Ex-WWE star highlights "lapse in creative" involving Seth Rollins (Exclusive)
Seth Rollins feuded with Shinsuke Nakamura over the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in 2023. Former WWE star EC3 recently used the storyline as an example to explain how creative issues could be avoided in wrestling.
The short-term angle revolved around Nakamura targeting Rollins' injured back. The two men fought each other at the Payback and Fastlane Premium Live Events, with The Visionary securing the win both times.
EC3 appeared on Sportskeeda Wrestling's The Wrestling Outlaws show with host Dr. Chris Featherstone and former WWE writer, Vince Russo. Discussing inconsistencies with booking, he highlighted how Rollins failed to sell an injury that Nakamura seemingly gave him.
"He [Nakamura] made the big heel turn and he destroyed Rollins' back with the chair, I think, but then they had a match and then the next day Rollins came out, singing and dancing like usual, not putting over the injury. That's just lapses in creative," EC3 said. [5:59 – 6:14]
In the video above, Vince Russo recalled a conversation he had with Ryback about how Triple H viewed top stars in the current generation.
EC3 understands why WWE creative errors occur
Triple H replaced his father-in-law, Vince McMahon as the main roster's creative figurehead in July 2022. Since then, the consensus among fans is that RAW and SmackDown storylines have significantly improved.
EC3 believes Triple H and WWE's other decision-makers have a difficult job overseeing so many shows every week, and deciding what to fit in where. It was undoubtedly a difficult and demanding task and thus errors were part and parcel of the game.
"The one thing creative does have working against it, we can't book everything to be a big show every time. It's just the amount they have to book. Sometimes you do need some filler. But, at the same time, everything could be more important. Context, man, people remember. They think fans don't remember. They live and die by these stories and these angles and these evolutions of people's personalities," he said. [6:15 – 6:39]
In 2018, EC3 was part of the NXT roster when Triple H was the brand's head booker. The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion had a brief main roster run under Vince McMahon's leadership in 2019 and 2020. However, he struggled to receive regular television time.
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