God's Last Gift: How Seth Rollins became the future of WWE

The first people Seth Rollins brought to tears — before The Shield, before the WWE Universe, before anyone — were his mom and dad.

That’s a rough note to begin on, but it’s necessary because originally, we had planned to write about Seth Rollins in June 2014, and our story — his story, really — was going to be your usual underdog yarn about a guy who worked hard from humble beginnings, reached his goal, almost lost his goal, and eventually found himself sitting on the mountaintop through grit and hard work. Not entirely unlike Daniel Bryan’s tale. But that all turned on its head the night Rollins took out his fellow members of The Shield with a steel chair and set himself on a catapult career-trajectory that led to the Money in the Bank briefcase and helped him waltz right into a WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match against John Cena and Brock Lesnar at the 2015 Royal Rumble over about the course of six months.

Given all that, it seems appropriate to begin the story we’re telling now, the story Seth Rollins forced us to tell instead, with the fact that he had a penchant for defying expectations and breaking hearts —including his family’s — before he’d even formally laced up a pair of boots.

“When I told my parents and saw the look of disappointment on their faces, it was like a real moment,” said Rollins, recalling the uncomfortable night he sat his parents down as a teenager in Iowa and told them he would be pursuing a career in sports-entertainment. “I remember walking away from the dinner table and just being like, ‘Man, I don’t care what anybody says, I’m going to do this. I don’t care if anybody believes I can do this or not.’”

About the only one who believed he could succeed was Rollins himself, a lapsed Hulkamaniac who rediscovered his passion during the Attitude Era and had already proven himself a natural boundary-pusher in mock wrestling shows with his buddies where he created a character named “God.”

“[I wasn’t] the God, not a god of anything, just straight-up God,” laughs Rollins, who based the lighting-rod persona off the controversial antics of his favorite Superstars, Shawn Michaels and Triple H. “I wasn’t descending from the heavens or anything like that. It was just one of those deals where, ‘How am I gonna [tick] people off? Oh, I’ll just call myself God.’”...More?

source: wwe.com

EVOLVE co-founder Gabe Sapolsky Comments on WWE NXT

History does repeat itself. I remember when ECW was shunned and ignored in the early days. Then suddenly we saw WWE and WCW embracing the principles and soon the ECW wrestlers. This ignited the biggest boom in the history of US wrestling. Yesterday, we saw some things that lit the Internet on fire because they are new and we didn't expect them. The biggest was HHH posing for a selfie with Kevin Steen, Hideo Itami and Fergal Devitt and then giving huge endorsements to Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville by tweeting that he would like to wrestle them. Kalisto as well as Zayn and Neville brought new excitement to NXT Takeover that had fans tweeting their support. This doesn't even include the impact that Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose are making on the main roster. WWE has even included me on the The Shield documentary and Paul Heyman DVD. So what's my point? A few years ago, none of this would have happened because the talents from the independents weren't considered "major league." WWE has obviously changed it's thought process and we are hopefully at the dawn of a new era. Will it lead to a boom like in the 90s? I don't know, but I do know that it will lead to new stars and and some fresh wrestling (or sports entertainment in the WWE Universe). The most important thing is that these innovative, cutting edge talents capture the imagination of new, young fans. Given the stage WWE is providing, they can.

Roman Reigns And UFC Champion Ronda Rousey Comment On Rousey Joining The Shield

As noted over the weekend, Roman Reigns was asked by a fan on Twitter if he thinks UFC Women's Champion Ronda Rousey should be a member of The Shield. Reigns replied and said she seems like a good fit, leading to this reply from Rousey and an exchange between the two:

Rousey: "How did I not see this till right now!? #thisisawesome @wweromanreigns "

Reigns: "@RondaRousey well hell lets get a vest on u and start tearing the world apart! #BreakEveryRuleInTheBook"

Rousey: "Btw I fan-girled out on that @WWERomanReigns tweet so bad I screwed up like 5 times lol"

WWE was reportedly interested in having Rousey appear at this year's SummerSlam pay-per-view.

Seth Rollins Turns On The Shield And Joins Evolution

During Monday's WWE Raw broadcast Seth Rollins turned his back on fellow members of The Shield, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns by turning heel in a shocking twist.

The scheduled Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns main event didn't go ahead after Triple H revealed that he had a “plan B.”

Seth Rollins attacked both Reigns and Dean Ambrose with a steel chair, following this Triple H and Randy Orton took to the ring to join Rollins in the beatdown.

Triple H Praises Natalya and Charlotte, Talks About Tyson Kidd, WWE Payback, NXT, More

Triple H is back for another sitdown interview with Michael Cole this week, which you can see on WWE's website at this link. Below are highlights:

* He says Payback is where it all comes to an end, the final battle. He's been telling The Shield to adapt or perish and the time is at Payback.

* Triple H talks about NXT Takeover on Thursday night. He says he got the name Takeover from looking at social media and seeing that fans were talking about how NXT is taking over WWE. He says NXT is going to make an impact on the world.

* He praises Natalya as one of the best in-ring performers int he Divas division and says Charlotte is becoming one of the best. He says Charlotte is one of the most genetically gifted athletes he's ever seen.

* He talks about how Tyson Kidd made a little bit of an impact on the main roster, got hurt and is now using NXT as his pathway back. He brings up a possible scenario of Tyson losing and Natalya winning. He refers to Kidd as a sidekick husband and says that's hard for some guys to handle. Cole talks about a NXT Takeover preview show interview he conducted with Kidd where Kidd got emotional.

* Triple H says NXT is an infectious environment and everyone there should be congratulated. He says we will see the NXT talents put their heart and soul on the line like never before at Takeover.

Video: Ric Flair addresses Evolution and The Shield

Rumor Mill - WWE Reforming Former Stable To Take On The Shield?

The word going around backstage is that WWE will be reforming Evolution with Triple H, Randy Orton, and Dave Batista, at least for a short time, to take on The Shield. Ric Flair is not expected to return to the group but that could change.

If this does end up happening, look for a Shield vs. Evolution match to take place at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view.

source: wrestling observer

Diamond Dallas Page Defends Triple H, Talks About His HOF Speech for Jake Roberts and More

As seen above, Diamond Dallas Page recently spoke with WrestleDope.com while he was in Ireland. He talked about Jake Roberts, Triple H getting more power in WWE, The Shield, CM Punk and lots more. Below are a few quotes sent to us:

His WWE Hall of Fame induction speech for Jake Roberts:
"Now I know it's gonna be the strongest shit I've ever said and I will have something planned that I'm gonna say. I'll know what I'm going to say before I go up there, doesn't mean I'm going to say it!"

Triple H:
"Paul Levesque aka Triple H has been one of the most solid guys I've ever met in this business so nobody can talk shit about him around me. You may have your own beef with him, whoever it is but no one who don't know ain't got nothing to say about him around me because he's always been a stand up guy to me."

Ric Flair:
"I love the guy, I don't want to have heat with him, fuck that!"

Rumor Mill - New Name Being Discussed For a Match Against Triple H At WrestleMania 30

There are a lot of current possibilities with the WrestleMania 30 card, as we have been reporting, and the final decision has yet to be made on some of the top matches.

Inserting Daniel Bryan into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match with Randy Orton and Batista is being discussed as we previously reported.

WrestleZone is reporting that if Bryan is put in the WWE title match, which would make a Shield triple threat match unlikely, then Triple H versus Roman Reigns is a strong possibility for the big event.

WWE is currently very high on Reigns, and the company would use the storyline of The Shield having been the henchmen for The Authority in the past year as the launching point of a singles match between Reigns and HHH.

WWE Tribute To The Troops Results

Big E Langston and Mark Henry defeated Ryback and Curtis Axel in the dark match.

* Daniel Bryan defeated Erick Rowan when Luke Harper and Bray Wyatt interfered. Vickie Guerrero re-started the match, leading to Bryan and CM Punk defeating Rowan and Harper by DQ when Wyatt interfered again. John Cena came out for the save. Vickie makes it a 6 man match. Cena's team wins when he hits the Attitude Adjustment on Harper.

* Cena gives a speech to the Troops. Cena chants and "yes!" chants filled the hanger.

* Darren Young and Titus O'Neil defeated 3MB.

* The Usos and Rey Mysterio defeated The Shield.

* Brie Bella won a Divas battle royal by eliminating AJ Lee.

WWE Announces Winners of the 2013 WWE.com Slammy Awards

WWE has announced winners of the WWE.com Slammy Awards:

"What a Maneuver!" Award
Running knee strike (Daniel Bryan)
Black Widow (AJ Lee)
Spear (Roman Reigns) (WINNER)
Cesaro Swing (Antonio Cesaro)

Faction of the Year
The Shield (WINNER)
The Wyatt Family
The Real Americans
3MB

"You Still Got It!" (Best Superstar Return)
Rob Van Dam
Goldust (WINNER)
The Bella Twins
Bruno Sammartino
Chris Jericho

Couple of the Year
Triple H & Stephanie McMahon
Fandango & Summer Rae
Tyson Kidd & Natalya
Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella (WINNER)
John Cena & Nikki Bella
Naomi & Jimmy Uso

Tag Team of the Year
The Shield (Rollins & Reigns)
The Prime Time Players
The Usos
Cody Rhodes & Goldust (WINNER)
The Real Americans

Feat of Strength of the Year
Antonio Cesaro swings The Great Khali
Ryback Shell Shocks Mark Henry
The Shield Triple Powerbombs Big Show
Mark Henry pulls two trucks with his bare hands (WINNER)

"Say What?!" Quote of the Year
"Paul, say somethin' stupid." - Brock Lesnar
"Rise above THIS!" - Damien Sandow
"One stipulation: I'm in my boys' corner and I'll be your huckleberry all night long." - Dusty Rhodes (WINNER)
The "Paulcano" eruption

Best Dance Moves
Fandango
R-Truth
Summer Rae
The Funkadactyls (WINNER)
The Great Khali
"Miz-co Inferno"

Favorite Web Show
"WWE Inbox"
"30-Second Fury"
"The JBL & Cole Show" (WINNER)
"WWE Top 10"

Best Crowd of the Year
Raw after WrestleMania 29 (East Rutherford, N.J.) (WINNER)
WWE Payback (Chicago)
SummerSlam (Los Angeles)
Raw in England (London, Apr. 22)

Catchphrase of the Year
"YES! YES! YES!" (WINNER)
"That's What I Do"
"FAAAAAHHNNNN…DAAAAHHHHNNN…GO."
"Follow the Buzzards"
"We the People"
"Believe in The Shield"

WWE proclaims the Shield as 2013 Rookies of the Year

WWE.com has a new article where they proclaim the Shield of Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns the 2013 WWE Rookies of the Year. The Shield were in the running for the award alongside the Wyatt Family, Fandango, Curtis Axel and Big E. Langston.

To read the full article, click here.

And Justice for All: 10 Dramatic Moments That Made The Shield

One year ago today, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns debuted at Survivor Series and proceeded to disrupt the status quo in the WWE Universe. Follow the trail paved by The Hounds of Justice during their inaugural year in WWE. Click here.

Video: The Authority leave Big Show beaten

Video: Big Show vs. The Shield & Randy Orton - 4-on-1 Handicap Match

Rumor Mill - Backstage Talk About Roman Reigns, The Shield, Wyatt Family

Look for Roman Reigns of The Shield to eventually turn into a major babyface, but probably not for several months down the line. No word yet on what this will mean for Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins.

There is talk that with The Shield possibly dissolving soon, The Wyatt Family will take their spot as the dominant heel stable. Look for The Wyatts to have a major feud against CM Punk and Daniel Bryan.

Video: Randy Orton Championship Celebration

Video: Big Show Knocks Out Triple H

Video: Big Show knocks out WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes

Video: Edge returns with "The Cutting Edge" and special guest Daniel Bryan