King: Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns Feels Different

Chris King explains how WWE has made Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins feel personal, authentic and different ahead of their SummerSlam title match.

‘The OTC’ Roman Reigns and ‘The Visionary’ Seth Rollins have both signed the contract for their blockbuster World Heavyweight Championship match at SummerSlam. This feud has so much bad blood attached to it, and WWE is building this up perfectly. 

WWE’s typical formula is “I am the champion, and I will beat you because of XYZ at said PLE.” In most of Reigns’ previous feuds he’s claimed that this is his company and he’s the head of the table, etc. For the past several weeks, both former Shieldmates have 

been spitting nothing but facts at each other. The Visionary came out to deliver a heartfelt promo and offered an explanation for his actions in the past… Breaking up The Shield and stealing Reigns’ WrestleMania moment and winning the world championship. 

Rollins claimed that all he was trying to do was keep up with Reigns and even keep him closer. Everyone assumed that Rollins did all his heinous crimes just for greed to become #1 in WWE, while in reality he was fighting to keep his childhood dreams alive, even if it was for selfish reasons. He didn’t feel like Reigns deserved any of his success, despite what the company saw in him. 

On this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw, the world champion cut a visceral response to his challenger about him not being able to carry the company on his back for more than a few months before getting injured. Which is 100% truthful. Rollins won the title back in 2015 and held it for less than six months before having to vacate it. Last year, Rollins won the championship and barely made any headway with it before injuring his shoulder and vacating it yet again. Reigns also mentioned how after all these years Rollins still has to rely on the Money in the Bank briefcase to become a champion. 

This pissed off The Visionary, who came back and told Reigns to tell him everything else he had to say to his face. Rollins, with venom in his mouth, screamed to his former Shieldmate that he’ll never make as much money as him, or he’ll only be selfish and think about himself like Reigns does. Rollins beat the hell out of his opponent and stomped his lights out to end the show. WWE could have just recycled everything they have used in the past, including Rollins playing a joker character and Reigns making fun of him, claiming to be better than him.

This feud is very personal, and it feels real and authentic between both former brothers. Hell, Reigns could have ordered The Bloodline to attack his challenger, but this feels like a do-or-die situation for The OTC. Reigns needs to dig down deep and finally slay the dragon that is his former Shieldmate, in order to truly prove to be the best. Reigns has lost the two main event matches they’ve had in the past, and he HAS to beat Rollins one time when his championship is on the line. 

I wonder how much more personal this feud will get over the next few weeks. Who will walk out of Minneapolis with the World Heavyweight Championship?