Seth Rollins Emerges from WrestleMania 31 Looking Like This Generation's Edge

As Seth Rollins darted from the ring with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship tight against his chest, leaving the two headliners from WrestleMania 31 stunned in the ring, Edge had to be looking on and smiling. And so did all the crafty scavengers of the world.

Like Edge before, Rollins cemented his status as an opportunist. By veering off the expected path, by managing to pull away a beast's prized possession from him, Mr. Money in the Bank came off looking brilliant.

The heart of the pre-WrestleMania narrative was about whether Roman Reigns could defeat the unstoppable Brock Lesnar. Paul Heyman told anyone who would listen that Lesnar would issue a prison beating to his challenger at the marquee event. Reigns looked to prove Heyman and all of his doubters wrong.

Repeating the mantra printed on his T-shirt, Reigns kept saying of whether he could dethrone Lesnar, "I can. I will."

In the distance, Rollins loomed. Many a fan wondered if he would become the first person to ever use a Money in the Bank contract at WrestleMania. He most certainly did and made even more history than that: He became the first wrestler to ever cash in mid-match.

The timing was as crazy as it was genius.

Credit: WWE.com

Lesnar and Reigns had beaten the hell out of each other in a bout where finishes were clearly not going to be enough to end the bout. Blood swam alongside sweat on Lesnar's face. Reigns reeled, having suffered so many German suplexes that one would expect him start to speaking Deutsch. 

That's when Rollins charged down the ramp, the audience unsure of what to expect. The title match was still in progress. Normally, one waits for the referee to raise the haggard victor's hand before pouncing.

Instead, Rollins jumped into the fray, making it a Triple Threat, but one where two of the combatants were barely able to stand.

He waited until Reigns speared Lesnar off his feet before using the Curb Stomp on The Juggernaut to become champion.

Credit: WWE.com

That bit of cunning and courage makes one flash back to Edge's first WWE title win in 2006. The Money in the Bank concept had yet to be the familiar, almost predictable element that it is today.

Edge was the first man to wield that briefcase and the first to wait for the champion to become vulnerable. He waited until blood was slipping into John Cena's eyes, until he survived an Elimination Chamber match.

Edge made history by winning a title in a guileful manner, something that so many men would do after him. 

The Rated-R Superstar again played the fox raiding the chicken coop years later. First he managed to win the Money in the Bank contract away from the rightful owner, Mr. Kennedy, and then attacked The Undertaker post-beatdown to become world champ.

WWE did a tremendous job in making Edge look calculating and shrewd with those moments. It forever gave him the aura of a predator waiting in the weeds, of a man wrestlers should fear who will come running with a knife to stick into their back. 

Rollins exuded that same aura as WrestleMania 31 concluded.

In a backstage interview after his big win, Rollins said of what went down, "If I picked the right spot, who knows what could happen?"

And pick the right spot he did. 

Being able to take away a title from a man the company booked like a monster among men makes him more than a champion. Cashing in at WrestleMania, in such a memorable way, makes Rollins more than just the next guy to make use of the Money in the Bank gimmick. His title win has left an indelible imprint on WWE history.

Since Edge walked away from wrestling, WWE hasn't had that squared-circle supervillain who bests bigger, stronger foes by way of his brain. Rollins fills that void. He is Lex Luthor to Reigns' Superman, seizing power and gold in shocking, thrilling fashion.

And with his scheme now successful, Rollins announces himself as Edge's heir.