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If this is the era where it’s most difficult to tell when the real life feelings of wrestlers blend into what you see on TV, Seth Rollins is among the masters of that craft. The WWE World Heavyweight Champion is so skilled at saying what he really means and making it look like a storyline, and vice versa, that it’s tough to say which is which.
As a prime example, take recently returned CM Punk. While Punk was away, and even during his time in AEW, Rollins spoke about his dislike for the Second City Saint and his hope that he’d never come back. Was that real? Probably, because there was no reason to work an angle with someone who was likely not going to show up in WWE again/
Now, of course, Punk is back. With speculation swirling that a big money program between Rollins and Punk is on the horizon — perhaps even culminating in a WrestleMania match — Seth is once again being asked for his opinions.
As Rollins explained on the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast, his issues mostly center on his view that Punk takes more from the wrestling business than he puts in (h/t Wrestling Observer for the transcription).
A lot of it’s personal, a lot of it’s stuff that I don’t really want to get into but for the most part, I just think he’s been really selfish when it comes to his perspective on the industry. I think he’s been extremely self-serving, has played the martyr role to a tee.
…
For a guy who, when I met him, made it seem like he was all about giving back to the business, he really turned into a pretty selfish guy and really wanted to take more from the industry.
Rollins also objects to the way Punk trashed WWE after the two sides had their very contentious parting in 2014. While Punk had some justifiable grievances, Rollins didn’t like him trashing the place that gave him the life he always wanted (and a family, as Rollins met wife Becky Lynch in WWE as well).
He doesn’t use the word flat out, but it’s clear Rollins perceives some hypocrisy in Punk’s “I’m home” attitude about WWE.
The way I felt like he was only looking out for himself and then the way he talked down about me and my friends and the people who are here putting the hard work in in WWE trying to make this thing as good as we possibly could because we love the industry, truly love it, not just what it can do for us. We actually love it, want to give back to it, and want to make it the best it can possibly be. And I always just felt he was a fraud in that sense, or at least, he turned into one at some point in the last decade.
Those are fighting words, for sure. But they’re just as effective if they’re being done to set up a feud, which at this point seems very likely. Chalk it up to Rollins’ skill and professionalism, all wrapped around a nugget of real feeling.