Slayer_X
04-23-2015, 01:46 AM
The 28-year-old from Buffalo, Iowa cashed in his Money In The Bank briefcase - guaranteeing him a title shot at any time, in any place - during the main event between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns.
Rollins stunned more than 76,000 fans in the Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California by pinning Reigns and winning the championship for the first time.
Congratulations on winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31. That must have been one of the most incredible moments of your life.
Thank you very much, I appreciate that. Not one of - it was certainly the most incredible moment of my life. No question.
You cashed in your Money In The Bank briefcase during the main event between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns. Was your heart was pounding when your music hit and you ran down the huge runway at the Levi Stadium?
Oh yeah man, I busted out of that area backstage and I ran as fast as I could. I was hoping I wasn't going to trip and fall and make a fool out of myself, it was a long way down there! I didn't realise how far of a run it was going to be, maybe too far to sprint even. That's one of the moments you dream about as a little kid so to be able to go down there and actually win was pretty surreal.
It couldn't really have played out any better or smoother for you - it was such a magic moment and shocked so many fans.
Yeah I think the shock value and the way it all went down was definitely something that added to the moment itself and being the first person ever to cash in Money In The Bank at WrestleMania, that will go down in history forever and ever.
It was different to all the other successful Money In The Bank cash-ins which have all happened at the end of a match. To make it a triple threat was a stroke of genius I thought.
Yeah like I said it definitely added to the shock value, we had never done it like that, and being in a scenario to really etch my name in the annals of history, that's pretty cool.
It has been reported that you weren't told about the fact you were you going to interrupt the main event and win the title until midway through WrestleMania, after your match with Randy Orton. Is that true?
It may or may not be true. I'm going to leave that one to mystery!
You certainly looked prepared.
Well I've been preparing for that moment my whole life. So it was one of those things, whenever I found out, when or where, I was prepared probably from the moment I won that that Money In The Bank contract to cash that in and become the champion. It just so happens WrestleMania was the most opportune time to do that.
Was there much time to celebrate?
No, not really. I had a couple of handshakes and people congratulated me but then I had to appear on The Today show right after that. So that didn't really allow for much of a celebration.
How have you found the extra responsibilities and duties that being the champion brings, such as television appearances?
Well you know it's not anything I didn't expect. Even though the Today Show was a surprise, I was prepared for it in the sense that I knew all along the responsibility that came along with being champion.
Did you enjoy the appearances before WrestleMania with Jon Stewart on the Daily Show and on RAW? It looked like you had a lot of fun.
Yeah, the Daily Show was something where I just kind of popped up out of nowhere and there was a bit of back and forth between Jon and I, and we ended up on each others shows. So it was a cool little bit for me, something I never really expected to do, and to get the opportunity to hang out with Jon Stewart, someone I watched pretty much my whole life, it was exciting. It's something you never expect to do and then there you are in that position, so I enjoyed myself.
Earlier on at WrestleMania we saw your feud with Randy Orton come to a head. What did you think of the match?
I thought it went by quick, I feel like everything that happens at WrestleMania goes by quicker than you expect it to! But it was a blast. It was a little warm, it's weird being out there during the middle of the daytime with the sun beating down on you. The vibe is not quite the same as the night time shows, but it was still a really good time. Having J&J Security out there and my first singles match at WrestleMania, it was very exciting.
You seem to have natural chemistry together in the ring.
Yeah I mean Randy is an excellent performer, so it's difficult not to have chemistry with him. But we have a certain knack for each other's styles.
Orton defeated you with an unbelievable RKO. As you went for your Curb Stomp finisher, you leapt up on his shoulders and he nailed his finisher mid-air. It was the move of the night - how much planning goes into something so innovative like that?
We're professionals and we take great pride in what we do, so I don't know if there is an answer to how much, but if there was, the answer would be enough to make sure that it worked! You only get so many of those, so many opportunities to make memories at WrestleMania, so I tried to make sure that WrestleMania 31 was remembered for being 'the Seth Rollins WrestleMania'.
I think it will be! Another great bout was the main event at the Royal Rumble in January, a triple threat between you, Lesnar and John Cena. A lot of fans consider it to be one of the best triple threats and WWE main events in recent years. Do you think that was the night you proved you were a worthy WWE World Heavyweight Champion?
Yeah for sure, I think it was definitely part of it. It was a culmination of months and months of me proving what I had. If you look back at the last year it's basically been me doing my thing and in every opportunity I've been given, knocking it out of the park. The Rumble was no different, you look at all the elements of Cena, Lesnar and me and our styles all together and you know, the beauty that is WWE, what we do as far as storytelling, you add in all the elements and it made for quite a concoction and a very good night, with a good Philadelphia crowd too.
There were a lot of slick exchanges between the three of you and big spots, including a flying elbow by you on Brock through the announce table. I'm always impressed that you manage to remember everything involved and pull off a match like that, when there is so much going on.
I've had a lot of practice! I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anybody who is walking in the ring for the first time. But you know this is not my first rodeo, I've been doing it for 10 years, I've had my fair share of big matches and I'm used to the pressure and used to situations like that.
It seems like you don't get fazed by the pressure of competing with huge stars like Lesnar and Cena. You are obviously confident in your ability that you deserve to be in there alongside them.
Yeah, I'm very comfortable in my abilities. I'm confident that I can perform on the same level as anybody in the entire world and have been for a long time now. I'm going to go out there and just be fearless basically and put it all on the line. You only get one shot so you don't want to lose your opportunities.
How are you enjoying being on your first UK tour as the world champion? Are you looking forward to Raw in London on Monday?
It's been pretty good, it's exciting to close up the shows with a world championship match. It's been a long time since WWE had world heavyweight championship matches at live events and it's very cool to come over here to Europe and do that for these fans. They are gracious and excited I think to have the WWE World Heavyweight Champion on the shows. I'm always looking forward to London and Raw, it's phenomenal there, so I'm sure we'll go all out.
This past week on Raw you had a cracking encounter with a young British talent, Neville, from Newcastle. Were you impressed by him?
Oh yeah I have been for many, many years. Adrian Neville is somebody I've watched come up through the independents and over in Japan and in Europe. He's someone I've kind of crossed paths with a few times but never really been in the ring with, so it was exciting to finally mix it up with him one-on-one and I'm sure that won't be the last time the two of us are in the ring together.
Rollins stunned more than 76,000 fans in the Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California by pinning Reigns and winning the championship for the first time.
Congratulations on winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31. That must have been one of the most incredible moments of your life.
Thank you very much, I appreciate that. Not one of - it was certainly the most incredible moment of my life. No question.
You cashed in your Money In The Bank briefcase during the main event between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns. Was your heart was pounding when your music hit and you ran down the huge runway at the Levi Stadium?
Oh yeah man, I busted out of that area backstage and I ran as fast as I could. I was hoping I wasn't going to trip and fall and make a fool out of myself, it was a long way down there! I didn't realise how far of a run it was going to be, maybe too far to sprint even. That's one of the moments you dream about as a little kid so to be able to go down there and actually win was pretty surreal.
It couldn't really have played out any better or smoother for you - it was such a magic moment and shocked so many fans.
Yeah I think the shock value and the way it all went down was definitely something that added to the moment itself and being the first person ever to cash in Money In The Bank at WrestleMania, that will go down in history forever and ever.
It was different to all the other successful Money In The Bank cash-ins which have all happened at the end of a match. To make it a triple threat was a stroke of genius I thought.
Yeah like I said it definitely added to the shock value, we had never done it like that, and being in a scenario to really etch my name in the annals of history, that's pretty cool.
It has been reported that you weren't told about the fact you were you going to interrupt the main event and win the title until midway through WrestleMania, after your match with Randy Orton. Is that true?
It may or may not be true. I'm going to leave that one to mystery!
You certainly looked prepared.
Well I've been preparing for that moment my whole life. So it was one of those things, whenever I found out, when or where, I was prepared probably from the moment I won that that Money In The Bank contract to cash that in and become the champion. It just so happens WrestleMania was the most opportune time to do that.
Was there much time to celebrate?
No, not really. I had a couple of handshakes and people congratulated me but then I had to appear on The Today show right after that. So that didn't really allow for much of a celebration.
How have you found the extra responsibilities and duties that being the champion brings, such as television appearances?
Well you know it's not anything I didn't expect. Even though the Today Show was a surprise, I was prepared for it in the sense that I knew all along the responsibility that came along with being champion.
Did you enjoy the appearances before WrestleMania with Jon Stewart on the Daily Show and on RAW? It looked like you had a lot of fun.
Yeah, the Daily Show was something where I just kind of popped up out of nowhere and there was a bit of back and forth between Jon and I, and we ended up on each others shows. So it was a cool little bit for me, something I never really expected to do, and to get the opportunity to hang out with Jon Stewart, someone I watched pretty much my whole life, it was exciting. It's something you never expect to do and then there you are in that position, so I enjoyed myself.
Earlier on at WrestleMania we saw your feud with Randy Orton come to a head. What did you think of the match?
I thought it went by quick, I feel like everything that happens at WrestleMania goes by quicker than you expect it to! But it was a blast. It was a little warm, it's weird being out there during the middle of the daytime with the sun beating down on you. The vibe is not quite the same as the night time shows, but it was still a really good time. Having J&J Security out there and my first singles match at WrestleMania, it was very exciting.
You seem to have natural chemistry together in the ring.
Yeah I mean Randy is an excellent performer, so it's difficult not to have chemistry with him. But we have a certain knack for each other's styles.
Orton defeated you with an unbelievable RKO. As you went for your Curb Stomp finisher, you leapt up on his shoulders and he nailed his finisher mid-air. It was the move of the night - how much planning goes into something so innovative like that?
We're professionals and we take great pride in what we do, so I don't know if there is an answer to how much, but if there was, the answer would be enough to make sure that it worked! You only get so many of those, so many opportunities to make memories at WrestleMania, so I tried to make sure that WrestleMania 31 was remembered for being 'the Seth Rollins WrestleMania'.
I think it will be! Another great bout was the main event at the Royal Rumble in January, a triple threat between you, Lesnar and John Cena. A lot of fans consider it to be one of the best triple threats and WWE main events in recent years. Do you think that was the night you proved you were a worthy WWE World Heavyweight Champion?
Yeah for sure, I think it was definitely part of it. It was a culmination of months and months of me proving what I had. If you look back at the last year it's basically been me doing my thing and in every opportunity I've been given, knocking it out of the park. The Rumble was no different, you look at all the elements of Cena, Lesnar and me and our styles all together and you know, the beauty that is WWE, what we do as far as storytelling, you add in all the elements and it made for quite a concoction and a very good night, with a good Philadelphia crowd too.
There were a lot of slick exchanges between the three of you and big spots, including a flying elbow by you on Brock through the announce table. I'm always impressed that you manage to remember everything involved and pull off a match like that, when there is so much going on.
I've had a lot of practice! I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anybody who is walking in the ring for the first time. But you know this is not my first rodeo, I've been doing it for 10 years, I've had my fair share of big matches and I'm used to the pressure and used to situations like that.
It seems like you don't get fazed by the pressure of competing with huge stars like Lesnar and Cena. You are obviously confident in your ability that you deserve to be in there alongside them.
Yeah, I'm very comfortable in my abilities. I'm confident that I can perform on the same level as anybody in the entire world and have been for a long time now. I'm going to go out there and just be fearless basically and put it all on the line. You only get one shot so you don't want to lose your opportunities.
How are you enjoying being on your first UK tour as the world champion? Are you looking forward to Raw in London on Monday?
It's been pretty good, it's exciting to close up the shows with a world championship match. It's been a long time since WWE had world heavyweight championship matches at live events and it's very cool to come over here to Europe and do that for these fans. They are gracious and excited I think to have the WWE World Heavyweight Champion on the shows. I'm always looking forward to London and Raw, it's phenomenal there, so I'm sure we'll go all out.
This past week on Raw you had a cracking encounter with a young British talent, Neville, from Newcastle. Were you impressed by him?
Oh yeah I have been for many, many years. Adrian Neville is somebody I've watched come up through the independents and over in Japan and in Europe. He's someone I've kind of crossed paths with a few times but never really been in the ring with, so it was exciting to finally mix it up with him one-on-one and I'm sure that won't be the last time the two of us are in the ring together.