PWP Nation’s Derek Gifford attempts to compare the legendary Shawn Michaels and one of WWE’s brightest stars, Seth Rollins. This should be fun!
Seth Rollins is undoubtedly one of the best wrestlers in this era, when judging from his athletic ability and his in-ring skills, which he shows every time he steps in a wrestling ring. Because of that, people had no choice, but to cheer for him. Fans respect the heck out of the “Architect.”
But can he compare to the WWE Hall of Famer, Shawn Michaels?
Well, with most modern day era wrestlers, you look back in the past to see similarities between your childhood heroes like for instance, John Cena reminds me of the modern day Hulk Hogan or Fandango reminds me of a modern day Disco Inferno. But most people see a Shawn Michaels in Seth Rollins. There are a ton of shared traits that these two share and you could say that Rollins is WWE’s new Heartbreak Kid with his talents.
Watching a Seth Rollins match on the WWE Network, like for example his match against Brock Lesnar and John Cena at the Royal Rumble in 2015 or against Dean Ambrose at Money In The Bank, or even his winner takes all match at SummerSlam against John Cena for the US Title, reminds me of a young Shawn Michaels in his prime.
The first sign of similarities come from how Seth Rollins was in the shield and how Shawn Michaels was with Marty Jannetty in the Rockers. Both of these men broke up from their partners and perused a solo career in WWE, which led to more championships and a better all round character. HBK had a tight relationship with Vince McMahon, so he got, what you can call, “special treatment” when it came to creative and other political things backstage. Also, the induction of Diesel (who would later be known as Kevin Nash) as his bodyguard only progressed his great legacy further.
Given an imposing crony to fall back on, Michaels had more tools with which to draw fans attention. Shawn started challenging for the WWE Championship and Michaels had made it to the main event scene and the years that followed brought controversy and praise for the “showstopper,” but from here he was one of the top stars in the company.
Now on to Seth Rollins, his debut in the Shield was the start of his career if you don’t count NXT and he betrayed his partners to set out on his own, mentored by the COO of the company Triple H, Seth spent plenty of time on the Mic with the authority improving massively as a result. Then came along the cronys, or ‘Bodyguards’ that were J&J Security.
Taking on J&J Security as his security, Rollins has quickly become one of the most detestable figures on the WWE roster. His solid ring skills and his ability to spark up a crowd have led to WWE Title contention and a transition to headlining pay-per-views.
The similarities between Michaels and Rollins are undeniable, but they’re not enough to claim that the former WWE Champion will match the legendary status of HBK, but there is a hell of a career waiting for Seth Rollins once he returns from injury later this year. Ability is, of course, the main strength that Michaels and Rollins share. Being able to put on a great match with anyone is a huge benefit to talent attempting to get to the main roster, the wrestling business in itself always has a place for people like Rollins and Michaels who are work horses and who can bring the best out in their opponents.
Neither Michaels or Rollins became a success simply by making others look good. The pair also share the desire that’s necessary to stand out in a competitive locker room and have a personal goal to be the best have spurred these two men to surpass others expectations.
The future looks very bright for Rollins, but he has a big hill to climb if he wants to replicate the success of Michaels. Fortunately, there’s little to suggest that a challenge of that scale would discourage Rollins from establishing a legend all his own.
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