Seth Rollins On Shawn Michaels' Impact On Him And WWE, Wrestling At Large

Seth Rollins has let it be known repeatedly, over the years, that he wouldn't have stepped foot inside a wrestling ring if not for Shawn Michaels. Last month, after his stellar match against Bron Breakker on "WWE NXT," WWE released a backstage video of Rollins sharing a warm embrace with Michaels, following which the World Heavyweight Champion reiterated his earlier sentiments, going as far as to say that he wouldn't have met his wife or had a kid if not for Michaels. 

In an interview with "Out of Character," Rollins broke down the various ways in which Michaels inspired his younger self. "He's really the reason I felt I could do what I'm doing," Rollins began. "I was never going to be Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, or André the Giant, the people I grew up watching were all giants. Shawn and Bret were the first two people that I was like, 'Oh, I think I can do that. Maybe if I'm lucky enough to get to 6 feet tall, I might be able to do that.'"

"I don't have to be a 300-pound, 6 feet 7 giant or whatever. To be able to share that experience with Shawn, and to be able to get any amount of respect out of him — for what I'm able to do, as a character and a performer — means the world to me. I am really at a loss of words to describe what that [embrace with Shawn] meant to me. It was very special, I was extremely humbled that I had any amount of respect from The Heartbreak Kid."

As is the natural order of life, Rollins is now becoming the inspiration to future generations, much like Michaels was to him. When asked if the reality had dawned upon him, Rollins revealed he "doesn't really experience" the Michaels-level of adulation on a day-to-day basis, admitting that he's "still constantly learning" and is "still often wrong" about decisions he makes. "I feel like I've got so far to go in my journey, in the industry, that it's easy for me to lose track of what I've done, I suppose. To kinda reflect on that, and realize that I affect people in any way, like Shawn affected me, is pretty surreal. I have a hard time being that person. I'm still the kid from the small town who loves pro wrestling."

Rollins then provided insight into his conversations with Michaels, and why he always comes away from them a tad perplexed. "I don't think Shawn realizes the impact he's had on everybody," Rollins stressed. "There are a whole generation of people, of my age, who aren't doing this if not for him. All [of] us pattern our style on Shawn, Bret [Hart], and Eddie [Guerrero]. I don't really think he fully grasps that, either, and how influential he was on this generation."

To segue from the Michaels talk, and conclude the interview, Rollins was asked to name "the least favorite move" he had ever been on the receiving end of. "One of the worst ones — and I'm really glad he adopted a new finishing move — is Kevin Owens' popup powerbomb," Rollins responded. "There's just too much velocity, you're up too high and coming down too fast. I don't care if you have a neck of steel, even if you're Otis and don't have a neck, you are gonna bump your head. There's no ifs and buts about it. You're gone, your neck can't handle it." Rollins also gave an honorable mention to Damian Priest's chokeslam. "Anything that requires me to fall down from great heights, I'm against it."