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BALTIMORE — WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins is nothing if not an odds beater. The Authority’s golden boy has repeatedly faced the impossible since snagging the title — be it a showdown with an angry Brock Lesnar, or a Steel Cage Match against Randy Orton — and somehow he has always managed to keep sports-entertainment’s most cherished prize around his eight-pack abs.
Watch The Shield's shocking — and brief — reunion at WWE Payback
At WWE Payback, Rollins faced his biggest challenge yet, a Fatal 4-Way Match against Orton, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose — the three co-presidents of the “We Hate Seth Rollins Fan Club” — where Seth could have lost his title without even being involved in the outcome. On top of that, Rollins’ much-loathed Authority cohort, Kane, lurked at ringside, weighing his options on whether he wanted to help Seth win and maintain his role as WWE’s Director of Operations, or crush the kid like a bug and happily accept his pink slip from Triple H.
Check out these intense photos from the main event
Rollins had a better shot at winning the Preakness than he did at leaving Baltimore with his WWE World Heavyweight Title. Yet, there he was at the end of the night, stumbling to the locker room with the championship in his gloved hands and a pained look of disbelief on his face. How he got there was just as incredible as it seems.
Twenty minutes earlier, Rollins had been an antelope on the Serengeti, hungrily eyed by the lions that were Ambrose, Orton and Reigns. Before the trio could sink their teeth into him, though, J&J Security swarmed, dragging the challengers out of the ring and starting a skirmish on the arena floor. Bodies collided with mosh pit aggressiveness as each competitor disappeared into a blur of swinging fists and stomping feet. Ambrose took the first risk of the match, launching himself out of the ring and onto Rollins and Orton. Then, it was Reigns, who took a running start and fired all 265 pounds of himself over the top rope like a Samoan scud missile.
Watch 36 fearless dives outside the ring
The champion became a prized punching bag in these early minutes. Reigns was the first one to get his hands on Rollins, rattling his bones with a beautiful tilt-a-whirl slam. Ambrose was in next with a big elbow for his onetime friend. Next, it was Orton, who broke up Dean’s pin attempt and started a fight with The Lunatic Fringe. The Viper looked for his RKO, but ended up with Ambrose’s arm nearly collapsing his larynx with a stiff clothesline.
The fight in the ring was ugly, but Rollins had no choice but to stay in the mix. If he made himself scarce for too long, he could miss an opportunity to break up a pin or submission attempt and that would be it. Things were not going well for him, though. When Ambrose and Reigns finally got an opportunity to beat up on their former Shield teammate, they savored it. The allies shared a fist bump before bumping their fists against Rollins’ forehead for the next few minutes.
The pummeling may have gone on even longer had Kane not involved himself. As Reigns readied to splatter Rollins across the canvas with a Superman Punch, WWE’s Director of Operations grabbed him by the leg and dragged him out of the ring. As soon as the monster launched Roman into the barricade, his intentions were clear. He was still playing for Team Authority.
The forecast of the match was clearly altered at that very moment. Kane and J&J Security began battering all three challengers, allowing Rollins to get a brief respite, and then take control of the match. As Reigns and Orton got kicked by the suits at ringside, the champion picked apart Ambrose in-between the ropes. As soon as the brawler began to fight back, he was cut off at the knees. Dean may have very well connected with Dirty Deeds had Kane not entered the ring and chokeslammed him into oblivion.
Watch this collection of awesome chokeslams that shook WWE
From there, the ringside area became the focal point of the match, with all seven men chopping it up in front of a crowd that was ramping up by the second. Here, the bout’s most dramatic moment played out. First, The Viper dropped Rollins backfirst onto the barricade and then cleared off the announce table with even clearer plans to put the champion through it. Things didn’t work out that way, though. Instead, an impromptu Shield reunion took place as Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose suddenly began to work together with the military precision they displayed in their heyday. The three Superstars tore apart Orton and then — in the moment everyone will still be talking about tomorrow — put The Viper through a table with their signature Triple Powerbomb.
Watch The Shield's most monstrous Triple Powerbombs
Had the greatest trio in WWE history just reunited? No, although Rollins apparently didn’t realize it. The so-called Architect of The Shield tossed his arms around his former friends and then put his fist out, calling for the group to strike their classic pose. Ambrose and Reigns weren’t interested. Instead, they set about rearranging his face before putting him on the Spanish announce table and powerbombing Kane on top of him. When the table didn’t break, Roman snatched the big man right back up and slammed him right back down onto the champion. This time, the table exploded like a shed in a twister.
With that, Ambrose and Reigns were the last men standing. If there was going to be a winner, it was going to be one of them.
“Not much else to do,” Reigns said to his friend. “Loser buys the beers?”
That’s all it took for the duo to put aside their friendship, hit the ring and break into the kind of fistfight people were hoping to see out of Mayweather and Pacquiao. Quickly, a powerbomb from Reigns nearly netted him the title. When Ambrose kicked out, Reigns smiled. He admired his pal’s tenacity. The big Samoan came close to victory two more times. Ambrose kicked out after getting smashed by a Superman Punch. A follow-up Spear surely would have done him in, but Rollins put a stop to that.
Watch the most vicious spears in sports-entertainment
The ensuing action had given all the bodies at ringside an opportunity to find a second wind. Kane made his presence felt once again, decimating Ambrose with the steel stairs and then chokeslamming Reigns on top of them. In the ring, Orton took out both members of J&J Security with RKOs and then crushed Rollins with a draping DDT. He called for another RKO — the crowd going ape at the suggestion — but Rollins avoided it. Kane wasn’t so fortunate.
Rollins is the type of competitor who understands the value of an opportunity, and he saw one here. With Orton momentarily distracted, the champion kicked him in the gut and hit him with Triple H’s signature maneuver, The Pedigree. That was enough to keep Orton down and keep the championship with Rollins, who was joined in celebrating halfway up the ramp by The Game himself.
Who's next for Seth Rollins? Find out in this video interview!
He didn’t do it alone, but Seth Rollins did it. Sooner or later, though, those odds are going to catch up with him.
BALTIMORE — WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins is nothing if not an odds beater. The Authority’s golden boy has repeatedly faced the impossible since snagging the title — be it a showdown with an angry Brock Lesnar, or a Steel Cage Match against Randy Orton — and somehow he has always managed to keep sports-entertainment’s most cherished prize around his eight-pack abs.
Watch The Shield's shocking — and brief — reunion at WWE Payback
At WWE Payback, Rollins faced his biggest challenge yet, a Fatal 4-Way Match against Orton, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose — the three co-presidents of the “We Hate Seth Rollins Fan Club” — where Seth could have lost his title without even being involved in the outcome. On top of that, Rollins’ much-loathed Authority cohort, Kane, lurked at ringside, weighing his options on whether he wanted to help Seth win and maintain his role as WWE’s Director of Operations, or crush the kid like a bug and happily accept his pink slip from Triple H.
Check out these intense photos from the main event
Rollins had a better shot at winning the Preakness than he did at leaving Baltimore with his WWE World Heavyweight Title. Yet, there he was at the end of the night, stumbling to the locker room with the championship in his gloved hands and a pained look of disbelief on his face. How he got there was just as incredible as it seems.
Twenty minutes earlier, Rollins had been an antelope on the Serengeti, hungrily eyed by the lions that were Ambrose, Orton and Reigns. Before the trio could sink their teeth into him, though, J&J Security swarmed, dragging the challengers out of the ring and starting a skirmish on the arena floor. Bodies collided with mosh pit aggressiveness as each competitor disappeared into a blur of swinging fists and stomping feet. Ambrose took the first risk of the match, launching himself out of the ring and onto Rollins and Orton. Then, it was Reigns, who took a running start and fired all 265 pounds of himself over the top rope like a Samoan scud missile.
Watch 36 fearless dives outside the ring
The champion became a prized punching bag in these early minutes. Reigns was the first one to get his hands on Rollins, rattling his bones with a beautiful tilt-a-whirl slam. Ambrose was in next with a big elbow for his onetime friend. Next, it was Orton, who broke up Dean’s pin attempt and started a fight with The Lunatic Fringe. The Viper looked for his RKO, but ended up with Ambrose’s arm nearly collapsing his larynx with a stiff clothesline.
The fight in the ring was ugly, but Rollins had no choice but to stay in the mix. If he made himself scarce for too long, he could miss an opportunity to break up a pin or submission attempt and that would be it. Things were not going well for him, though. When Ambrose and Reigns finally got an opportunity to beat up on their former Shield teammate, they savored it. The allies shared a fist bump before bumping their fists against Rollins’ forehead for the next few minutes.
The pummeling may have gone on even longer had Kane not involved himself. As Reigns readied to splatter Rollins across the canvas with a Superman Punch, WWE’s Director of Operations grabbed him by the leg and dragged him out of the ring. As soon as the monster launched Roman into the barricade, his intentions were clear. He was still playing for Team Authority.
The forecast of the match was clearly altered at that very moment. Kane and J&J Security began battering all three challengers, allowing Rollins to get a brief respite, and then take control of the match. As Reigns and Orton got kicked by the suits at ringside, the champion picked apart Ambrose in-between the ropes. As soon as the brawler began to fight back, he was cut off at the knees. Dean may have very well connected with Dirty Deeds had Kane not entered the ring and chokeslammed him into oblivion.
Watch this collection of awesome chokeslams that shook WWE
From there, the ringside area became the focal point of the match, with all seven men chopping it up in front of a crowd that was ramping up by the second. Here, the bout’s most dramatic moment played out. First, The Viper dropped Rollins backfirst onto the barricade and then cleared off the announce table with even clearer plans to put the champion through it. Things didn’t work out that way, though. Instead, an impromptu Shield reunion took place as Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose suddenly began to work together with the military precision they displayed in their heyday. The three Superstars tore apart Orton and then — in the moment everyone will still be talking about tomorrow — put The Viper through a table with their signature Triple Powerbomb.
Watch The Shield's most monstrous Triple Powerbombs
Had the greatest trio in WWE history just reunited? No, although Rollins apparently didn’t realize it. The so-called Architect of The Shield tossed his arms around his former friends and then put his fist out, calling for the group to strike their classic pose. Ambrose and Reigns weren’t interested. Instead, they set about rearranging his face before putting him on the Spanish announce table and powerbombing Kane on top of him. When the table didn’t break, Roman snatched the big man right back up and slammed him right back down onto the champion. This time, the table exploded like a shed in a twister.
With that, Ambrose and Reigns were the last men standing. If there was going to be a winner, it was going to be one of them.
“Not much else to do,” Reigns said to his friend. “Loser buys the beers?”
That’s all it took for the duo to put aside their friendship, hit the ring and break into the kind of fistfight people were hoping to see out of Mayweather and Pacquiao. Quickly, a powerbomb from Reigns nearly netted him the title. When Ambrose kicked out, Reigns smiled. He admired his pal’s tenacity. The big Samoan came close to victory two more times. Ambrose kicked out after getting smashed by a Superman Punch. A follow-up Spear surely would have done him in, but Rollins put a stop to that.
Watch the most vicious spears in sports-entertainment
The ensuing action had given all the bodies at ringside an opportunity to find a second wind. Kane made his presence felt once again, decimating Ambrose with the steel stairs and then chokeslamming Reigns on top of them. In the ring, Orton took out both members of J&J Security with RKOs and then crushed Rollins with a draping DDT. He called for another RKO — the crowd going ape at the suggestion — but Rollins avoided it. Kane wasn’t so fortunate.
Rollins is the type of competitor who understands the value of an opportunity, and he saw one here. With Orton momentarily distracted, the champion kicked him in the gut and hit him with Triple H’s signature maneuver, The Pedigree. That was enough to keep Orton down and keep the championship with Rollins, who was joined in celebrating halfway up the ramp by The Game himself.
Who's next for Seth Rollins? Find out in this video interview!
He didn’t do it alone, but Seth Rollins did it. Sooner or later, though, those odds are going to catch up with him.
