Seth Rollins returned to the NXT ring on the June 20 episode of NXT, defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Bron Breakker.
It was his first NXT bout since 2013. Rollins was the first-ever NXT Champion, winning the title in 2012 by defeating Jinder Mahal in the finals.
Speaking to Ryan Satin on Out of Character, Rollins reflected on his NXT return.
"It was very cool for me to go back and have that moment. One of the things I talk about is helping the younger talent and pushing the industry forward. The opportunity was presented to me to go down to NXT and I haven’t wrestled a match on the show in over ten years. Obviously, it moved from Full Sail to the Performance Center and the look, the feel, and the vibe was totally different and it had gone through so many different iterations over the years, but it’s still NXT. I cut a little promo after the show and it didn’t really dawn on me that it would feel sentimental until after when I got out there and I felt the audience and I felt the connection. I hadn’t wrestled in front of a crowd that small and intimate in a very long time. There is something special about wrestling in front of an intimate crowd like that in a small space. You’ll see big bands do that, go back to these small bars and pack them out. There is something about that where you get a different experience as opposed to doing it in an arena or stadium, it’s a lot more personal. It really hit me when I went out there and you could really interact with any person in any seat. It was an awesome experience," he said.
He continued, "Bron was a hell of an opponent. I was really happy to get down there and get in the ring with him and chit-chat with other guys and girls, and see what they are experiencing on a day-to-day basis. It was cool. I felt a lot of hunger to get to the next level. I was happy to see that. We were going through a period with NXT where there was a lot of complacency and people talking about, ‘I’d rather stay in NXT, I don’t want to go to the main roster.’ That always rubbed me the wrong way. When I went down there this past time, I felt a different energy and I felt people were excited to come to the main roster and take their careers to the next level. That got me hyped."
Rollins was victorious over Breakker in the singles bout on the June 20 episode of NXT.
Elsewhere during the interview, Rollins discussed the WWE World Heavyweight Title not being a consolation prize. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
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