Rollins is a modern-day Shawn Michaels

[Terry Gyimah]

If anything you can make the argument all you want or the comparisons all you want but honestly I would say Rollins has the makings of a young Shawn Michaels you guys can laugh all you want or make all the arguments in the world as to how he isn't but he is, hear me out:

Rollins has the ability to steal shows just like Shawn used to back in his heyday and not to mention Rollins whenever he is in the ring he is usually a great storyteller much like how Shawn was but also Rollins his in-ring abilities speak for itself I mean honestly

Rollins turned on his friends Ambrose and Reigns turning his back on The Shield much like how Shawn Michaels turned on Marty Jannetty when they were The Rockers and he went off on his own became The Heartbreak Kid, Shawn had heel heat like no one else when he did what he did just like how Rollins when he destroyed The Shield he got heel heat like no one else

Not to mention looks wise Rollins even looks like he could be a young Shawn Michaels in terms of his ring attire well a few tweaks here and there but still very similar and size wise in terms of physical stature in terms of body shape in ring shape how could you not make the comparison?

And he has the charisma too but also he makes his opponents in the ring look good too just by being in the ring with him

 

[MizMark11]

While I can see the comparisons, I don't understand why he has to be the modern day Shawn Michaels. Can't he just be Seth Rollins? It's like how people say Dean's the next Austin/Piper/Pillman or that Cena is the modern day Hulk Hogan. I just don't like those kinds of comparisons, personally. Yes, they all share similarities, but there hasn't been another Hulk Hogan, there won't be another John Cena, and there won't be another Shawn Michaels.

Now, I'm too young to have watched HBK back in the 90's and I didn't really start watching wrestling until 2001/2002, so I've only seen that version of him from highlights, old PPVs, DVDs, etc.. With that being said, there was just something about Shawn Michaels. Sure, Shawn Michaels has turned on his friends, but how many other superstars have? How many superstars have similar body types to Shawn (although I will say that Rollins has a lot more definition than HBK ever had)? Their ring attire doesn't even really look the same except for the fact that they're wearing tights.

While HBK had that really separates him is that charisma. I definitely think Seth has charisma and will be one of the top superstars of this decade, HBK's charisma was over the top. Very few superstar can touch him in that category.

For the sake of comparison, I feel like Seth is more easily comparable to Edge, but I'd never say he's the next Edge or anything like that.

Again, just my opinion! But I do see where you're coming from and respect that.

 

[@smarkmouth]

The comparisons are there, but so are the differences. Seth is competent on the mic, but nowhere near as good as Shawn was. We could go back and forth all day on this, but ultimately that's just our own personal tastes. Aside from that, Seth has proved a handful of times to have a shocking amount of ammo in his power game, which Shawn never had.

I remember Jeff Hardy getting this comparison. As did Chris Jericho, as well as other names that I'm sure I'm forgetting. You'll notice we don't look back on them and call them 'the second Shawn Michaels'. We call them the first Jeff Hardy, and the first Chris Jericho. We should offer the same service to Seth Rollins.

EDIT: My post has been sniped by MizMark. Very well put, sir.

 

[OddManRush]

I think he's more like Triple H because he does the pedigree. I see comparisons to Matt Hardy too because of the long black hair.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Meh, more like HHH. Not so much physically and in ring as much as personality. Its not coincidence that HHH sees something in him and that he is groomed as "future of WWE" at the hands of HHH. Think he just see part of himself in Rollins.

 

[timothy26]

No I think he's just the first Seth Rollins. In wrestling terms he reminds me alot more of the cruiserweight style, I don't think his look and personality are really all that similar to anyone else

 

[Vanilla Midget]

Sure, the comparisons are there, but what does it really get us? Does pointing it out achieve anything? Do we see Rollins as any more or less favourable because he has some comparisons to Michaels?

There's just no end game to pointing it out. If anything greatness is validated by comparissons to greats of the past. Comparing Cena to Hogan, comparing Ambrose to Pillman, Ryback to Goldberg, etc.

No one comparing Rollins to Michaels is wrong, but who cares? Rollins certainly isn't a Michaels clone. Early HBK was this oversexed arrogant ass. Rollins' character hasn't been portrayed as the boy toy. HBK spent a lot more time in the midcard than Rollins did, winning several IC. Rollins won his first midcard title while holding the WWE title.

Today's WWE stars should be looking to the past for inspiration. For all his similarities, there is no plan in place to book Rollins as HBK 2.0. The similarities are there if you look for them, and if you find them, does it really matter?

 

[Mustang Sally]

Sure, the comparisons are there, but what does it really get us?

It gets us nothing, yet it's fun to measure new stars against men & women of the past and see whom they most remind us of.

I can see the OP's comparison to Shawn Michaels, yet I agree more with the poster who named Chris Jericho. Like Y2J, Rollins adds a sardonic twist to most everything he says; a mocking tone that comes through even when he's being sincere about something. I think he shows great ability on the mic.

Also like Jericho, Seth has ability to burn.....and a character that's flexible enough to change with wherever his character needs to go in the future. When he was a member of Shield, I never figured Rollins would be one of the folks taking us into the next decade, but he is......as the heir to Chris Jericho.

 

[Logisticalbooker86]

When he was a member of Shield, I never figured Rollins would be one of the folks taking us into the next decade, but he is......as the heir to Chris Jericho.

I completely agree. Yet, it is stunning how far ahead Seth Rollins is of his former partners. Not just in terms of presentation, but sheer ability in the ring as well. Rollins is as hot right now in the ring as anyone I have seen in the last decade.

As much as I want Sting to win the WWE title for my personal bucket list, Seth Rollins has earned his time as the #1 heel. I am nowhere near ready to see that end. Part of me fears there may be a long time between when Seth drops the title and wins it back. I cannot justify that with any logic, as it's just a nagging fear.

In closing, Ambrose is REGRESSING in the ring in my opinion. I don't know whether WWE is telling him to do things a certain way or what, but Ambrose' babyface comeback drives me nuts. Every time he uses that middle rope fake out clothesline more than once in a matcg I want to scream. I despise it.

All hail Seth Rollins.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

You can't compare wrestlers of today to wrestlers of the past. Actually you can, but Seth Rollins will be the next Seth Rollins, not the next Shawn Michaels.

 

[whoopin' ass]

This one is an interesting one as there are always types in wrestling - Cesaro is very much the current Bret Hart as he is a more technical wrestler than others. But those are more styles that get filled. With Rollins, he is actually very similar to HBK. He doesn't really fit the style - HBK was the pretty boy who would work where as Rollins never really filled that role, that was more a Ziggler thing. But if you look at how they have evolved over the years, it is actually quite similar. Yes it is a different time but that doesn't really matter here - Rollins isn't HBK 2.0 but he is what someone like HBK coming into the business would turn out like today. It is tough to explain - think of it this way: James Dean was the coolest guy around for a while and then came Steve McQueen. Is McQueen James Dean 2.0? No, he is his own person but fills that same spot even though they are very different people. That's the case here - HBK is Dean and Rollins is McQueen.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

I haven't been on the bandwagon as it comes to Seth Rollins as he hasn't had a big one on one main event match that had any big match feel to it.....but Summerslam changed my mind about him quite a bit....his attire suited him better, he had a fantastic match ( MINUS TERRIBLE ENDING ) with John Cena and it finally had that big match feel.

And what a frog splash....better than Eddie's IMO.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

The comparisons are there, but so are the differences. Seth is competent on the mic, but nowhere near as good as Shawn was. We could go back and forth all day on this, but ultimately that's just our own personal tastes. Aside from that, Seth has proved a handful of times to have a shocking amount of ammo in his power game, which Shawn never had.

I remember Jeff Hardy getting this comparison. As did Chris Jericho, as well as other names that I'm sure I'm forgetting. You'll notice we don't look back on them and call them 'the second Shawn Michaels'. We call them the first Jeff Hardy, and the first Chris Jericho. We should offer the same service to Seth Rollins.

EDIT: My post has been sniped by MizMark. Very well put, sir.

Rollins is perfect on the mic. He's better than Michaels - especially at this point in his career vs Michaels. Rollins is 1000000000x better on the mic than Jeff Hardy.

Young Chris Jericho and 90s Michaels/any Jeff Hardy aren't even comparable

 

[Terry Gyimah]

Rollins is perfect on the mic. He's better than Michaels - especially at this point in his career vs Michaels. Rollins is 1000000000x better on the mic than Jeff Hardy.

Young Chris Jericho and 90s Michaels/any Jeff Hardy aren't even comparable

Rollins at this point in his career he has the opportunity to even be better than or even surpass The Heartbreak Kid especially if Rollins' popularity starts to skyrocket which it could especially once Rollins turns babyface especially if he goes on a babyface run

But also Rollins' mic work now compared to when he was a member of The Shield speaks for itself

 

[@smarkmouth]

Rollins is perfect on the mic. He's better than Michaels - especially at this point in his career vs Michaels. Rollins is 1000000000x better on the mic than Jeff Hardy.

Young Chris Jericho and 90s Michaels/any Jeff Hardy aren't even comparable

Hardy got the comparison in a fly by night stat, as pretty any tag team wrestler gets after a split, unfortunately. I'm sure there's a thread on some IWC forum somewhere that says the same about JTG. Nonetheless, mine is not a comparison of caliber of athlete or career, merely an observation of comparisons made.

And no, Rollins is not "perfect" on the mic. He's got a harsh nasality to his vocal quality and laughter, and his timing is great but needs work. But hey, if he's just working me as a heel with that voice and blows me away on his inevitable face turn, I'll be glad to eat crow and retroactively priase the heel run of Rollins.

Nonetheless, that's all subjective.

Rollins at this point in his career he has the opportunity to even be better than or even surpass The Heartbreak Kid especially if Rollins' popularity starts to skyrocket which it could especially once Rollins turns babyface especially if he goes on a babyface run

But also Rollins' mic work now compared to when he was a member of The Shield speaks for itself

I'll agree here. Rollins is getting some significant milestones in his early career, and his growth has been certainly remarkable. Back in the Shield, I expected him to thrive as a career mid carder. You can find posts by me to that effect. Much like I suggested above, I'm glad to eat crow here, too.

I'll still stick to calling him the first Seth Rollins, though.