In advance of the ESPN special which aired this week, The Des Moines Register recently followed around WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, who is also an Iowa native. Below are some highlights:
Rollins on growing up a fan:
“My brother and I would wrestle in my grandparents’ living room, that was our spot. Even when he wasn’t there, I would fight pillows and the wrestling buddies (plush toys shaped like wrestlers) all on my own. Hulk Hogan was a superhero to me as a kid. I loved Batman as a kid, but he wasn’t a real person. He was a character, and I couldn’t touch him. But Hulk Hogan, I watched him walk out on the ramp and get into the ring. He was a real person. If he was real, why couldn’t I be like him? Why couldn’t I do that, too?”
Rollins saying what WWE does is perceived violence, not just violence:
“It’s not a wrestling show, it’s a TV show about a wrestling show. It’s a classic morality tale. It’s a story as old as time. You have an antagonist and you have a protagonist. You have a conflict and you have a resolution.”
Jamie Noble on Rollins:
“There’s no quitting when it comes to Seth. He doesn’t get down….If we have a bad day, we find a way to make it better the next day.”
Michael Hayes on Rollins:
“He’s one of the most durable guys I’ve ever seen. He’s like a cat. There can be a mistake made and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, he’s broke in two,’ but he’s just up and fine.”
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
