Seth Rollins' Development Is WWE's Biggest Success Story

Seth Rollins got the last laugh.  The man fans turned on for turning on The Shield is the WWE world heavyweight champion, the top attraction next to John Cena and the one living like a king every week on TV.

Rollins did exactly what he believed he would do, and now fans are witnessing his run at the top.  They're also marveling at his development, which is WWE's biggest success story.

The future has been all the rage on WWE programming, thanks in large part to the advancement of NXT stars to the main roster. One by one, guys came up and made names for themselves on the worldwide stage.

Suddenly, the idea of seeing tomorrow's stars today took on a whole new meaning. 

WWE was making big strides in moving forward, arguably the most it had done since the days of Monday Night Wars.  The younger talent was being utilized like never before, and The Shield was chief among them.

credit: wwe.com

Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Rollins were the three men charged with bringing the house down, and they often did just that.  The Shield was the most dominant faction in WWE history, steamrolling everyone in its path.

And Rollins is the man given credit for putting it all together.

It's only fitting that the future star realizes his full potential now.  The fact that Rollins is riding high as the champ is proof positive that WWE can still plan and execute at the best possible time. This is a perfect example.

Not only is Rollins the future, but he is also arguably the most worthy Superstar from NXT to hold the championship right now.  Bray Wyatt doesn't need gold to get over, Ambrose is not being booked on that level, and Reigns went down at WrestleMania 31.

That leaves Rollins, who ruined the night for Reigns when he cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase. The man some believed was the weakest of the three Shield members conquered WWE and would relish that victory for weeks to come.

Rollins' character is main event-worthy, but so is his ability in the ring.

Rollins brings a level of expertise to his game that fans have not seen since Daniel Bryan held the belt, and his matches are often the highlights of cards.  Rollins is capable of building an impressive legacy based on his ring work alone, and he is proving it every week.

The fact that he was the first NXT champion is no coincidence; WWE believed in him early on.

Rollins built a fanbase in NXT that had previously known him from Ring of Honor. He went as high as he could go there, and the only remaining task was to conquer the main roster.  Now, he's done exactly that, with much of the NXT fanbase tagging along for the ride.

But it's Rollins' main event rise that proves he is WWE's biggest success story.  

credit: wwe.com

The Shield was a hit, and the credit for that goes to all three men.  However, success as a unit did not necessarily mean successful singles careers would follow.  Being viewed as perhaps the weakest of the three would not help Rollins get off to a good start, but being declared the future by Triple H would.

The alliance with Hunter proved big for Rollins.  The Game put Rollins on a whole new level, one that forced fans to see him as something other than the Ringo Starr of The Shield.  Rollins may have kept the beat going with The Hounds of Justice, but he emerged as the hottest star thanks to The Authority.

He went from being the arrogant Mr. Money in the Bank to being the new WWE world heavyweight champion.  He reached the ultimate top level in the business, which so many wrestlers never reach.  That win proves WWE's commitment to him and to moving forward with talent that's fresh and hungry for success.

Rollins is proof that WWE's system works.  He came up from the bottom in NXT, was a hit on TV and then moved on to the next phase with a heel turn and a title win.  He was built from the ground up to succeed, and he has done just that.

WWE got it right with Rollins; he is its biggest success story.  And that story is still being written.