Kemo
06-20-2023, 06:49 PM
Seth Rollins made history at WWE Night of Champions when he defeated AJ Styles in the finals of a tournament to crown a new WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
Despite the fact that WWE has had a World Heavyweight champion before, Rollins' belt starts fresh with its own lineage, according to WWE.com.
As the first person to hold the new World Heavyweight championship, Rollins has the responsibility of defining this title. He's been holding Open Challenges to show that he'll be a fighting champion who is willing to take on all comers.
Rollins spoke with the Daily Mail this week and explained his vision for the type of champion he wants to be. Interestingly, he names Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar as examples of the type of champion he doesn't want to be.
Rollins admits that Reigns' historic title reign has been chock full of incredible moments and great stories, but he disappears for weeks at a time. His title defenses are even less frequent. Instead, Rollins envisions himself having a reign more similar to legends like Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and... CM Punk.
'I was a fan of the old champions growing up, the NWA champions that took the title around all the towns and defended it in every city," said Rollins. "That's just what I grew up with and that's what part of being a champion.
Guys like Ric Flair, Harley Race and even Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels and even if you [look] all the way to John Cena and CM Punk as the WWE Champion, these were guys who were my examples when I was growing up and what fixated in my mind."
Rollins says Brock Lesnar in particular did damage to the roster and to the business as a whole by being a part-time champion.
Less than a month after becoming World Heavyweight champion, Rollins already has seven title defenses under his belt (Source). His next title defense takes place tonight at NXT Gold Rush (Night One), when he gives Bron Breakker a championship opportunity.
Despite the fact that WWE has had a World Heavyweight champion before, Rollins' belt starts fresh with its own lineage, according to WWE.com.
As the first person to hold the new World Heavyweight championship, Rollins has the responsibility of defining this title. He's been holding Open Challenges to show that he'll be a fighting champion who is willing to take on all comers.
Rollins spoke with the Daily Mail this week and explained his vision for the type of champion he wants to be. Interestingly, he names Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar as examples of the type of champion he doesn't want to be.
Rollins admits that Reigns' historic title reign has been chock full of incredible moments and great stories, but he disappears for weeks at a time. His title defenses are even less frequent. Instead, Rollins envisions himself having a reign more similar to legends like Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and... CM Punk.
'I was a fan of the old champions growing up, the NWA champions that took the title around all the towns and defended it in every city," said Rollins. "That's just what I grew up with and that's what part of being a champion.
Guys like Ric Flair, Harley Race and even Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels and even if you [look] all the way to John Cena and CM Punk as the WWE Champion, these were guys who were my examples when I was growing up and what fixated in my mind."
Rollins says Brock Lesnar in particular did damage to the roster and to the business as a whole by being a part-time champion.
Less than a month after becoming World Heavyweight champion, Rollins already has seven title defenses under his belt (Source). His next title defense takes place tonight at NXT Gold Rush (Night One), when he gives Bron Breakker a championship opportunity.