Opinion: WWE have booked Seth Rollins poorly in 2019
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Sportskeeda.
The lasting image of Summerslam 2019 was that of Seth Rollins defeating Brock Lesnar clean to regain the WWE Universal Title. It was an image that offered hope to 'The Architect,' after what had been a pretty topsy-turvy 2019 for him.
The year started off so well for Rollins when he won the Royal Rumble - a decision warmly received by those who watched worldwide. It was soon followed by a solid victory over 'The Beast Incarnate' in an enjoyable quick fire match that opened Wrestlemania.
Sadly, other than what has been listed above, Rollins hasn’t had the best 2019. This is due mostly to failures in creative. The way in which Rollins has been scripted to handle his character has been confusing.
Let’s first look at the fall out to his big Mania championship victory. After an entertaining first PPV defense against AJ Styles, Rollins was saddled into a dead end feud with Baron Corbin. While Corbin has admittedly produced some spectacular heel work during his King of The Ring run, he was simply not the right man to receive a Universal Championship opportunity at that point.
What made this feud worse was the addition of Seth’s real life fiancee, Becky Lynch, into the mix. Everything about their relationship on screen felt forced, almost as if the company wanted it to work so badly. It was difficult to see any of the chemistry the pair clearly have off screen.
It was at this point where the lack of depth in the Rollins' babyface character became abundant, especially as he continued to cut numerous repetitive promos. Seth Rollins may be the best wrestler in the world, but it's difficult to support him when what he does comes off as robotic and scripted.
Around this time, Rollins became vocal on Twitter in his support for WWE, leading to an exchange with NJPW’s Will Ospreay. Some of his comments didn’t sit well with fans, and have led to many turning on the Universal Champion.
Instead of finding a way to help him naturally regain the popularity he had at the beginning of the year, WWE placed him in a feud against the red hot Fiend, leading up to a Hell in a Cell bout Rollins could surely never win.
While Rollins did inevitably retain his Universal Championship at Hell in a Cell, the finish was booked in such a way that Rollins has now lost all remaining appeal.
If WWE want Rollins to be the top star he most certainly deserves to be, the company needs to do a complete 180 with his booking. Otherwise, WWE risks having a Roman Reigns 2.0 scenario on their hands.