Seth Rollins Busted Open During His Latest WWE World Heavyweight Championship Defense

By Connor Casey

Seth Rollins raced up his 13th successful World Heavyweight Championship defense on Saturday night during a WWE live event in Fairfax, Virginia. "The Visionary" took on Finn Balor and wound up bloodied by the end of the match, getting thrown into an exposed turnbuckle and getting a laceration on his chin. He still managed to pull out the win by countering Balor's Coup de Gras into a Curb Stomp. WWE is reportedly planning on Rollins vs. Balor for SummerSlam 2023 next month with Damian Priest and his Money in the Bank contract still waiting in the wings.

Rollins recently gave an interview on the Out of Character Podcast where he addressed how the world heavyweight title was considered a "consolation prize" when it was first introduced due to Roman Reigns' Undisputed WWE Universal Championship reign. "The Visionary" couldn't blame fans for having that outlook. 

Seth Rollins on His World Heavyweight Championship Being Labeled a "Consolation Prize"

"Here's the thing, if Roman was doing what I'm doing, there wouldn't really be a need for a secondary championship," Rollins said. "There wouldn't be a need for another World Heavyweight Title on Raw because we would have somebody who was doing those things. It would give direction to the characters on the show and the show itself. Because of the route he has chosen and what he wants to do with his schedule and his title reign is not what I'm doing, somebody has to fill that void."

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"It's hard for characters to evolve and advance if you don't have stories and a lot of our stories are based around levels," he later added. "I'm creating one for Monday Nights, creating a top-tier level. That was the hand we were dealt after unifying the titles, that's where we're at, and we're making the best of what we can, and so far, I'd say it's made for good matches and good stories, and we're just getting started."

"I wasn't offended or annoyed," Rollins said when asked about that label. "If you watched and followed and saw how Roman has built up the title that he has, it only makes sense to view it as a consolation prize, but for me, it didn't feel that way. It felt like a big deal, and it felt like a big deal because there are so many guys who are able to be in the shoes that I'm in right now. The fact that it's me makes it feel like a big deal to me. I feel a lot of responsibility to represent them and the industry as well as I can and help everything move forward. It feels, sometimes, with Roman's title reign, because there is only one challenger at a time and often only every few months, a lot of guys were in a holding pattern. I am a firm believer that having a title available is a necessity and I feel a lot of humility and responsibility in being the champion that will be there and available for our audience. I wasn't offended by it, and I understood where people are coming from."

WWE SummerSlam 2023 Rumored Card

  • Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso
  • World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
  • Intercontinental Championship: Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre
  • SmackDown Women's Championship: Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Bianca Belair
  • Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships: Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. TBA
  • Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar (with some sort of stipulation)
  • Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus
  • Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler
  • Ricochet vs. Logan Paul

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