the company on his back during his time when he turned on the Shield. He became the first man to cash in Money in the Bank at WrestleMania in 2015 and was an absolute workhorse until he tore up his knee. Ever since then, he hasn’t been quite on the same level he was prior to injury. Sure, he had high profile feuds with Triple H. He had chances to regain his spot at the top of the mountain, but WWE never full seemed behind him in the way they were prior to the knee injury. To wit, just a few weeks ago Rollins was stuck in a tag team with Jason Jordan.

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The storyline was really not headed anywhere. The team was treading water with Jordan inevitably costing the team wins or screwing over Rollins by running his mouth. It just wasn’t that exciting, and fans couldn’t help but feel that Rollins was trapped at one of the most important parts of the year. WrestleMania is right around the corner!

Rollins was likely going to fight Jason Jordan to settle their differences as a team. That’s a massive step down in the card ,and frankly, Rollins deserves better. Jordan then suffered a neck injury, and WWE had to shift gears.

Fortunately, they decided to give Rollins a massive push Monday night. For his part, Rollins was very grateful after the show.

It’s nights like these when I remember why I fell in love with professional wrestling. Thank you to the men I shared the ring with this evening. It was truly special. I’ve drawn a line in the sand... #MONDAYNIGHTROLLINS #WrestleMania
— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) February 20, 2018

It’s not coincidence that Rollins was given a new t-shirt that said “Monday Night Rollins” on the same night he wrestled for over an hour and pinned Reigns and Cena. Those things don’t happen by accident. Still, it’s incredibly frustrating that it took an unfortunate injury to force the hand of the promotion. Rollins deserves to be a main event guy, and he proved that during his long title reign a few years ago. A performance like we saw Monday night doesn’t happen every week. Rollins is incredibly talented and shouldn’t be wallowing in the mid-card at virtually any point. This is the kind of stuff that drives the hardcore fans batty.

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Seth Rollins, the star, was re-born last night. He’s never really not been a star, but the light hasn’t been as bright in recent weeks. He forced WWE and everyone else to take notice and firmly planted his flag as a guy who is ready to carry the show once again. Now, WWE just has to follow through and let him.