After a hot start to 2019 that saw him become the top face in the company, Seth Rollins became "not cool" by the end of the year.
Rollins won the 2019 Royal Rumble and went on to defeat Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Title at WrestleMania 35.
But he cooled after WrestleMania and the audience fully turned on him in the fall during his feud with 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt. Rollins officially turned heel in December, aligning himself with AOP.
?It is a different era than it was back in the day. Now, it?s easier to be an antagonist because ... anybody who consumes entertainment has a voice to be heard,? Rollins told San Antonio Express News. ?They can get online and say whatever they want, and even if one or two people respond to it, that?s one or two people more than 20 years ago when they were just sitting in their living room talking crap to their friends. ? Our audience looks for things to complain about, to dislike and to pick apart. It?s such a short, short lifespan. If you can maintain being in that hero role for a lengthy period of time, you are doing something incredible.?
Rollins now refers to himself as the "Monday Night Messiah" and leads a group consisting of AOP and Buddy Murphy.
When asked whose idea it was to turn him heel, Rollins said it was a collaborative effort, saying the creative team ?are not going to send me out there and make me do something I?m not comfortable with. I have to believe in what I?m doing out there as a performer.?
Rollins & Murphy won the Raw Tag Team Championships on Monday, defeating The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar). Rollins is scheduled to compete this Sunday in the Men's Royal Rumble. You can find a full list of participants by clicking here.