Bully Ray Believes Seth Rollins Is Missing An “Emotional Connection” With Fans

WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray has offered a critical assessment of World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins’s connection with the WWE Universe, stating that he believes Rollins is currently lacking the emotional bond with fans that is necessary to reach the absolute highest levels of superstardom.

Bully compared Rollins to top stars like Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, and CM Punk, arguing that while Rollins is undoubtedly talented, he struggles to draw the same genuine, passionate reactions from the audience. Speaking on a recent episode of Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray broke down what he feels Rollins is missing from his character.

“I always go back to what it truly has to do with, and this is old school 101, emotional connection to an audience. People genuinely love Cody. Children love Cody, thus, the parents love Cody. Roman has a god-like aura to him. You feel like you are amongst royalty when Roman comes out. Plus, he has that Samoan heritage and bloodline, which we respect so much in wrestling, but respect even more in the WWE. Punk, the consummate rebel, the guy who has always been the voice of the voiceless and the people’s guy. All three of those guys have a unique emotional connection. Emotion, that’s all this f—ing business is about. The emotional manipulation of the fan base and how you can get them to love you or hate you anymore. That’s it. Seth doesn’t have that level of emotion yet, and he’s been around for a long time.”

He then critiqued Rollins’s elaborate attire and presentation, suggesting it makes him appear as if he is trying too hard to connect with the audience.

“You’re not as quick to say ‘is pro wrestler’ as you were the other three. That is the microscopic nuance of the emotional connection to Seth, where when you see the get-ups every week, it’s almost like he’s trying so hard. Forget about how I feel about the suit, Cody wears a suit on the beach. Roman looks like he could be walking into a gym or the grocery store, and Punk looks like your regular everyday guy. They could be wearing those clothes anywhere. Seth is putting on this garb to go stand in the middle of the ring. He’s putting Seth Rollins on on Monday night and taking it off on Tuesday morning.”