{"id":35454,"date":"2016-11-26T14:45:25","date_gmt":"2016-11-26T20:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=35454"},"modified":"2016-11-26T14:45:25","modified_gmt":"2016-11-26T20:45:25","slug":"vip-parks-gone-wrong-seth-rollins-babyface-turn-fix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2016\/11\/26\/vip-parks-gone-wrong-seth-rollins-babyface-turn-fix\/","title":{"rendered":"VIP &#8211; PARKS: What has gone wrong with the Seth Rollins babyface turn and how to fix it"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-4151097876\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>Even upon The Shield\u2019s initial debut, despite taking WWE by storm, many fans looked ahead to the inevitable break-up of the group. It was known that Roman Reigns was pegged by the company as the future main eventer. Dean Ambrose was seen as a possible heel, and Seth Rollins a babyface.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/vip.pwtorch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/StaffParks09_120.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2291 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/vip.pwtorch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/StaffParks09_120.jpg\" alt=\"StaffParks09_120\" width=\"120\" height=\"138\" \/><\/a>But it ended up being Rollins that turned on his other brothers in the group, aligning himself with Triple H and The Authority. It was a great sign of trust by WWE to put him in such a valuable spot. It also came as somewhat of a surprise, given the supposition that Rollins could be the odd one out when it came to pushes of Shield members post break-up.<\/p>\n<p>Replacing Randy Orton as the main eventer to kowtow to The Authority, Rollins was looked at by fans as someone who could have a big babyface run in him when he eventually turned. His offensive firepower helped lead people in thinking that direction.<\/p>\n<p>Then, in November 2015, a year and-a-half after turning heel, Rollins suffered a serious injury in a house show match with Kane overseas. It was a torn ACL, and it kept him on the shelf for six months. At the time, he was WWE World Champion, and thus had to vacate the championship. If there were ever a time to turn him babyface, it was when he was set to return to action, when he\u2019d automatically get that \u201creturning star\u201d pop anyway.<\/p>\n<p>It appeared WWE was setting the table for that very scenario. Almost two months after his injury, Rollins won the Slammy Award for 2015 Superstar of the Year. He cut what seemed like a babyface promo, talking about returning stronger than ever, and he was cheered by the live audience.<\/p>\n<p>Six months later, he was ready to come back. About the same time he returned, A.J. Styles officially turned heel by attacking John Cena. Styles was set to become one of the top full-time heels in the company. The Authority had seemingly moved on from Rollins, recruiting The League of Nations to do its bidding, and when they couldn\u2019t get it done, Triple H himself stepped in to try to stop the juggernaut that was Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania.<\/p>\n<p>The dominoes were in place for Rollins to return as a babyface. When his music hit at Extreme Rules in May, the crowd popped. Instead of creating a new, compelling babyface that could actually be cheered by the fans, WWE brought him back as a heel, attacking Roman Reigns (WWE\u2019s hand-picked babyface that Rollins would immediately have been more popular than).<\/p>\n<p>With Seth\u2019s return, WWE could\u2019ve turned Reigns heel. It would\u2019ve positioned both men in a way in which they could emphasize their strengths. WWE\u2019s laser focus on getting Reigns over as the next big babyface has now clouded their judgment on wrestlers around Reigns. So it\u2019s not just Reigns they\u2019re hurting with this insistent push; its others that are being caught up in the Reigns Push Orbit that are suffering. Not to mention the fans.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3576624473\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Another reason Rollins may have been kept heel was because, two months after his return from injury, WWE called up Finn Balor from NXT. Balor\u2019s call-up coincided with the brand split, with both him and Rollins being drafted to Monday Night Raw. Balor was immediately pushed to the top as Universal Champion, a spot that could\u2019ve gone to Rollins if he (a) returned as a babyface and (b) Balor hadn\u2019t been promoted.<\/p>\n<p>When Balor suffered an injury early on in his main roster run, WWE suddenly needed a replacement babyface at the top of the card. They turned Rollins, three months after he returned to action as a heel. His turn came when Triple H helped Kevin Owens, rather than Rollins, win the Universal Title vacated when Balor got hurt.<\/p>\n<p>Since then, Rollins has been a flop as a good guy. Part of the reason is mentioned above, that fans were starving for Rollins to return from injury as a babyface. Coming in as a heel cooled him off a little bit, and when fans were finally given \u201cpermission\u201d to cheer him when he turned, WWE had missed its moment. Sometimes, timing is everything, and lately, WWE\u2019s timing hasn\u2019t been so good.<\/p>\n<p>A big reason Rollins has not gotten over as much as one would\u2019ve expected as a babyface is because the reason for his turn was weak. In the last few years, WWE hasn\u2019t always been good about giving guys legitimate reasons for their turns. They might be able to get away with that lack of storytelling in the mid-card, but for someone like Rollins, who they want to feature as a major player, they need to do better.<\/p>\n<p>Rollins basically turned because The Authority decided to back Owens rather than Rollins. So the fans are supposed to support him\u2026why? Because the heel group that helped him retain the WWE World Title over and over again is no longer helping him? It\u2019s admirable that Rollins wants to now tear down The Authority, but his reason for doing so is not lost on the fans.<\/p>\n<p>It also doesn\u2019t help that Triple H hasn\u2019t been around since helping Owens, thus neutering the babyface cause of Rollins. He can make his stand against Stephanie McMahon as a stand-in for her husband, but even she\u2019s pleading ignorance about why Triple H helped Owens win the Universal Title rather than Rollins.<\/p>\n<p>Because Rollins can\u2019t fight Stephanie and because she hasn\u2019t even admitted to being in on the scam, in addition to Hunter not making his presence felt, it deadens Rollins\u2019s attempts to thwart The Authority for what he felt was an injustice foisted upon him.<\/p>\n<p>The lack of explanation for Triple H\u2019s involvement is somewhat stunning. They\u2019ve hand-waved it away for the moment, and fans are likely expected to have it addressed down the line at some point. However, justifiably so based on similar past instances, there is little confidence that WWE will bother to explain the situation in a satisfactory manner. It\u2019s another blow to the babyface turn of Rollins.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2376283511\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>What can be done at this point to help salvage the turn? WWE has teased Rollins and Reigns perhaps helping each other out. It would be a reuniting of Shield members, but will it help Rollins? It\u2019s intriguing because fans will be nostalgic for The Shield mini-reunion, so they\u2019ll get a pop based on that and Rollins won\u2019t be hurt by tooling around with Reigns, at least at first.<\/p>\n<p>But WWE has to be careful not to let it linger past its expiration date (as noted above, a real problem WWE has). It\u2019ll be the \u201ccool\u201d thing for a couple of weeks, until fans catch on that it\u2019s the same old Reigns and it\u2019s just another way for WWE to try to get him over as a major babyface. Rollins can\u2019t be associated with that act when the fans realize that; he\u2019s not over enough to survive the onslaught that would come for Reigns.<\/p>\n<p>So for the short-term, that could work. They also need to give him a real purpose. A real, babyface purpose. More than going after The Authority, which is a losing proposition at this point, Rollins need to show contrition for his past actions. Rollins doesn\u2019t feel \u201cdifferent\u201d enough from his heel persona. Maybe doing something as simple as changing his ring gear would give fans at least the aesthetic impression that he\u2019s a different person from heel Rollins.<\/p>\n<p>Even though Reigns isn\u2019t a strong babyface, he\u2019s over to a lot of women and children. WWE should book Rollins to appeal to the part of the fanbase Reigns is missing out on, that being the vocal males. What that means is they shouldn\u2019t script him to be the kind of guy who calls a heel Chris Jericho \u201csparkle-crotch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s groan-worthy, it\u2019s a Reigns\/John Cena line, and not every babyface has to be scripted to have the same sense of humor. Yes, the crowd popped and chanted along, but it\u2019s nothing that will get Rollins over and keep him over in the long run. Let Reigns have those zingers, and let Rollins carve out his own niche on the mic appealing to a different type of fan, the type that Reigns is missing out on.<\/p>\n<p>Inside the ring, Rollins doesn\u2019t need to change much. His matches are slow to catch on with the fans because they don\u2019t buy his babyface act, but so far, he\u2019s able to rope them into things by the end. It\u2019s too bad he has to work so hard to do it, though.<\/p>\n<p>With proper booking and storytelling, Rollins could be a real feather in WWE\u2019s cap as a babyface. Instead, he\u2019s floundering. There\u2019s time to get him fixed, but it will take an acknowledgment on WWE\u2019s part that something is broken. And that\u2019s not always easy for some inside the company to do.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Greg Parks has been covering WWE Smackdown every Friday night for PWTorch.com since January of 2007. He covers Smackdown Live with real time reports every Tuesday at pwtorch.com (or pwtorchvip.com for VIP members). He also guest hosts and cohosts the PWTorch Livecast on a regular basis. Follow him on Twitter @gregmparks. Comments, questions and feedback are welcome, and can be sent to g_man9784@yahoo.com.) ###<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2038563936\"><div id=\"pwtor-1528693504\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Even upon The Shield\u2019s initial debut, despite taking WWE by storm, many fans looked ahead to the inevitable break-up of the group. It was known that Roman Reigns was pegged by the company as the <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2016\/11\/26\/vip-parks-gone-wrong-seth-rollins-babyface-turn-fix\/\" title=\"VIP &#8211; PARKS: What has gone wrong with the Seth Rollins babyface turn and how to fix it\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1733,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,52,57,53],"tags":[74,84,250,1376],"class_list":["post-35454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spotlightarticles","category-opnionandanalysis","category-takes_parks","category-opinion_stafftakes","tag-roman-reigns","tag-seth-rollins","tag-stephanie-mcmahon","tag-the-shield"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Rollins_600.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35454"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35455,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35454\/revisions\/35455"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}