10 best Seth Rollins matches over the past 10 years

Seth Rollins continues to be one of the best WWE Superstars within the Stamford-based promotion. Over the years, he has reinvented himself through various characters. Even before being called up to the main roster, his in-ring performances were well-received by both fans and pundits.

This continued when he finally broke into the big league and delivered matches that were truly crowd pleasers. He may have been sidelined for a while due to a nasty knee injury while performing, but he came back strong and quickly returned to his A-game.

Here’s a throwback to 10 of The Visionary’s best matches over the past decade.

# 10. Match against Jinder Mahal for the WWE NXT Championship

Seth Rollins was the inaugural champion of WWE’s developmental stable, NXT. Rollins defeated NXT star Jinder Mahal in an eight-man tournament for the belt.

Despite not yet being confident with the persona or the performance that he had back then, it was the fans who made that moment special for him. What made it even more special were the top guys in attendance at the time: the late great Howard Finkel, who announced him, Dusty Rhodes, and Triple H, who raised both his arms. It was truly something to remember.

#9. Triple H at WrestleMania 33

The unsanctioned match between Seth Rollins and Triple H at WrestleMania 33 may have been underrated, but it remains one of his greatest matches.

Keep in mind that he was still recuperating from knee surgery, not to mention that this became Triple H’s money shots during the match. Despite the bad knee, Rollins prevailed, earning him the title of Kingslayer.

#8. The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family

2014’s Elimination Chamber featured a six-man tag team match between The Shield and The Wyatt Family, which were two of the most dominant factions at the time.

Seth Rollins even compared the two wrestling collectives to Marvel and DC as it answered the “what ifs” of fans who were musing a matchup between the two. Despite their team losing, the match was well-received by fans.

#7. AJ Styles at 2019’s Money in the Bank

This is one of the matches that fans had been waiting for, and when it finally happened, the two WWE Superstars indeed delivered the goods.

The match was for the WWE Universal Championship, and Seth Rollins was the title holder at the time. Both Rollins and AJ Styles had fans on the edge of their seats as they tried to beat the living daylights out of each other for the belt.

One of the highlights of the match came when Styles countered Rollins’ Curb Stomp and turned it into his signature Styles Clash. The Visionary retained the title and shook hands after the match.

#6. John Cena at 2015’s SummerSlam

Both Seth Rollins and John Cena delved into a champion-versus-champion scenario at SummerSlam 2015 as they were scheduled for a Winner Takes All match during that premium live event. Rollins was the reigning WWE Champion while Cena was the promotion’s United States Champion at the time and whoever won got to take home both belts.

There may have been outside interference from none other than Jon Stewart, who was also the host of the event, but it did not take away from what The Visionary achieved that night. His win against the 16-time WWE champion pushed his pro-wrestling career to new heights.

#5. Roman Reigns at 2016’s Money in the Bank

This was for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship as Roman Reigns defended the title against Seth Rollins.

After almost 30 minutes of slugging it out, Seth Rollins captured the title. However, when Dean Ambrose’s (Jon Moxley) music played, the new champ knew that he would be defending the title that he had just won.

All it took was a sneak attack using his Money in the Bank briefcase and Dirty Deeds from Ambrose for him to capture the title from Rollins. What made this match special was the fact that all three members of The Shield were WWE Champions at some point during the PLE.

#4. Triple Threat Match against John Cena and Brock Lesnar at Royal Rumble 2015

The Seth Rollins-John Cena-Brock Lesnar scuffle at 2015’s Royal Rumble was another superb showing of The Visionary’s skills against two of WWE’s heavyweights.

After over 20 grueling minutes inside the ring, The Beast Incarnate successfully defended his World Heavyweight Championship. Despite a losing effort, Rollins proved yet again that he could go up against the fiercest of WWE Superstars.

#3. Edge at 2021’s Crown Jewel

Edge and Seth Rollins’ Hell in a Cell match at Crown Jewel in 2021 was an absolute thriller. The two WWE Superstars brought back the "hell" to the promotion’s most evil of stipulations.

They utilized every item available at their disposal. While there may have been no bloodshed during the match compared to past iterations of the stipulation, it did not fail to wow the crowd.

Edge emerged the victor, but Rollins sure gave The Rated-R Superstar a heck of a match he’ll never forget.

#2. Cody Rhodes at Hell in a Cell 2022

Seth Rollins entered the Cell anew the following year against an injured Cody Rhodes.

The match was well-received by fans and garnered rave reviews from wrestling critics. Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer even gave the match a five-star rating, making it the first to receive one since 2011.

This will definitely not be the last time these two competitors will cross paths inside the squared circle.

#1. Seth Rollins and Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 35

It was a last-minute decision to move the match card of the two WWE Superstars. Despite the short notice, Seth Rollins came in prepared.

Rollins was so hyped at the time that he almost passed out during his entrance. Fortunately, he snapped out of it and went on to win his first-ever Universal Championship from Brock Lesnar. This resulted in him earning the distinction of being The Beast Slayer.