Seth Rollins says he could have potentially been paired up with CM Punk in NXT.
Rollins had a successful run in the new version of NXT that launched in 2012, and he was the inaugural NXT Champion. But when NXT first launched, it was presented as a competition where NXT "rookies" were paired with WWE "pros." One season of the show was set to feature Rollins, Big E, and Xavier Woods, among others, but it never aired, as NXT was relaunched instead.
Speaking with CBS Sports' Shakiel Mahjouri, Rollins was asked about the lost season of the game-show version of NXT. When asked whether the season got to the point where they had pros selected, Rollins recalled how they just shot pre-taped material. He stated that it all worked out for the best.
“No, all we did was film the pre-tape stuff, like we filmed the packages, we went to Full Sail University, and they had the cameras set up and went around you, and you got all wet and shiny, did the poses and then talked about who we were and where we came from and all that. So all that pre-production type stuff, we did all that, and then they never did the season. I think we were supposed to be season four or five? Hard to remember. Because they did the all-female season, and they did maybe one after that, and weren’t on that. Maybe it was five. But yeah, never came to fruition. For the better, I would say. At the time, very disappointing. Obviously, we were all looking to get our feet wet in WWE. We thought NXT was gonna be the ticket, that pathway in NXT anyway, and thankfully for all of us, that didn’t happen because here we are. Now I’m sitting and talking to you [as] World Heavyweight Champion, may not be the case had it been that way, so I would say my introduction was a little bit better than that," Rollins said.
When asked who he would have picked if he could have had a Pro in NXT, Rollins noted that WWE probbaly would have paired him with CM Punk, based on their personality types and their backgrounds. Punk was still one of WWE's top stars at the time, and he had a lot in common with Rollins, who rose to prominence on the independent scene.
“Oh man, that would have been like 2011, 2012. At that point in my career, gosh, I would have been very closely aligned with CM Punk at the time. He would have probably been the guy if he was going to be involved with NXT that they would have paired with me based on our personality types and our upbringing," Rollins said.
Rollins previously called Punk a cancer and told him to stay away. Click here to see what he had to say.
In another interview, Rollins said it pained him to say bad things about Punk. Check out his comments here.
Rollins will compete on the July 31 episode of WWE Raw. More information is available here. Fightful will have coverage of the show as it airs.
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