The Shield Vs. The Wyatt Family: Elimination Chamber 2014

Ranking Seth Rollins' seven Best Matches with WWE

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Seth Rollins has had contested countless classics over the years in WWE. JP Yim/Getty Images

Based off in-ring ability solitary, Seth Rollins has to be considered one of the best in all of WWE at the moment, with his personality and popularity making him that much more than of a megastar.

Between winning the men'south Majestic Rumble match and beating Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 35, he's had an outstanding 2019. Yet, his greatest exam has yet to come, because at Money in the Bank on May nineteen, he'll be defending his championship against an equally exceptional athlete in AJ Styles.

The bout is sure to be a barn-burner, just it would be far from the first fourth dimension that The Architect will take contested a classic match in WWE.

Since making his main roster debut in November 2012, Rollins has been a part of many memorable matches and moments. Regardless of whether he's with The Shield or on his own, he has proved to be amid the most skilled Superstars to step betwixt the ropes, with his long listing of accomplishments speaking for itself.

With Rollins' predictable outing against Styles drawing near, allow's look back at the matchups that have helped define his WWE career.

In addition to the action being entertaining and the story existence stellar, the post-obit fights were an of import factor in his rising to superstardom and cemented him every bit the peak-tier talent he is today.

Honorable Mentions

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Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose vs. The Bar (SummerSlam 2017)

Rollins severed ties with his Shield brethren in June 2014, and it took years for Dean Ambrose to finally forgive him for his sins.

At 2017'southward SummerSlam event, they got back on the same page to take out two mutual enemies in Sheamus and Cesaro.

The lackluster card was highlighted by this hotly contested clash as it kicked off a fun run for Rollins and Ambrose as the Raw tag team champions.

The Shield vs. Development (Payback 2014)

The Shield first toppled Development at Extreme Rules, just the legendary trio consisting of Triple H, Randy Orton and Batista was hell-bent on avenging that loss at Payback in a hardcore six-man tag team elimination match.

It concluded up being a glorified one-sided squash with Rollins, Ambrose and Roman Reigns picking up the biggest win of their collective careers, but to become their divide ways the adjacent night.

Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose (Money in the Bank 2015)

Evidently, Rollins and Ambrose have waged war both together and confronting each other more times than one tin can count.

Their rivalry reached new heights (literally and figuratively) at Money in the Bank 2015 when they fought for Rollins' WWE Globe Heavyweight Championship in a main result ladder match.

Both men had strong showings, simply ultimately, it was The Architect who reigned supreme.

The Shield vs. Cody Rhodes and Goldust (Battleground 2013): The fall of 2013 was a dull period for WWE programming, but at least fans had The Shield's heated feud with the Rhodes brothers to look forward to from week-to-week.

Cody, Dusty Rhodes and Goldust's WWE jobs were on the line hither, making it all the more emotional when they constitute a way to overcome the odds, outsmart The Authority and beat The Hounds of Justice.

Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens (Hell in a Cell 2016): Information technology took Rollins several years to find his footing every bit a face after initially turning in 2016, but his conclusion to exist the best never wavered.

This Hell in a Cell match featured plenty of heady and jaw-dropping moments, just cheers to interference from Kevin Owens' best bud, Chris Jericho, Rollins was unable to claim the Universal Championship.

7. Seth Rollins vs. The Miz vs. Finn Balor (WrestleMania 34)

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The Shield's 2017 reunion was cut short when Ambrose went down with an injury, leaving Rollins without any articulate management heading into WrestleMania 34.

Nonetheless, he turned heads with his hour-long operation in a grueling Gauntlet match on an episode of Raw in February 2018, and from that signal forward, information technology felt as if he had been reborn every bit an all-new competitor.

Information technology wasn't long before he set his sights on the Intercontinental Championship and earned entry into a Triple Threat title friction match at 'Mania with The Miz and Finn Balor. They showed first-class chemical science in the weeks preceding the pay-per-view, so everyone expected it to be one of the amend bouts of the night.

The three-mode trip the light fantastic toe opened the issue in heady fashion as there was no telling who was going to walk out with the gold in their grasp. Although Miz was willing to do anything to retain his championship and Balor had the support of the fans, Rollins was the one with the most momentum on his side.

This was all activeness from bell-to-bell with all three men coming close to victory on a number of occasions. Afterwards Rollins executed a picture-perfect Stomp on Balor, he followed up with another on Miz for good measure out and pinned The Awesome One for his get-go Intercontinental Championship.

WrestleMania has hosted a slew of sensational Intercontinental matches in the past, only this was amongst the best in recent years. Better yet, Rollins went on to breathe new life into the prestigious prize and make it the hot commodity it once was.

6. Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns (Battleground 2016)

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Later on Rollins betrayed Ambrose and Reigns on Raw in June 2014 and brought an precipitous end to The Shield, fans immediately began to speculate when we would see them collide in a Triple Threat match. Of class, information technology was inevitable, but the timing had to exist right in order for it to feel as epic as possible.

Rollins battled The Big Dog and Ambrose separately over the next two years, but it wasn't until the summer of 2016 that they were finally feuding all together.

The Architect bested Reigns for the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank minutes before Ambrose emerged to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase and accept the title from him.

That set the stage for a major Triple Threat lucifer betwixt the former friends at the Battlefield pay-per-view. Reigns missed a majority of the build for the bout equally a result of his 30-day intermission, but that didn't make this matchup feel any less special.

Rollins appeared to exist actress motivated equally he was coming off a long layoff and wanted to prove he was gear up to reclaim a belt he never technically lost a twelvemonth earlier. He was mayhap the most exhilarating aspect of this outing, only it was still a tremendous Triple Threat on the whole with everyone playing their part to perfection.

Interestingly enough, Ambrose pinned Reigns to retain the title, and so Rollins wasn't involved in the concluding decision. Nevertheless, with The Lunatic Fringe bringing the chugalug with him to SmackDown Live, The Architect became the tiptop domestic dog on Raw past default despite not having aureate around his waist.

5. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena (SummerSlam 2015)

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Rollins wasted no time in finding success as a singles star when he broke away from The Shield in 2014. Shortly after the split, he became Mr. Money in the Banking concern and cashed in the contract virtually a year later to win the WWE Earth Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31.

His reign as champ was unfortunately plagued by bad booking toward the finish (losing more than matches than he won), merely the first few months of his title run featured some phenomenal matches.

The tiptop of his push in 2015 came at SummerSlam when he faced off with then-United States champion John Cena in a bout where both belts were on the line.

Although the match should have been positioned as the main event, they had no problem stealing it anyhow. Rollins and Cena had enough of experience working with each other from the yr prior, but with the stakes college than they had ever been earlier, they ensured this encounter went off without a hitch.

It helped that Cena was as well at the top of his game in 2015 as a outcome of his weekly open challenges, so this was every bit as astonishing every bit it had the potential to be and and then some. As if wasn't already obvious enough, Rollins proved he could not only hang with a competitor the quotient of Cena only too beat out him.

The fluky finish that saw SummerSlam host Jon Stewart interfere and help his onetime foe, Rollins, to victory prevents this matchup from ranking higher on the list, but it was a major milestone victory for The Architect nonetheless.

iv. The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (Elimination Chamber 2014)

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Although short-lived, The Shield'due south run in WWE will likely never be replicated. They went undefeated in half-dozen-man tag team action for their get-go seven months on the main roster, held the United States and WWE Tag Team Championships earnest for the better part of 2013, and they annihilated all who stood in their way.

Toward the end, though, fans started to encounter cracks course in the foundation of the group. They seemed to tease tension every calendar week and had problem keeping their middle on the prize; and in early on 2014, their top priority was vanquishing The Wyatt Family.

The ii factions had been at odds for months, and leading up to their long-awaited encounter at Elimination Chamber 2014, they barely fabricated whatsoever physical contact. Anybody was anxious to see them become at it, resulting in a loud "This is awesome!" chant for the six stars staring each other downward before the bong even rang.

Reigns and Ambrose in particular had issues staying on the same page, but Rollins was willing to hazard it all in order to cement The Shield'due south superiority over The Wyatt Family.

Information technology was anarchy from outset to cease, but when the smoke cleared, only Reigns remained in the ring with the Wyatts surrounding him from all angles.

The Big Dog attempted to eke out the victory, simply to no avail. While The Wyatt Family stood tall, it was a personal win for Rollins, who was able to show off the skills that would make him a breakout singles star afterward that twelvemonth.

3. Rollins and Ambrose vs. Ziggler and McIntyre (Hell in a Cell 2018)

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A twelvemonth removed from their first Raw Tag Team Championship win together, Ambrose and Rollins reunited in the red brand's tag team ranks in late 2018 and took aim at the twin titles once again.

Meanwhile, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre were fresh off beating The B-Squad for the straps and aligned with Braun Strowman to rid Raw of The Shield.

Although Raw's tag squad division had been on ice for months, this friction match reminded fans but how fun tag team wrestling could be when washed right. All four stars worked wonderfully together and managed to make the titles feel more important than whatever other piece of gilt in the company based off how valiantly they fought for them.

Rollins had been flying solo for so long that it felt strange to see him sharing the spotlight with someone else, simply he and Ambrose didn't miss a beat. Ziggler and McIntyre were as well a much better squad than many gave them credit for and acted as a united front end against the one-time champs.

It was refreshing for a tag team title matchup to final as long as it did and be treated like a huge happening. The hot crowd reacting to every minute of the action was merely the icing on the cake.

Despite an incredible endeavour, Ambrose and Rollins were unsuccessful in capturing the Raw Tag Team Title at Hell in a Cell.

The rematch took place the following month on Raw and ended with the babyfaces becoming champions, merely for Ambrose to plough on Rollins in shocking fashion.

2. The Shield vs. Ryback and Squad Hell No (TLC 2012)

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Fans had zero expectations for The Shield's first-e'er match in WWE, especially because how it came together on a whim.

There likely weren't whatsoever plans originally for newcomers Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose to compete at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in 2012, but because of an injury sustained by CM Punk, they were announced every bit replacements against the trio of Ryback, Daniel Bryan and Kane.

WWE had never before booked a six-man tag squad TLC match, and without annihilation on the line, this bout didn't await to exist anything special. Even so, that didn't end the 6 Superstars from going all out and putting together a masterpiece.

It was unknown how well Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose would gel together since they weren't previously a stable in NXT, but they ended up being a cohesive unit directly out of the gate. While Ryback and Team Hell No didn't accept much history equally partners, either, their shared goal of spoiling The Shield'south debut drove them to practise whatever was necessary to emerge victorious.

One of the best parts of the matchup was how it highlighted every Shield fellow member's individual strengths. Ambrose showed he could be a cunning and conniving competitor, Reigns was the powerhouse of the group, and Rollins was right at home in the air and could execute high-run a risk maneuvers with ease.

In fact, The Architect's crash-land off the top of a ladder through a table was the biggest spot of the entire outing. Even with Rollins down and out past the stage, Reigns and Ambrose were yet able to keep Bryan down for the iii-count and kick off their long-continuing reign of authorisation on a high note.

i. Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena (Royal Rumble 2015)

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Rollins suffered a number of losses during his stint as Mr. Money in the Bank from 2014 to 2015, probable because the company'south mindset was that none of his setbacks would matter once he cashed in his contract successfully.

That tired trope has been done to expiry to over the years, but information technology worked wonders for Rollins, who at to the lowest degree looked credible in defeat during every one of his outings.

The 2015 Royal Rumble pay-per-view was no exception, as he vied for Brock Lesnar's WWE World Heavyweight Title in a Triple Threat friction match also involving John Cena.

As previously noted, Rollins and Cena never ceased to tear it up whenever they shared the squared circle. Throwing Lesnar into the mix fabricated the match even more exhilarating, equally information technology meant The Beast Incarnate  didn't take to be pinned to lose the title (non to mention there were rumors at the time he was UFC-jump).

Betwixt bad booking and an undesirable upshot, the Rumble matchup itself that year was a disaster, so it was up to these three to save the testify and give fans their money'southward worth. Suffice to say, they succeeded and produced one of the greatest Triple Threat matches in WWE history.

Lesnar vs. Cena in a straight-up singles match for the fourth time (as originally advertised) would have been a bore, so factoring Rollins into the equation was the all-time move they could take made. He put in the operation of a lifetime and fifty-fifty grounded The Brute at i betoken by hitting him with a diving elbow through the commentators' table.

Being the superhuman he is, Lesnar regrouped and returned to the ring to lay out Rollins with an emphatic F5 for the win. With Rollins having officially arrived in this match, it should have come up as no surprise that he was world champ two months later.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is an Endicott Higher alumnus and aspiring announcer. Visit his website,Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his officialFacebook pageto continue the conversation on all things wrestling.

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Source: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2834791-power-ranking-seth-rollins-7-best-matches-with-wwe

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