WWE's Seth Rollins Is No Longer Settling for 2nd Place with Roman Reigns and CM Punk

Seth Rollins prepares to compete in his second consecutive WrestleMania main event appearance alongside his longtime rival and former stablemate, Roman Reigns.

The Visionary achieved his dream of headlining WWE's biggest show of the year last April. In the process, he sacrificed his body and put himself at a disadvantage in his world heavyweight championship match against Drew McIntyre.

However, his last act of selflessness paid off because he distracted Reigns long enough to help Cody Rhodes dethrone The Tribal Chief, ending his historic 1,316-day run. This incredible career highlight and two-night performance led many fans to consider Rollins the MVP of WrestleMania 40.

Still, the job wasn’t finished. Now, the self-proclaimed onscreen lead of the locker room could set his sights on CM Punk and attempt to expel him from the company once and for all.

Their bitter feud has become a detour for him since SummerSlam, but his tension with Reigns has always been bigger than any other opponent he has been linked with. See? This isn’t just about preventing his misuse of power; it’s about proving he has always been the top star WWE needs to lead it into the future. 

A Binary Star System

That would mean he would need to expose the OTC and successfully step out of his shadow as the perennial superstar of his generation. Their competitive sibling rivalry and unresolved animosity are integral to both characters.

So much so that the unfinished business from their 2022 showdown at Royal Rumble ensured that they would continue to cross paths for years to come. The memorable opening match proved that Rollins was one of the few wrestlers who got under Reigns’ skin and forced him to act irrationally.

That’s largely because the infamous chairshot that ended The Shield forever linked them and set them on their respective paths to success as single competitors. The five-time world champion has been a constant for WWE over the last few years. 

Nevertheless, Rollins inadvertently ignited the rise of the most prevalent star of his era and inspired the creation of The Bloodline and his most dominant run of his career. His ambition and need to stand out ironically produced his most persistent obstacle.

The 38-year-old became the “Macho Man” Randy Savage to his Hulk Hogan, a prominent superstar who could never escape the shadow of a more popular peer. In fact, he has made this comparison himself during his 2022 interview with Ariel Helwani. 

During the same interview, he lamented that he has never been “THE guy.” It’s impossible not to consider how much Reigns’ prestigious career has affected his time in the limelight. 

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A Single-Minded Goal To Be Number One 

Heading into WrestleMania 41, Rollins has been the driving force behind one of the most star-studded triple-threat matches in the history of the event. His disgust for CM Punk and his attempt to return to WWE with no consequences for his controversial exit and years of vitriol for the company is fairly clear-cut.

Aligning with Reigns and Paul Heyman at Survivor Series: WarGames merely validated his belief that The Second City Saint can’t be trusted. However, this is still about his resentment for the Tribal Chief and the tyranny he ushered in as champion. 

That’s why he brutally stomped him out at Royal Rumble and effectively kept him out of the world title picture. Similarly, it’s why he detests the idea of Punk weaseling his way into the main event for the first time in his career. 

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Simply put, he believes he has worked too hard to settle for second place to Reigns, or even worse, a man who turned his back on WWE in 2014. Rollins still thinks he’s the rightful savior the company needs right now.

This thought process has motivated everything he has done since he became the Monday Night Messiah. Now, the question remains: what will he do to make a statement and guarantee that the Tribal Chief will never regain power? 

Could he do the unthinkable and align himself with Heyman to stop him from helping his greatest enemies and claim the top spot for himself? Will he leave Allegiant Stadium as the man he set out to be or fall behind again? Time will tell, but what a compelling story.