Actually, Seth Rollins is still pretty cool

Seth Rollins has been taking a lot of heat from fans, and others in the wrestling business, for speaking his mind. But since when is being passionate about your craft considered “uncool?”

Professional wrestling is an interesting industry. The performers need to be one part athlete and one part storyteller in order to achieve a level of success that most people only dream about. But when the audience watching doesn’t differentiate the story being told from the person playing the role then we have a problem.

Like a lot of wrestlers in the business today, Colby Lopez watched guys like Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior on WWF Wrestling and dreamed of one day being just like them: a larger than life wrestling superstar. Through dedication, hard-work, and commitment Lopez worked his way through the indies until finally realizing his long-fought dream of becoming Seth Rollins, WWE Champion. Fans rallied behind him on his journey, they cheered him all the way up to WrestleMania 35 when he dethroned Brock Lesnar and again at SummerSlam when he took the Universal Championship back and slayed “The Beast” one more time.

Then people began to turn on him and even Rollins can’t understand why. During an episode of Corey Graves’ new podcast After the Bell, Rollins said he doesn’t understand the backlash from fans considering how popular he was only a few months prior.

"You could go back, shoot, six months, you could go back a year. A year ago from Hell in a Cell … I was everybody’s favorite. Those same people who are panning Hell in a Cell and talking about how Seth Rollins is not cool are the same people who were clamoring for me to be the guy to face Brock Lesnar going into WrestleMania, so I don’t know what changed … except for the fact that I became the person that they wanted me to be and then they hated me for it."

Poor booking saw Rollins in some unimpressive storylines which started the shift in allegiance from the fans, none of which were his fault. His fiancee and current WWE Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch said it best when she received her own backlash from her former fan base. As Lynch said: “You’re a hero in the chase, and a villain in the victory.” It seems today’s world likes to build people up to a point only to tear them back down again.

There’s also been a change happening across professional wrestling recently where the white-meat babyface isn’t who fans gravitate to anymore. They want edgier characters such as “The Fiend” to get behind. It’s akin to the time of the Attitude Era when “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s rebellious ways were met with more reverence than the tried and true worker that Bret “Hitman” Hart was.

But in those days social media wasn’t a factor like it is today, with so much venom being spewed at not just the performers, but the men and women portraying the characters. When did it become acceptable to fire out personal attacks against someone because of what their character is doing in the storyline? How is a man’s passion for his craft and commitment to the company he works for met with complete vitriol?

Why is it okay for Kenny Omega to basically call the NXT brand “curtain jerkers” but when Rollins speaks down on AEW he’s met with backlash? Even a veteran like Jim Ross went after Rollins’ personal relationship rather than staying in the lane of professionalism. None of that should be acceptable but here we are and it’s a real shame because when you cut past bad storylines and social media Rollins is, actually, cool.

Regardless of who he was fighting, or what arena he was in, Rollins has always gone into the ring and put on a top-notch performance. He wanted to be a fighting champion and give the kids in the audience watching him the same feeling he got from watching Hogan and Warrior so many years before. The kids still think Rollins is cool because they aren’t jaded by speculation and rumors. All they see is what happens in the ring. Their hero is fighting with everything he has to accomplish his dreams and they aspire to be just like him some day.

But it’s not just the kids who still think Rollins is cool; many of Rollins’ fan base are still standing behind him. Marsh is a referee on the indies and host of Wrestling on the Rocks podcast. In the past few weeks he’s seen Rollins being attacked online and he has a completely different take.

"It sucks seeing all these people talk s–t about Seth hating his fans. When I think of the time I met Seth Rollins he had just the day before stayed hours late at a free meet and greet and had every reason to be exhausted and yet he still posed with excitement for my photo, made jokes with me, added a special inscription to my signature without being asked and otherwise happily went above and beyond to make the moment personal and individualized for me. I’ve met a lot of people in these settings and they don’t all go to those lengths."

Rollins is getting a bad rap because he’s vocal on social media and interviews. He’s vocal because he’s passionate about what he loves to do, which is wrestling, and he’s not about to lay down while people assume the worst of him. No one should begrudge him that. The bottom line is Rollins delivers in the ring, he’s been a workhorse his entire career, he touches a chord with fans who recognize his efforts and he’s giving back to the sport by training the next generation inside Black and Brave Wrestling Academy.

All of that is pretty cool.