Seth Rollins Continues to Recapture Magic Ahead of WWE WrestleMania 34

No, we didn't all fall through a wormhole and travel back to 2015 when Ronda Rousey was still the UFC women's bantamweight champion, Avengers: Age of Ultron killed at the box office and Seth Rollins was a red-hot WWE commodity.

It only feels that way because Rollins has recaptured his 2014 form. He's back to being a top-tier star and one of the most compelling figures on WWE programming, just in time for WrestleMania 34.

After a nasty knee injury, he returned to compete for the company in mid-2016. It took him six months to recover from the ligament tears but far longer to get back his momentum in full.

The Iowa native produced solid work in the ring post-surgery, but it didn't feel like he reclaimed his spot on WWE's highest rungs.

In his review of the Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view last year, Jesse Collings of Wrestling Inc wrote: "Rollins hasn't been as relevant after beating Triple H as he was before."

Credit: WWE.com

That felt true too often for Rollins until recently. Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns and The Miz had all forced their way past him on Raw's hierarchy.

At least in part, one has to blame injury for The Architect not catching fire. Every big angle WWE seemed to throw at him soon had to be scratched due to someone getting hurt.

Finn Balor and Rollins battled for the Universal Championship in mid-2016, but their rivalry ended early thanks to the Irishman's torn labrum. The reunion of The Shield was poised to be the story in WWE a year later until Dean Ambrose's torn triceps put an early end to it. 

Rollins then began a contentious partnership with Jason Jordan that saw them win the Raw Tag Team Championship. And what was clearly going to evolve into a feud had to be put on hold after Jordan needed neck surgery.

Fate forced WWE to rewrite Rollins' tale once more.

When pushed down a new narrative path, he took full advantage of an opportunity under the bright lights. The seven men set to face off in the No. 1 Contender's Elimination Chamber bout first collided in a Gauntlet match on the Feb. 19 Raw. Rollins took on Shield stablemate Reigns in the first leg of the contest. 

The Architect was a wizard on the mat. 

He and Reigns produced a match worthy of a PPV main event slot. Rollins was a masterful babyface, gritting his teeth and battling on in such a way that one had to pull for him. His high-flying offense and put-it-all-on-the-table performance had the audience buzzing.

But he wasn't done.

He wrestled for over an hour in total, knocked off John Cena and gave what little was left in his reserve tank to take on Elias afterward. Not only did he compete for longer than anyone ever else has on a single Raw, Rollins upped the level of his relevancy in the here and now in a major way. 

ProWrestling.net columnist Will Pruett was among those to salute The Kingslayer that night:

Rollins rolled on, building on that record performance. He was one of the most compelling elements of the men's Elimination Chamber match. In a match with marquee names such as Cena and Reigns, it was often The Architect who forced the audience to roar.

There was an electricity in his offense that harkened back to his WWE Championship run.

The same was true the next night on Raw when he took on The Miz in non-title action. Rollins again was the talk of the show as he put on a lengthy performance that saw him claim the role of the red brand's anchor.

It's not that he hasn't had really good matches before this stretch, it's just that they haven't felt nearly as important as everything he's been doing has.

His "it" factor is back to where it was when he was on top. His connection with the audience is back to 2015 levels. He has forced fans and the WWE brass to remember just how special he is.

Shooters Radio co-shot Vaughn Johnson summed it up perfectly:

And now whatever WWE had in mind for him at WrestleMania has to be rethought. He's too abuzz to be in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal or shoved into some midcard add-on match. A recharged Rollins looks like headline material once more.

After how Monday's Raw went down, Rollins looks to be in the Intercontinental Championship hunt. That's a smart move, but if WWE crowds that bout with five or more competitors, it will be making a mistake. 

Rollins needs more than to be one moving part in a Fatal 5-Way or Six-Pack Challenge. The company would be better served showcasing him in a one-on-one meeting with The Miz or a Triple Threat match involving Balor.

The Architect has rediscovered his high gear just in time and is now zooming down the road to WrestleMania. It's best to take advantage of that and give him the space to keep doing what's been doing of late.