It’s been 11 years since Seth Rollins made his debut on WWE’s main roster as a member of The Shield. And boy, has he run the gauntlet of monikers, nicknames and character shifts during that time.
We got a bit of a reminder during the May 15 edition of Raw, as Rollins sat down with Corey Graves to walk down memory lane through the entire career of “The Visionary.”
They talked about The Shield and the trio’s dominance, which happened with Rollins primarily being a tag team wrestler. They then discussed Rollins turning on The Shield and becoming the spoiled golden boy of The Authority, or as he called himself, “The Architect.”
Then there was the “The Kingslayer” after dethroning “The King of Kings” Triple H in 2017, which led to him becoming “The Beastslayer” after taming the “Beast Incarnate,” Brock Lesnar, in 2019.
Remember when he became a cult leader as the “The Messiah”?
And yet somehow, after all of that, it feels like Rollins is just getting started, as he has taken his career to an even higher level since debuting “The Visionary” persona back in 2021. That is saying something considering he once left WrestleMania as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
And who is exactly “The Visionary?” On screen, he’s a flamboyant, delusionally confident yet lovable fashionista. To me, the character is Seth “Freakin’” Rollins no longer giving a damn about what people think about him because he has virtually everything there is to do in WWE. Why not be the most ridiculous version of himself he can be?
And in a lot of ways, Rollins really is a visionary. He all but spoke the fans’ love for him into existence.
When he started wearing his outlandish fits in 2021, a lot of fans pointed, laughed, and thought the character had lost it. Two years later, fans consider Rollins a fashion icon. Being called crazy is nothing new for true visionaries.
That’s not even counting his entrance theme, which thousands of fans sing along to in unison from one side of the planet to the other. The song, combined with his often garish attire, has made Rollins’ entrance alone a spectacle.
Then the bell rings and Rollins does what he has always done: showcase his masterful knack for the art on a 20 by 20 canvas. All of that together makes Rollins not only beloved by the fans but respected by them.
The fans know Rollins has put in the work to be unapologetically his most goofy self on screen. Because not only does he carry the swag well, but he backs it up in the ring.
Rollins has to win the World Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions. This by no means is a slight toward AJ Styles, Rollins’ opponent at the premium live event.
This is more about Rollins, who has connected with the fans in a way he never has before. And while WWE may not reward him with either one of Roman Reigns’ championships, he deserves something.
That something should be the new WWE World Heavyweight Championship.