Seth Rollins Explains the Advantages of WWE Not Having Live Crowds

WWE Superstars haven’t been able to perform in front of live fans in over a year, and throughout that time they’ve given numerous interviews expressing how much they miss the crowds and how much more difficult it is to perform without having them to work off of. But in a new interview on the Out of Character Podcast this week, Seth Rollins took things in a different direction and explained the advantages of not having unruly fans detract from the show.

“[The WWE ThunderDome] has allowed us to tell our stories a little cleaner in the sense that things aren’t up and down as they may normally be,” Rollins said [h/t Fightful]. “Whether that’s good or bad, I’m not entirely sure. I miss the fans and live interaction, but I like being able to cut a promo and getting all the way through without having to side-eye the audience. It’s nice to get a thought out without being interrupted by ‘CM Punk’ chants.”

“Some stories have overstayed their welcome, but we’ve definitely been allowed to tell fully fleshed out stories over six or seven months that we wouldn’t get through normally because a live crowd would force creative to change course,” he later added, discussing his months-long feud with Rey Mysterio. “I had a blast working with the Mysterios, though things got carried away at the end. I was proud of the eye-for-an-eye match.”

Back in 2018 Rollins was considered the workhorse of Monday Night Raw and as a top babyface he eventually went on to beat Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 35. But as 2019 went on fans began to sour on Rollins’ run, culminating in the disastrous Hell in a Cell main event against “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt. By the end of the year Rollins had turned heel, unveiling his “Monday Night Messiah” persona.

Rollins will face Cesaro on Night Two of WrestleMania 37 this Sunday.