With a Last Man Standing match officially booked for Fastlane against “The King of Strong Style,” Shinsuke Nakamura, Seth Rollins was booked for a very special segment on RAW with Michael Cole to discuss why on earth he's willing to subject himself to such physical punishment when he has so much life left to live.
“So Seth, let's get down to it; I've had the pleasure of calling most of the matches in your career,” Michael Cole said. “I've known you a very long time, and I've even come up with many of those great nicknames, the ‘Arcatect,' the ‘Visionary,' how about the manipulator, puppeteer at times, but it seems like this time, you're actually the puppet.”
Shocked by Cole's assertion, which may or may not have referenced CM Punk, depending on who you ask, Rollins responded, telling the “Voice of WWE,” that he appreciates the concern.
“Whoa whoa, Michael, come on, I give you that great introduction, and this is how you treat me?” Seth Rollins responded. “We go back a long way, and besides, what show you've been watching, man? I've been asking Shinsuke Nakamura for a rematch for weeks, and finally, he gave it to me, baby!”
Cole, to his credit, didn't slow down, insisting that he doesn't understand Rollins' line of thinking.
“Seth, seriously, what are you doing? I mean, you've accomplished everything in your career, you're a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Now I get it, you've never been in a Last Man Standing match, but do you understand what's going to happen on Saturday? This is one of the most brutal matches in WWE, anything can be as a weapon. There's only one rule, and that rule is you have to beat your opponent so badly that they can't answer a count of ten, and that could be you,” Cole said.
“Now it's been well documented that your back is hanging on by a thread. You could be days away from your career ending, from your livelihood going away, so the question I have is this: Why? Why the h*ll are you putting yourself through this?”
You know, Cole brought up a very interesting question: Why the you-know-what is Rollins putting himself through this? Fortunately, Rollins had an answer, and it's very interesting indeed.
Seth Rollins is willing to put his body on the line for the WWE Universe.
So, with close to 10,000 fans in San Jose packed into the SAP Center, Seth Rollins lifted the microphone to his lips and finally revealed why he's so eager to put it all on the line against Shinsuke Nakamura, when there are seemingly dozens of other WWE Superstars who would love to wrestle for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
“Michael, I'm gonna be honest with you, I don't really know how to put it into words, man. Well let me ask you a question, how many years have you been sitting at that commentary desk, Michael? 26 years? And how many shows have you missed? You've missed two shows in 26 years. So you get it man, you're addicted to it. It's a compulsion, you need it, and most importantly, you love it. That's what it;s like for me in this ring, Michael. That's what it's like for me to be in front of these people. When they sing my song, Michael, I loved that, I need that,” Rollins said.
“I have an honor, I have a responsibility, I have a duty, and for me man, this ring has given me everything. It's put a roof over my head, it's put food on my table, it's how I met my wife, it's the reason I have a beautiful baby girl. And when you're World Heavyweight Champion, all that responsibility, man, that gets amplified. Because now you've got to be a bigger example right? Now you've got to be the change. And if that responsibility, if that takes me all the way to Fastlane and this is my last ride, my back gives out, and I can't do it anymore? Well that doesn't matter that much because what matters is that I left it all in the ring. Because then I will have fulfilled by responsibility, then I'll be an honorable man; then I will be an example for my daughter.
“So you want a reason, Michael? Well, that's the best I got man, it's not words, it's, it's just a feeling, and I'll tell you what, it feels right.”
Unfortunately for Rollins, he was once again cut short by Nakamura, who backed up his translated on-screen promos with a very real series of knee and chair shots to his back in preparation for a Last Man Standing match at Fastlane. After delivering a hard-hitting affair at Payback, this match has the potential to be a legit slugfest.