Why Seth Rollins should return to WWE as a babyface in 2021

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A sacrifice for the "greater good"

Last night in the men’s traditional Survivor Series elimination match, Seth Rollins sacrificed himself for the “greater good” and was the first man to be eliminated.

It was most likely done to write Seth Rollins off WWE television, as Becky Lynch is expected to give birth to their child in the next month or so. When he returns, Rollins should go back to being a babyface character. 

First, let’s take a look at the “Messiah” character, which came to be exactly one year ago after Survivor Series 2019. Even though it isn’t entirely Rollins' fault, when you look at the full body of work for the character, you can claim that it was a failure.

Seth Rollins only had two full feuds over the past year. The first was with Kevin Owens, who he feuded with from this time last year up until WrestleMania 36, where he lost.

The other one was with Rey Mysterio, who he feuded with from late spring up until a couple of weeks ago on SmackDown. He did have a one-off match with Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank, but the Mysterio feud is what really soured fans on the character.

The Messiah character had potential at the beginning when he “saved” the Authors of Pain, Austin Theory, and Murphy. However, injuries and allegations seemingly derailed things. 

Seth Rollins is admittedly a better heel than a babyface

Seth Rollins is a much better heel than a babyface, but his move set is much more catered to that of a babyface. When the Shield broke up in 2014 and it was Rollins who turned on them, it was shocking.

Why? Because out of the three members of the Shield, Rollins had the best profile of the three to be a babyface in the future. Just look at the matches after the Shield turned face and the crazy spots and moves Rollins performed.

The main reason why Seth Rollins’ last babyface run faltered was that he was his own worst enemy. Fans began to turn on Rollins due to some of the comments he was making on Twitter last year. However, as you saw in his SummerSlam match with Brock Lesnar, he can get the fans back on his side really quickly with his in-ring work. 

Just imagine this. It is the 2021 Royal Rumble, there are fans in attendance, albeit in a limited capacity. The Royal Rumble match is going on and we are in the late ’20s in entrants.

The clock hits zero, before the familiar sound “Burn It Down” hits and out comes a newly-refreshed, babyface Seth Rollins making his return. Not only would it get a huge pop, but SmackDown would recruit a new babyface on its main event scene to challenge Roman Reigns, which it is currently lacking. 

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