The Many Faces of Seth Rollins: A Journey Through His Greatest Gimmicks
Seth Rollins has employed numerous gimmicks throughout his WWE tenure. Some gimmicks have been successful, some have failed, but which one of his gimmicks has been well-received by the fans throughout his time in WWE? Is the Monday Night Messiah or is the Visionary? His time with Authority as the Architect is with his mentor, Triple H. When did he become the Beast-Slayer/King Slayer, as he beat both Brock Lesnar and Triple H at WrestleMania, or when he was a part of the Shield as he teamed with Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose?
5. Monday Night Messiah
During this gimmick, Seth Rollins had many mediocre feuds during his run as the Monday Night Messiah. This all started in 2019 when he turned heel as he created a group with the Author of Pain, Akam, and Rezar, but eventually they split up during the pandemic era, and so he started a group with Buddy Murphy and Austin Theory during the pandemic era. His best feud was with Dominik Mysterio and Rey Mysterio, as he injured Mysterio's eye, leading Seth to become more vicious and conniving as well as injuring Aleister Black's eye in the process. The Gimmick would've been perfect if there had been a crowd, as it took place during a time when the WWE was in a state of pandemic, a live audience would have been great, as it could've elevated the character much more if there had been a live crowd.
4. The Shield
When Seth Rollins was a part of the Shield, he was considered the best wrestler in that group, as he was one of the most popular members. His gimmick was a task force or a security group for CM Punk. When they started off, they first attacked Ryback during the Survivor Series match with CM Punk, as well as attacking The Rock at the Royal Rumble 2013. After these events, he won the Tag Team Championship with Roman, as well as becoming the enforcers for the Authority. Until 2014, when the whole group turned face, they started attacking authority members, Billy Gunn, Road Dogg, and Kane, as they had a WrestleMania match. In the paper view Payback 2014, they had a match with The Evolution Group, Batista and Randy Orton, and Triple H After this pay-per-view, the group eventually split up after Seth Rollins turned heel and joined the Authority. The group finally reunited in 2019, having a last pay-per-view match with all three wrestlers before Dean Ambrose left for AEW. I will say this was Seth Rollins' best gimmick, but for me, he is fourth on the list, because of how long he spent with the shield, as it was a very short time, I believe that these other gimmicks are his best.
3. Beast-Slayer/King Slayer
Seth Rollins started this gimmick when he feuded with Kevin Owens after Triple H betrayed him during his title match against as well as turning face in the process. During this time, Seth Rollins would take personal shots at Triple H and his wife Stephanie McMahon, leading to a WrestleMania match between his former mentor he debuted a new saying Burn it Down. He became the King Slayer after this match, and eventually this led Seth to a title shot at WrestleMania 34 for the Intercontinental Championship, beating the Miz and Finn Balor. Later in 2019, Seth Rollins decided to go after Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship, beating him at WrestleMania 35, debuting the Beast Slayer gimmick. This character had many bland moments in the WWE, but also had some great moments. Later on, the gimmick finally went away when he turned heel in late 2019.
2. Visionary
This is one of Seth Rollins's best gimmicks as the Visionary started in 2021 when he debuted his new theme song at WrestleMania 37. Later on in 2021, Seth Rollins started wearing flashy outfits as he portrayed himself as the visionary of WWE. In 2022, Seth Rollins needed a WrestleMania opponent for WrestleMania 38. That mystery opponent was Cody Rhodes, as he finally returned to WWE, setting up one of the best feuds in this era. In 2022, Seth Rollins turned face. When he became a face, the crowd started singing along to his music. It became a part of his character, and he started dancing in front of the audience, and the audience started singing his theme song as well. Until 2025, Seth finally turned heel at WrestleMania, and his Wiseman, Paul Heyman, created a group; now he is the favorite to win the Money in the Bank.
1. The Architect
This is Seth Rollins’s best character in the WWE, as one side of his hair was blonde, and the other side was black, which is a great nod to his character when he was in the Shield. When he was a part of the authority, Seth Rollins had many fantastic feuds as the architect, including John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Dean Ambrose, but his greatest accomplishment was the WWE Championship. Personally, this was one of my favorite Seth Rollins characters. He was considered the best wrestler in the WWE.
