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Seth Rollins has reinvented himself several times throughout the course of his decade-long WWE career. This is partially what’s kept him at the top of the company for as long as he has been; reinvention helps to keep the wrestler and their character fresh in the eyes of the audience and prevents the inevitable boredom that the fickle WWE Universe eventually feels.
RELATED: Seth Rollins Showed On WWE Raw How To Become A Babyface In Just One NightWith that being said, some iterations of Seth Rollins have been more successful than others. The Architect will likely be remembered as Seth Rollins’ most iconic iteration, something greatly helped by his iconic Money in the Bank Cash-In at WrestleMania 31.
One of his lesser-appreciated gimmicks of Rollins is his “Monday Night Messiah” character. Part of this is due to unfortunate timing (the gimmick began in late 2019 and ran through the COVID-19 pandemic).
WWE Fans Turn On The Beast Slayer Version Of Seth Rollins
After having a run as WWE’s most despicable heel alongside Triple H and The Authority, Seth Rollins put his traitorous tendencies behind him and became one of the company’s top babyfaces. He reconciled with The Shield and reinvented himself as the Kingslayer. The next iteration of Seth was the Beast Slayer, inspired by his feud with the Beast Incarnate, Brock Lesnar.
Unfortunately, fans soon got tired of the gung-ho Beast Slayer. His feud with the Fiend, a fan-favorite at the time, caused many fans to turn on Rollins. No longer the beloved babyface he once was, Rollins began to turn bitter.
The Monday Night Messiah Takes Charge Of Raw
Following team Raw’s loss at Survivor Series 2019, Seth Rollins berated the Raw locker room for what he perceived as laziness and incompetence. Kevin Owens took issue with Rollins’ comments and challenged Rollins to a match. He would soon find out that Seth wasn’t alone; The Authors of Pain, Akam and Rezar, revealed themselves to be allies of Seth through their brutal attack on Kevin Owens. This is regarded as the official start to Rollins’ second heel run after having been a face since 2016.
RELATED: The Fiend Vs Seth Rollins: The WWE Feud Which Killed Seth Rollins’ Babyface Character Rollins then began to refer to himself as the Monday Night Messiah. He saw all of his actions, no matter how violent they were, as acting toward “the greater good.” Rollins and AOP then began a feud against the ragtag team of Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe, Rey Mysterio, and the Viking Raiders.
Seth Rollins Is Joined By More Followers And Has A Brutal Feud With Rey Mysterio
Akam and Rezar of AOP were the first two followers of the Monday Night Messiah. Soon after AOP joined Rollins’ side, Buddy Murphy was shown the light as well. On January 20, 2020, Murphy and Rollins defeated the Viking Raiders to become the Raw Tag Team Champions. This would be Rollins’ sixth run as a tag team champion.
RELATED: 5 Best Tag Team Partners Of Seth Rollins' Career (& The 5 Worst)After losing a No Disqualification match to Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 36, Rollins then turned his attention to the newly-crowned WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre. After coming up short at Money in the Bank on May 10, he then reconnected with his old rival, Rey Mysterio. During this time, Rollins also recruited Austin Theory to his team, though his new disciple didn’t influence much. This marks the start of the Monday Night Messiah’s most infamous feud.
On an episode of Monday Night Raw, Rollins drove Rey Mysterio’s eye into the corner of the steel steps at ringside. This was the lead-up for their “Eye for an Eye” match during The Horror Show at Extreme Rules. The stipulation for this match was that the first wrestler to remove their opponent’s eye was the winner. Rollins came away victorious by once again utilizing the steel steps to ‘remove’ Mysterio’s eye. It’s a miracle the luchador has recovered.
The Messiah Gives Way To The Visionary
Austin Theory was called back to NXT while AOP were released from WWE, leaving Murphy as Rollins’ only disciple. Then, Murphy betrayed Rollins after an uncomfortable love story between Murphy and Rey Mysterio’s daughter, Aliyah. The feud between Murphy and Rollins ended when Murphy defeated Rollins during an episode of SmackDown.
At Survivor Series 2020, Rollins competed for Team SmackDown. He was the first eliminated after “sacrificing” himself. This was Rollins’ last appearance before going on paternity leave for the birth of his first child. When Rollins returned the next February, he still had the same snobby attitude but was now urging the WWE Universe to “embrace the vision.” This was the start of the Visionary Seth Rollins, the flamboyant and wily iteration of Rollins that fans know and love today.
