Seth Rollins on His Childhood, the Independent Scene, WrestleMania

Current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins was recently profiled by The Des Moines Register while appearing in his home state of Iowa with WWE. Below are some of the highlights from the feature, including quotes from Rollins.

He spoke about how he got into wrestling, and who he looked up to:

“My brother and I would wrestle in my grandparents’ living room, that was our spot,” Rollins said. “Even when he wasn’t there, I would fight pillows and the wrestling buddies (plush toys shaped like wrestlers) all on my own.”

“Hulk Hogan was a superhero to me as a kid,” Rollins continued. “I loved Batman as a kid, but he wasn’t a real person. He was a character, and I couldn’t touch him. But Hulk Hogan, I watched him walk out on the ramp and get into the ring. He was a real person.”

Rollins spoke about what it was like working in the indies before WWE:

“I didn’t have any pedigree or any last name that would get me an opportunity to get looked at by WWE. I started in the backrooms of bingo halls and at Danceland (Ballroom in Davenport). I got paid zero to negative money for a while. I lost money along the way and worked my way up.”

He also gave a peak at what it was like to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania:

“For me, that was winning the Super Bowl,” he said. “That was throwing the touchdown pass at the last second in the biggest game of your life … I’m not a guy that believes in faith or destiny, I believe everyone has to make their own way, so I was happy the work paid off.”

The entire piece can be read here.

Editor’s Note

Dude has earned it. I’m happy for him. Seems like he has worked hard enough.

Follow @JonAlbaSFC