Seth Rollins has provided his insight on the new World Heavyweight Championship.
Shortly before WWE’s Night of Champions, the new WWE World Heavyweight Championship was introduced in an attempt to aid scheduling in the wake of Roman Reigns possession of both the WWE and Universal Championships and the Tribal Chief’s limited schedule as well.
Seth Rollins obtained the status of the inaugural WWE World Heavyweight Champion when he was able to topple AJ Styles at Night of Champions in the finals of the championship tournament, cementing him as the top title holder on Monday Night Raw.
Rollins was a recent guest on Ryan Satin’s Out of Character podcast, where he would provide his insights on people’s thoughts that the World Heavyweight Championship is a secondary championship, acknowledging the importance of working to make the title feel important.
“I’m under no illusion that this title is the same as Roman’s title. That title has been around and so much equity has been put into it over the past few years. It means a lot. You saw how evident it was, even at Money in the Bank when [Roman] got pinned for the first time in three and a half years. You can’t just come in and pretend that all of a sudden this title is that important. No one is going to buy that crap. The way that I always saw champions that I looked up to and that I aspire to be were the champions that took the title to every territory and every town and defended it, and then, over time, people believed that it was a big deal. I came in when Cena and CM Punk were the world champions. I grew up watching Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, Triple H. These were the people that did that for the world title they were wearing. I’m trying, as I might, to fill those shoes and make this World Heavyweight Championship as big as it possibly can be for myself and the rest of the roster,”
-Seth Rollins
Rollins continued, stating that if Roman Reigns operated on a similar schedule to that of himself, then there wouldn’t be a need for the World Heavyweight title due to the increasing number of opportunities that would be available.
“Here’s the thing, if Roman was doing what I’m doing, there wouldn’t really be a need for a secondary championship. There wouldn’t be a need for another World Heavyweight Title on Raw because we would have somebody who was doing those things. It would give direction to the characters on the show and the show itself. Because of the route he has chosen and what he wants to do with his schedule and his title reign is not what I’m doing, somebody has to fill that void. We did our best with the United States Championship for a little while, but it never really felt like a World Heavyweight Championship. There has got to be that person, there has to be that spot for everybody to get to and try to fight for. I’m very happy to be the carrot that is dangling there. I think it’s a good thing. If Roman was doing all this stuff and defending the title all over the place, we wouldn’t have these problems or these issues, and there wouldn’t be a need for the title. One more little piece is, if the roster wasn’t so freaking stacked and there wasn’t so many people worthy of being World Heavyweight Champion on our roster, there also wouldn’t be a need for it. If we were suffering and were a one star promotion, then fine, but we have stars across the board on both brands. Kevin (Owens), Sami (Zayn), AJ Styles, all of Judgment Day, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Edge, all of these people, and I’m leaving a ton off, who are capable of being World Heavyweight Champion, have been in the past or are ready in the future. We need a title they can vie for that is around and available.”
-Seth Rollins
The inaugural WWE World Heavyweight Champion also noted that the title aids in the creation of additional storylines and establishing layers within the roster on Monday nights.
“It’s hard for characters to evolve and advance if you don’t have stories and a lot of our stories are based around levels. I’m creating one for Monday Nights, creating a top-tier level. That was the hand we were dealt after unifying the titles, that’s where we’re at, and we’re making the best of what we can, and so far, I’d say it’s made for good matches and good stories, and we’re just getting started.”
-Seth Rollins
Finally, Rollins was quizzed on some fans’ perspective that his title may be a “consolation prize” as opposed to Roman’s Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Seth stated that he viewed it as a “necessity”, however, he also added that he isn’t too bothered by the claims as he can understand where people are coming from with the comparison.
“If you watched and followed and saw how Roman has built up the title that he has, it only makes sense to view it as a consolation prize, but for me, it didn’t feel that way. It felt like a big deal, and it felt like a big deal because there are so many guys who are able to be in the shoes that I’m in right now. The fact that it’s me makes it feel like a big deal to me. I feel a lot of responsibility to represent them and the industry as well as I can and help everything move forward. It feels, sometimes, with Roman’s title reign, because there is only one challenger at a time and often only every few months, a lot of guys were in a holding pattern. I am a firm believer that having a title available is a necessity and I feel a lot of humility and responsibility in being the champion that will be there and available for our audience. I wasn’t offended by it, and I understood where people are coming from.”
-Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins is hot off the heels of a successful title defense against former Universal Champion Finn Balor at WWE’s recent Money in the Bank PLE in London England, although with Damian Priest now holding the MITB briefcase, his business with The Judgement Day is likely to be far from over.
Outside of his recent clash with Balor, Rollins has also defeated both Damian Priest and NXT’s Bron Breakker during his reign as the inaugural WWE World Heavyweight Champion, as he continues to lead the red brand forward post-Draft.
H/T to Fightful for the transcription.
