Seth Rollins is set to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal title at WrestleMania 35. As such, it was surprising to see the babyface challenger pinned in the main event of Monday’s Raw.
Rollins was distracted by Lesnar’s entrance music being played, then ate a Claymore Kick from Drew McIntyre, leading to the pinfall.
Jim Ross takes issue with Rollins’s portrayal in his loss to McIntyre, and lays out his reasoning on this week’s Jim Ross Report.
Jim Ross on Drew McIntyre Defeating Seth Rollins on RAW
“I didn’t like the way that Raw went off the air, where, again, a music interruption causes the decision of a match to be determined,” says Ross.
“It happens over and over again: Interrupt, distraction, screwjob. Interrupt, distraction, screwjob.”
Ross continues, saying that Rollins was made to look foolish, in a way that the top babyface stars of another era would not have been.
“Can you imagine Steve Austin or The Rock falling for that music interrupt piece of business? No. Because it wouldn’t happen,” says Ross.
JR goes on to discuss the perils of trying to maintain parity among
“I have a big problem with trying to protect everybody on the roster,” Ross says.
“It’s not a game of protection. It’s a game of execution. If you can execute well, and you’re given the tools to execute well, there’s absolutely no reason that a loss to a talent that is already ‘over’, is going to significantly damage the persona of that individual.”
“Seth Rollins was made to look silly,” says Ross. “His best side was not on display there.”
“Seth is a magnificent athlete, we all can see that. And his match with Lesnar at WrestleMania can be a classic.”
“But you can’t make your babyfaces, your heroes, your protagonists, look dumb, and get them over to the top of the mountain,” Ross says.
Do you agree that Rollins was made to look foolish on Raw?
