The word ‘cinema’ has been thrown around a lot to describe WWE’s storytelling over the past year, particularly the gripping Bloodline saga involving Roman Reigns, The Usos, Solo Sikoa and Paul Heyman. As great as all that has been, the main event of Sunday’s WrestleMania XL spectacular delivered perhaps the greatest masterstroke of all.
Nearly a decade after the breakup of The Shield, Seth Rollins delivered on his promise to serve as Cody Rhodes’ ‘shield’ by sacrificing himself to bring down the Tribal Chief. Reigns was nearly unbeatable, but Rollins placed a winning bet on the belief that his former ‘brother’ would be unable to resist exacting revenge, one of the msot al seven deadly sins.
Apart from Cody Rhodes finishing his story, the tension between Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns was one of the talking points. There was no shortage of drama or layers of depth to dig into. The former Shield members have a long history together and WWE played out an angle beautifully that has been in the making for over ten years.
Seth Rollins is one of the key figures who helped in building what could be regarded as one of the greatest stories ever told in WWE. After all, he is ‘The Architect.’ He was among many superstars who came to the aid of Cody Rhodes, who dethroned Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
Let’s take an in-depth look into the angle between Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, thanks to Mith Gifs Wrestling.
Reopening old wounds
‘The Visionary’ is a master of playing mind games and he got into the head of ‘The Tribal Chief.’ Reigns had the chance to hit Cody Rhodes with a steel chair to win the match but he ended up deciding to hit Seth Rollins in the back, mirroring Rollins to dissolve The Shield back in the day.
Reigns certainly got flashbacks of the betrayal and couldn’t help but get his payback. However, at the cost of the title which he held for 1,316 days.
This right here was the definition of long term storytelling.
The fact that Roman Reigns could never get over the fact that Seth Rollins broke up The Shield and it cost him his title.
Simply perfect. pic.twitter.com/W4utIvyYyO
— Wrestling Pics & Clips (@WrestleClips) April 8, 2024
Seth Rollins, who was partly responsible for the creation of the ‘monster’ knew that Roman would be unable to contain himself long enough to exact revenge on his former Shield brethren. ‘The Architect’ did what was necessary to bring down the monster he helped create.
The Hero’s Shield
After what went down at WrestleMania 40, fans soon recalled what Rollins told Cody Rhodes back in February. During a fateful promo on WWE Raw, Rollins said:
“When it comes to fighting Roman Reigns, there is only one man on earth, who is uniquely suited to be your shield.”
Well, Rollins is a man of his word. He took the bullet for and protected Cody.
Mind Games
Last year, it was Sami Zayn who backstabbed ‘The Trible Chief’ in a similar fashion, which still haunts him to this day. Betrayal has been Roman Reigns’ worst fear and Rollins was well aware of that.
Rollins could get into Roman’s head like no one else and from time to time, he has messed with his former Shield teammate. This is something ‘The Tribal Chief’ couldn’t escape and thus Rollins managed to outwit his former friend despite getting attacked.
Well, this is not the first time Rollins reopened Reigns’ old wounds. At the Royal Rumble in 2022, Seth deliberately messed with Roman when he walked out to the Shield’s old music, wearing the Shield’s old gear ahead of the title match.
During their match, Seth mocked Roman and even offered the Shield fist bump which caused Roman to snap and got Rollins in a guillotine choke. It was comprehensible enough that Rollins controlled Roman’s emotions. With rage and trauma getting the better of him. Roman Reigns refused to relinquish the hold and that night Rollins won the contest via DQ.
Seth Rollins' entrance vs Roman Reigns at Royal Rumble 2022 was legendary. ? pic.twitter.com/K6pG2fJAzV
— ChanMan (@ChandranTheMan) December 28, 2023
“He won’t allow me to let go”
– Roman ReignsThe only story that needs finishing! pic.twitter.com/QoE5fyqmYt
— ????? ????? ????? ?????? ¹³¹? (@_RomansLegacy) November 11, 2023
The Next Chapter
Seth Rollins had dropped the World Heavyweight Championship to Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 40. Meanwhile, with Roman Reigns returning empty-handed as well, there is a huge possibility that we could witness another feud between the two down the road.
Will they ignite a new rivalry to settle the dispute once and for all? With Triple H at the helm of this new era, wrestling fans can rest assured that it’s safe to invest in these longterm stories.
