Seth Rollins has concerns for future generations of WWE Superstars and their ability to improve inside the squared circle because WWE has drastically reduced the number of untelevised events it hosts.
WWE prided itself for many years on its lack of an off-season. While professional wrestling remains a 52-week-a-year form of entertainment, the amount of time WWE stars spend on the road and in the ring has been significantly scaled back in recent years. Now, one of the veterans of the WWE locker room and a member of the last generation to participate in the hectic schedule of multiple live events per week is speaking out about his fear for the next generation's ability to improve their craft without as many live events.
During an appearance on Outta Pocket with RGIII, Seth Rollins says that he's worried about NIL recruits' abilities to grasp what's important in pro wrestling without getting as many reps as previous generations would have.
"My biggest concern, and I’ll try not to expound on this too much, but my biggest concern is the generation that is being groomed now, we are dipping our toe heavily into the NIL world. Taking a lot of college athletes who, maybe after college, there is no future for them as far as money in sports, so we offer them deals to get paid while they are in college to come and maybe be part of WWE when they are older. There is nothing wrong with training these people from scratch, I have no problem with that, but couple that with our live event schedule. We used to do them every weekend, sometimes two shows every day on Saturdays and Sundays, there would be two running simultaneously in different towns. That’s where I learned my craft and the art of wrestling and storytelling. If you don’t get the repetitions to learn that, I don’t care what kind of athlete you are or how impressive your vertical leap is or how many times you can bench press 400 pounds, it’s not going to translate because you don’t know how to tell stories. You might be a hell of a performer, but ‘I need a promo. Go out there, five minutes, get it done.’
"If you don’t know how to do that because you haven’t learned and practiced and failed so many times that, there is no substitute for in-game. There is no substitute for doing a live show in front of a paying audience because they will give you instant feedback, and you’ll know what you have to change. That’s my biggest concern for our next generation. You’re plucking from a world where these guys don’t really follow wrestling or may not be fans, and then they’re not getting the experience on top of it to learn how to be part of what we do and how to tell those stories. I do have a concern that over a few generations, that might be harmful to the future of the industry."
At this link, fans can read TKO President Mark Shapiro's comments on WWE scaling back on its live events.
WWE has expanded its recruitment process to create a new pipeline for its roster, including independent professional wrestlers like Seth Rollins, through the WWE ID program. Fans can see a full list of prospects and WWE ID schools here.
Check out the full interview with Rollins embedded above.
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