5 WWE stars who almost walked out (and the reasons why)

#2 Seth Rollins almost walked out (WWE SmackDown, 2014)

Vince McMahon famously told Seth Rollins and Kofi Kingston to re-shoot their match on the pre-taped June 20, 2014 episode of WWE SmackDown.

The three-minute match was supposed to be viewed as somewhat of a squash match, with Rollins picking up a dominant win over his opponent. McMahon felt that Kingston had too much offense in the match, so he told both men to shoot the match again.

Rollins discussed his WWE career on Edge & Christian’s Pod of Awesomeness in 2019. Reflecting on the Kingston match, he said McMahon's instructions left him wanting to walk out of WWE.

“I was so angry and embarrassed, and just ready to just walk out and not do it, ‘cause I was like, ‘Never in my life! Never should this happen to me!’” Rollins said. “But it was such a learning experience in retrospect that it’s okay to screw up sometimes.” [H/T Wrestling Inc.]

McMahon wanted Rollins to have more offense because the former Shield member was in line for his first major singles push. Kingston, meanwhile, was floundering in the mid-card at the time and WWE did not have big plans for him as a singles competitor.

Later that month, Rollins cemented his status as one of WWE’s top heels when he won the Money in the Bank briefcase.