WWE's Seth Rollins Talks Lions-Vikings on Christmas, Super Bowl, More in B/R Interview

Seth Rollins is best known as a six-time world champion and one of WWE's biggest stars, but The Visionary is also making waves in the world of football thanks to a burgeoning career as an NFL analyst.

When the Minnesota Vikings host the Detroit Lions in a Christmas Day game that will stream live on Netflix, Rollins is set to be part of the broadcast as a special guest.

As a diehard fan of the Chicago Bears, Rollins has a unique perspective on the two NFC North foes, and he gave his take on the game as part of an interview with Bleacher Report.

Entering Week 16, the Lions are 8-6 and in real danger of potentially missing out on the playoffs. Detroit is now in must-win mode every week, and Rollins discussed the situation the Lions currently find themselves in.

"It is gonna be a big game, every game for the Lions is gonna be huge as they try to make a push to January and try to make their way to the postseason," Rollins said. "Obviously coming off of last year's success, they were kind of the team to beat in the NFC, and they got beat and knocked out of the playoffs. I think losing both of their coordinators this year put a lot on [head coach] Dan Campbell's shoulders to see how they were gonna respond. Especially halfway through the season he takes over play-calling duties. There's a lot of 'what ifs' when it comes to Detroit."

The Lions were the No. 1 seed in the NFC last season with a 15-2 record, only to get upset in the NFC Divisional Round of the playoffs by the Washington Commanders.

Detroit was widely expected to be a top team in the NFC again this year despite that loss, but the Lions find themselves two games behind the Bears for the NFC North lead and 1.5 games behind the Green Bay Packers for the last wild-card spot.

Like the Lions, the Vikings were among the juggernauts of the NFC last season, posting a 14-3 mark. However, they too got upset in their first playoff game, falling to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wild Card Round.

Despite the success they enjoyed with Sam Darnold at quarterback, the Vikings allowed him to leave and join the Seattle Seahawks in free agency, and they opted to commit to 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy at quarterback.

That coincided with a downturn for the Vikes, who are 6-8 and officially out of the playoff race. Still, Rollins is interested to see how they fare in a tough divisional game and how McCarthy plays on a big stage.

"As far as Minnesota's concerned, they're in a very interesting situation where they basically put all their money on J.J. McCarthy," Rollins said. "You see what Sam Darnold's doing in Seattle, what he did last year in Minnesota. You look at the numbers for their No. 1 wide receiver Justin Jefferson, he's at a career low for receiving yards per game. J.J. hasn't been able to stay healthy.

"There's a lot going on with both of these teams, Minnesota's out of the playoff picture, but I'm sure because it's a divisional game, wherever Detroit's at, Minnesota is gonna be looking to play spoiler for the Lions and possibly keep them out of the wild card and playoffs altogether. They're also looking to continue to develop No. 9. So, a lot of storylines at play, I'm looking to see how 'Nine' looks in that Week 17 game, looking to see where the Lions are at and if they're gonna push through and get to January. It's gonna be a very interesting matchup. ... I'm excited to be on the broadcast. It's gonna be awesome, my first Christmas Day game, so it's gonna be pretty sweet."

While Lions vs. Vikings will mark Rollins' first appearance during a Christmas Day game, he is becoming something of a seasoned vet in the world of NFL media.

That is because Rollins has taken on the role of weekly guest host on the hugely popular NFL Network show Good Morning Football alongside regulars Jamie Erdahl, Kyle Brandt and Manti Te'o.

GMFB is a mix between legitimate NFL analysis and over-the-top entertainment, which is something Rollins is quite familiar with given his status as a WWE Superstar.

A shoulder injury has kept Rollins out of the ring since October, and while it has been widely assumed that the injury paved the way for his opportunity with GMFB, Rollins divulged that it was going to happen even if he was healthy.

"This thing with the NFL and my injury, it was a happy coincidence," Rollins said. "We were gonna do this no matter what. If I was still the WWE world heavyweight champion, I was still gonna be a broadcaster on Good Morning Football weekly. I was still gonna do the Christmas Day game either way, so it's nice that I can kind of put most of my focus on this pot a little bit. Obviously, if I was doing both, it would've been a little more difficult because I would've had to split it, but I love both. I love professional wrestling and I love professional football."

Rollins added that he grew up watching ESPN's SportsCenter and dreamed about playing football or talking about football. Now, Rollins is able to live out two of his childhood dreams by wrestling and analyzing the sport he loves.

Given Rollins' assessment that appearing on Good Morning Football has been "fantastic" and "a really cool experience," it comes as little surprise that he is already looking ahead toward a more permanent career in NFL media down the line.

Rollins made it clear that he has thought a great deal about what he wants to do when his days as a wrestler are over, and his vision for the future includes both WWE and the NFL.

"I wanna do it all," Rollins said. "I don't see any reason why I can't. Who says I can't do both? I love WWE and I wanna be a part of it for as long as I can, as long as they'll have me, whether that's in ring or behind the scenes. And I love talking about football, so if I can continue to kind of create my own space in that world and people will have me, I'd love to be there and talk about it. It's a great thing to be able to do both, I'm super lucky. When I'm done, I wanna be in the booth calling a Bears game and then I wanna be calling the shots in Gorilla in WWE. So, let's do it all."

Staying true to his "Visionary" nickname, Rollins also offered up some predictions for the remainder of the 2025 NFL season, including his thoughts on the NFL MVP race and the Super Bowl.

For MVP, Rollins went with the betting favorite in Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, saying, "I think the MVP this year is Matt Stafford unless he has some sort of wild collapse at the end of the year. His stretch of touchdowns to zero interceptions was bonkers. I think without that quarterback, that team is not as good as they are. So, I think he's gonna be the MVP unless he screws it up."

The 37-year-old Stafford is completing 66.4 percent of his passes for 3,722 yards and a league-leading 37 touchdowns, plus he has thrown only five interceptions. On top of that, the Rams are the No. 1 seed in the NFC with an 11-3 record.

Rollins' Super Bowl LX prediction is a bit less cut and dry, although he did pick his 10-4 Bears to go the distance in the NFC, saying, "I do think Bears have a realistic shot at making it to San Francisco in February. I would love to be in the Bay Area repping my Bears stuff, so we'll see."

With regard to the AFC, Rollins acknowledged that it is anyone's game, but he ultimately went with the Buffalo Bills because of the presence of quarterback Josh Allen.

"As far as the AFC is concerned, I'd say wide open," Rollins said. "Without Pat Mahomes in the mix this year, the Chiefs missing the playoffs, it's wide open. I think obviously the Patriots are the most complete team, but they still have a second-year guy at quarterback. The Broncos are interesting as well, well-coached with Sean Payton. Great defense, great pass-rush. If you ask me in the AFC who's coming out, I'd probably go with the Bills, only because Josh Allen is the best player in that conference. Reigning MVP until he loses it. I would always put my money on the guy who can make the most plays and that's him, so let's go. Bears-Bills, let's see."

The Bears' pursuit of their first Super Bowl appearance since the 2006 season would be helped immensely by a Detroit loss on Christmas since the Lions still have a chance to chase down Chicago and potentially knock the Bears out of playoff contention.

Depending on what happens in Week 16, a Lions loss to the Vikings in Week 17 could possibly clinch a playoff spot for the Bears, and Rollins will be on hand to watch it and provide his expertise to the Netflix broadcast.