"I was so angry" – When Seth Rollins was forced to reshoot an entire WWE match again
Seth Rollins was one of WWE's top breakout singles competitors of 2014, but not every match he had that year went as smoothly as planned.
The Architect of The Shield defeated Kofi Kingston in a pre-taped contest for the June 20, 2014, episode of SmackDown. He initially thought the match had gone okay, but then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon saw things differently.
In 2019, Rollins revealed on Edge & Christian's Pod of Awesomeness that McMahon ordered him and Kingston to redo the match:
"Vince was furious about it! Like, furious! Just, 'Get over here!' And he's yelling at me, and he's just like, 'If you're gonna be my guy, you're gonna be my guy, that's not what I want!'" (H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcription)
Rollins wanted to walk out of the arena, but cooler heads prevailed and he agreed to shoot the three-minute encounter again:
"They ended up making me and Kofi have to go out and redo the match. And I remember the feeling when they told me that. I was so angry and embarrassed, and just ready to just walk out and not do it, cause I was like, never in my life! Never should this happen to me! But it was such a learning experience in retrospect that it's okay to screw up sometimes."
The match took place two weeks after Rollins famously attacked Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns on RAW, causing The Shield to break up.
Why Vince McMahon wanted Kofi Kingston vs. Seth Rollins to be filmed again
The former WWE boss was keen for Seth Rollins to look strong against Kofi Kingston as part of his main-event push as a member of The Authority.
Moments after securing his #MITB Contract Match victory, @WWERollins savors his hard fought victory! #MITB #WWE http://t.co/9AuyTFGZBq
In McMahon's opinion, Rollins allowed Kingston to have too much offense against him during their short match:
"Now, Kofi's someone that I have a lot of respect for and someone I would never – even in a match that is meant for me to look good in – I would not want to just squash Kofi," Rollins added. "I just wouldn't want to do it. I would want to give him something and that's just my nature."
The awkward backstage exchange did not affect Rollins' run in the WWE spotlight. He won the Money in the Bank contract a week later, cementing his status as one of the company's top stars of the future.
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