Seth Rollins

WWE Superstar, Seth Rollins

United States Champion

3x RAW Tag Team Champion

NXT Champion

Money in the Bank winner (2014)

Superstar of the Year (2015)

Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to WWE. Under the ring name Seth Rollins, he performs on the Raw brand.

Prior to signing with WWE, Lopez wrestled as Tyler Black for Ring of Honor (ROH), where he held the ROH World Championship once and the ROH World Tag Team Championship twice (with Jimmy Jacobs), as well as the winner of the 2009 Survival of the Fittest tournament. He also wrestled for various independent promotions including Full Impact Pro (FIP), where he was a one-time FIP World Heavyweight Champion, as well as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), where he was a one-time PWG World Tag Team Champion (also with Jacobs).

After signing with WWE in 2010, he was sent to its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) where he was the first FCW Grand Slam Champion. After WWE rebranded FCW into NXT, he became the inaugural NXT Champion. Rollins debuted on WWE's main roster in 2012 alongside Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns as The Shield. Rollins won his first main roster championship while with the group, the WWE Tag Team Championship, with Reigns. Following The Shield's first breakup in June 2014, Rollins has gone on to become a two-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion, one-time Intercontinental Champion, a one-time United States Champion, a three-time WWE/Raw Tag Team Champion (with Reigns, Ambrose and Jason Jordan, respectively), the 2014 Money in the Bank winner and the 2015 Superstar of the Year. Upon winning the Intercontinental Championship, Rollins became the twenty-ninth Triple Crown Champion and the eighteenth Grand Slam Champion.

Rollins has headlined numerous major pay-per-view events for WWE, including WrestleMania 31. Industry veteran Sting described him as the most talented professional wrestler he has ever seen or worked with.

## Early life

Lopez was born in Buffalo, Iowa. He is of Armenian, German and Irish descent. His surname, Lopez, comes from his Mexican-American stepfather. As a teenager, Lopez used to be an introvert and was a big fan of rock music, living a straight edge lifestyle. His ring name Rollins is a tribute to former Black Flag singer Henry Rollins.

## Professional wrestling career

### **Independent circuit (2005-2009)**

Lopez debuted in 2005 for Scott County Wrestling (SCW). He also worked for Ian Rotten's Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South (IWA) and entered the Ted Petty Invitational Tournament, defeating Sal Thomaselli before being eliminated by Matt Sydal in the quarterfinals in Hammond, Indiana on September 23, 2005. He later won the SCW Heavyweight Championship and spray-painted the championship belt black to mark "The Black Era" in SCW.

He soon joined NWA Midwest and won the promotion's tag team championship with Marek Brave. The two successfully defended the NWA Midwest Tag Team Championship against Ryan Boz and Danny Daniels, Brett Wayne and Hype Gotti and Jayson Reign and Marco Cordova several times in early 2006. He also faced Eric Priest and A.J. Styles in singles matches.

He briefly appeared in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and teamed with Jeff Luxon in a loss to The Latin American Xchange (Homicide and Hernandez) on *Impact!* in October 2006.

On May 25, 2007, while in a match with then Full Impact Pro (FIP) Tag Team Champions The Briscoe Brothers (Jay and Mark Briscoe) in Melbourne, Florida, Black's tag team partner Marek Brave suffered a legitimate back injury that sidelined him for several weeks before ultimately causing him to retire (Brave eventually returned to competition in 2012). During this time, Black pursued a singles career by competing in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), where he defeated Joey Ryan on June 10 and former mentor Danny Daniels at the supercard Point of No Return on June 16.

At PWG's Life During Wartime on July 6, 2008, Black teamed with Jimmy Jacobs to win the PWG World Tag Team Championship by defeating Roderick Strong and El Generico, who was a replacement for Jack Evans. At FIP's event on December 20, Black defeated Go Shiozaki to win the FIP World Heavyweight Championship. At FIP's event on May 2, 2009, Davey Richards was awarded the FIP World Heavyweight Championship by forfeit when Black was unable to compete.

### **Ring of Honor**

#### **The Age of the Fall (2007-2009)**

At the Ring of Honor (ROH) pay-per-view taping of Man Up in September 2007, Black made his debut, alongside Jimmy Jacobs and Necro Butcher, with the three attacking The Briscoe Brothers, hanging Jay Briscoe from the rigging that had been used during the ladder match earlier that night. Jacobs announced that the three had formed a stable called The Age of the Fall. The angle was so controversial that ROH decided to remove the footage from the pay-per-view that was being taped at the event.

However, the footage was heavily requested by ROH fans, so it was shown on the ROH Videowire for the week of September 15. Later on in the event, Black faced Jack Evans in a dark match, which ended when Jacobs and Necro Butcher interfered leading The Irish Airborne to help Evans. A six-man tag team match between The Age of the Fall and Jack Evans and The Irish Airborne ended in a no contest when Necro Butcher attacked the referee.

Along with Jimmy Jacobs and Necro Butcher, Black wrestled against The Vulture Squad (Jack Evans and Ruckus) in several handicap matches during early October, Black then teamed with The Age of the Fall against Jack Evans, Ruckus and Jigsaw in a six-man tag team match the following month at Glory by Honor VI: Night One on November 1. The following night, Black defeated Alex "Sugarfoot" Payne, but was attacked by The Briscoe Brothers following the match. He appeared with The Age of the Fall in their match against The Briscoe Brothers during the main event. At Final Battle 2007, Black and Jacobs defeated The Briscoe Brothers to win the ROH World Tag Team Championship.

They lost the championship one month later on January 26 to the No Remorse Corps (Davey Richards and Rocky Romero) when competing in an Ultimate Endurance match also involving The Hangmen 3 (Brent Albright and BJ Whitmer), and the team of Austin Aries and Bryan Danielson.

At Take No Prisoners, ROH's sixth pay-per-view, Black challenged Nigel McGuinness for the ROH World Championship in a losing effort. At Up For Grabs, Black and Jacobs won an eight-team tournament to win the ROH World Tag Team Championship for a second time. The two lost the championship at Driven to the team of Kevin Steen and El Generico. Black had a second chance at the ROH World Championship at Death Before Dishonor VI in New York City, when he faced McGuinness, Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli in a four-way elimination match, but McGuinness retained the title.

At Final Battle 2008, after Black lost a number one contender match to Austin Aries, Jacobs turned on him, and Black was then attacked by Aries. At Full Circle, Black was given a non-title match against then ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness on January 16, and defeated McGuinness. The following night, number one contender Aries refused to face McGuinness, so Black faced McGuinness instead, but was unsuccessful as the match ended in a time limit draw. On June 26 at Violent Tendencies, Black defeated Jimmy Jacobs in a steel cage match to end their feud.

#### **Ring of Honor World Champion (2009-2010)**

In September 2009, Black had surgery on a bulging disc in his neck. On October 10, Black defeated Kenny King in a first round match and then Claudio Castagnoli, Colt Cabana, Delirious, Chris Hero and Roderick Strong in the finals to win the 2009 Survival of the Fittest tournament, which earned him a match for the ROH World Championship. On December 19 at Final Battle 2009, ROH's first live pay-per-view, Black wrestled then ROH World Champion Austin Aries to a 60-minute time limit draw. Because of this draw, then ROH commissioner Jim Cornette booked the two in a rematch between February 13, 2010 for the company's Eighth Anniversary Show. The booking saw Cornette set up a judging panel with himself on and one person picked by each competitor, in order for there to be a decisive winner in case of another draw. Aries picked Kenny King while Black picked Roderick Strong, whom he guaranteed an ROH World Championship title shot should he win. At the event, Black pinned Aries to win the ROH World Championship.

On April 3, Black retained the title in a three-way elimination match against Austin Aries and Roderick Strong at The Big Bang! pay-per-view, thereby depriving Strong of his championship chance in a singles match. He also retained the title on June 19 at the following pay-per-view, Death Before Dishonor VIII, in a match against Davey Richards. Black turned into a villain at the August 20 tapings of *Ring of Honor Wrestling* after news broke that he had signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). His new villainous character involved him criticizing the fans who were labeling him a sell-out for signing with WWE, a feeling Lopez has stated was based on true feelings. He also threatened to take the ROH World Championship with him to WWE and refused to put the championship at stake in a match with Davey Richards on August 28 which he then lost by submission. On September 11 at Glory By Honor IX, in what would have been his final ROH appearance, Black lost the ROH World Championship to Roderick Strong in a no disqualification match with Terry Funk as a guest enforcer, ending his reign at 210 days after seven successful title defenses.

### **World Wrestling Entertainment/ WWE**

#### **Developmental territories (2010-2012)**

On August 8, Lopez had signed a developmental contract with WWE and was assigned to their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) in September. Lopez was offered contracts from TNA and ROH, but Evan Bourne convinced him to join WWE. On September 14, Lopez (as Tyler Black) made his WWE debut in a dark match prior to the *SmackDown*taping by defeating Trent Barreta.

Lopez debuted for FCW on September 30 as Seth Rollins in a loss to Michael McGillicutty. Rollins then faced Hunico on November 4 in the first ever FCW 15 match under 15-minute Iron Man rules where they fought to a 1-1 draw. Following this, Rollins, along with Hunico, Richie Steamboat and Jinder Mahal, participated in the FCW 15 Jack Brisco Classic tournament. On January 13, 2011, Rollins defeated Hunico in the finals to win the tournament and became the inaugural FCW 15 Champion.

On March 25 at a live event, Rollins and Richie Steamboat defeated Damien Sandow and Titus O'Neill to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship. Rollins and Steamboat eventually lost the championship to Big E Langston and Calvin Raines.

In July 2011, Rollins began a feud with Dean Ambrose. Ambrose and Rollins had their first match for the FCW 15 Championship in a 15-minute Iron Man match on the August 14 episode of *FCW*, which ended in a draw with neither men scoring a fall and, as a result, Rollins retained his title. A subsequent 20-minute rematch for the title two weeks later resulted in a similar 0-0 draw. A second 30-minute rematch for the title on the September 18 episode of *FCW* went to a time limit 2-2 draw and the match was sent into sudden death rules, where Rollins scored a pinfallto win the match 3-2.[48] On September 22, Rollins lost the FCW 15 Championship to Damien Sandow by disqualification after Ambrose attacked Sandow late in the match.

Rollins made a cameo in a video package that aired during the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event in February 2012, where he was shown working out with John Cena in Cena's gym, as well as being featured in a speaking role. On February 23, Rollins defeated Leo Kruger to become the new FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion.

When WWE rebranded FCW into NXT, Rollins' NXT TV debut took place on the second episode of the rebooted *NXT* at Full Sail University on June 27, when he defeated Jiro. Rollins entered the Gold Rush Tournament to crown the inaugural NXT Champion where he defeated Jinder Mahal in the tournament finals on the August 29 episode of *NXT*. Rollins earlier defeated Drew McIntyre in the quarter-finals and Michael McGillicutty in the semi-finals. On the October 10 episode of *NXT*, Rollins had his first successful defense of his title after he beat McGillicutty. During the November 15 tapings of *NXT*, Rollins pinned Mahal again in his second successful title defense; the episode of the match aired on December 12 due to tape delay.

On the January 2, 2013 episode of *NXT*, Rollins successfully defended the NXT Championship against Corey Graves, before losing it the next week on *NXT* to Langston in a no disqualification match. After losing the title, Rollins continued to feud with Graves and attacked him during his number one contender's match for the NXT Championship with Conor O'Brian. Rollins then accepted Graves' challenge and defeated him in a lumberjack match to end the feud.

#### **The Shield (2012-2014)**

Rollins made his main roster debut on at Survivor Series alongside Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, attacking Ryback during the triple threat main event for the WWE Championship, allowing CM Punk to pin John Cena and retain the title. The trio declared themselves The Shield, vowed to rally against "injustice" and would deny working for Punk, but they routinely emerged from the crowd to attack Punk's adversaries. This led to a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match being set up for the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view event, where Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns defeated Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) and Ryback in their debut match The Shield continued to aid Punk after TLC, attacking both Ryback and The Rock in January 2013. It was revealed on the January 28 episode of *Raw* that Punk and his manager Paul Heyman had been paying The Shield and Brad Maddox to work for them all along.

The Shield then quietly ended their association with Punk while beginning a feud with John Cena, Ryback and Sheamus that led to a six-man tag match on February 17 at Elimination Chamber, which The Shield won. The Shield had their first *Raw* match the following night, where they defeated Ryback, Sheamus and Chris Jericho. Sheamus then formed an alliance with Randy Orton and Big Show to face The Shield at WrestleMania 29, where The Shield emerged victorious in their first WrestleMania match. The following night on *Raw*, The Shield attempted to attack The Undertaker, but were stopped by Team Hell No. This set up a six-man tag team match on the April 22 episode of *Raw*, which The Shield won. On the May 13 episode of *Raw*, The Shield's undefeated streak in televised six-man tag team matches ended in a disqualification loss in a six-man elimination tag team match against John Cena, Kane and Daniel Bryan.

On May 19 at Extreme Rules, Rollins and Reigns defeated Team Hell No in a tornado tag team match to win the WWE Tag Team Championship. Rollins and Reigns made their first televised title defense on the May 27 episode of *Raw* by defeating Team Hell No in a rematch. On the June 14 episode of *SmackDown*, The Shield's unpinned/unsubmitted streak in televised six-man tag team matches ended at the hands of Team Hell No and Randy Orton when Bryan submitted Rollins. Bryan and Orton then faced Rollins and Reigns for the WWE Tag Team Championship at Payback on June 13, but Rollins and Reigns successfully retained the championship. Further successful title defenses followed against The Usos on July 14 during the Money in the Bank pre-show and The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) at Night of Champions on September 15.

In August, The Shield began working for chief operating officer (COO) Triple H and The Authority. At Battleground on October 6, a kayfabe fired Cody Rhodesand Goldust earned their jobs back by beating Rollins and Reigns in a non-title match. On the October 14 episode of *Raw*, Rollins and Reigns lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to Cody Rhodes and Goldust in a no disqualification match following interference from Big Show. At Hell in a Cell on October 27, Rollins and Reigns failed to regain the tag team title in a triple threat match. Tension was then sown in The Shield while their recent lack of success continued with a loss to CM Punk in a handicap match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 15. At the Royal Rumble on January 26, 2014, Rollins entered the Rumble match at number 2, had three eliminations and spent the second longest time in the match at 48 minutes before being eliminated by teammate Reigns. The next night on *Raw*, The Shield competed in a six-man tag team match against Daniel Bryan, Sheamus and John Cena with all three members of the winning team qualifying to enter in the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but The Shield lost the match via disqualification after The Wyatt Family interfered and attacked Cena, Bryan, and Sheamus. The Shield wanted revenge and a six-man tag for The Shield against The Wyatt Family at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event on February 23 was arranged, in which The Shield was defeated. On the March 3 episode of *Raw*, The Shield lost a rematch against The Wyatt Family when The Shield's poor teamwork led to Rollins walking out during the match, with Rollins claiming that he had enough of being the glue holding the group together. On the March 7 episode of *SmackDown*, Rollins stated The Shield reconciled despite their long-running tension after venting their frustrations on each other.

Later in March, The Shield began a feud with Kane turning all of the members of The Shield into fan favorites in the process. At WrestleMania XXX on April 6, The Shield defeated Kane and The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn and Road Dogg), thus winning their second WrestleMania match as a group. The Shield then feuded with Triple H, the COO of WWE and leader of The Authority, who then reformed Evolution with Batista and Randy Orton to take on The Shield. The Shield defeated Evolution at the next two pay-per-view events, Extreme Rules and Payback, in what turned out to be their last matches as factions for both Evolution and The Shield.

#### **WWE World Heavyweight Champion (2014-2015)**

On the June 2 episode of *Raw*, after Batista left Evolution and WWE, Triple H revealed his "plan B", which turned out to be Rollins attacking Ambrose and Reigns to rejoin The Authority and turn back into a villain. Rollins later explained his actions by stating that The Shield would not be a success without him and Ambrose and Reigns were not his brothers, like they claimed, but business partners to help him move up in WWE.

On the June 17 episode of *Main Event*, Rollins, acting on behalf of The Authority, entered himself into the traditional Money in the Bank ladder match for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship contract at Money in the Bank, which he won after Kane interfered, attacked Ambrose and held the ladder in place for Rollins to climb. Rollins defeated Ambrose twice, the first being at Battleground in July via forfeit (after their match was called off by Triple H since Ambrose attacked Rollins backstage prior to their match) and the second in August at SummerSlam in a lumberjack match after hitting him with his Money in the Bank briefcase. The following night on *Raw*, Rollins defeated again Ambrose in a Falls Count Anywhere match by referee stoppage after Kane interfered and helped Rollins execute a *Curb Stomp* on Ambrose through cinder blocks. In September, a match between Rollins and Roman Reigns was set up for Night of Champions, but six days before the pay-per-view event, Reigns cleanly defeated Rollins in a singles match on *Raw*. However, Reigns developed a legitimate incarcerated hernia which required surgery a day or two prior to Night of Champions and therefore Rollins was declared the winner via forfeit, but he was then attacked by a returning Ambrose. On the September 29 episode of *Raw*, Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury aligned themselves with The Authority and started acting as bodyguards to Rollins. At Hell in a Cell on October 26, Rollins defeated Ambrose in the Hell in a Cell main event match after Bray Wyatt interfered and attacked Ambrose. At Survivor Series on November 23, Rollins captained Team Authority in a five-on-five elimination tag team match against Team Cena, in which Rollins was the sole survivor and was eliminated by Dolph Ziggler. Rollins continued his feud with Cena in December at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairson December 14, which led to a tables match won by Cena.

On January 25, 2015 at the Royal Rumble, Rollins competed for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a triple threat match against Cena and Brock Lesnar, which Lesnar won. In February, Rollins started a war-of-words feud with *The Daily Show* host Jon Stewart, claiming that he could host the show better than Stewart. Rollins was attacked by the return Randy Orton following his match at Fastlane on February 22, which led to a match between the two at WrestleMania 31 on March 29, where Rollins was defeated. Later that night, Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract during Lesnar and Reigns' match, thus making it into a triple threat match, which Rollins won by pinning Reigns to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career. This made Rollins the first man to cash in his Money in the Bank contract at WrestleMania and during title match. Rollins continued his feud with Orton after WrestleMania 31, which led to a steel cage match with Orton's *RKO* banned and Kane as the gatekeeper at Extreme Rules on April 26, where Rollins retained his championship by escaping the cage, after Kane attacking both men and Rollins performed an *RKO* on Orton. In May, tension rose between Rollins and Kane after the latter announced Rollins' title defense against Orton and Reigns at Payback. When Ambrose defeated Rollins in a non-title match on the May 5 episode of *Raw*, he was added to the match, thus making it a fatal-four way match which saw Kane side with Rollins and him winning the match after performing a *Pedigree* (Triple H's finishing move) on Orton. Rollins then retained the championship against Ambrose on May 31 at Elimination Chamber after he got himself disqualified for shoving the referee and on June 14 at Money in the Bank in a ladder match.

At Battleground on July 19, Rollins retained the championship by disqualification against Lesnar after The Undertaker attacked Lesnar. Rollins then re-ignited his feud with John Cena and defeated him in a Winner Takes All match at SummerSlam on August 23 for both the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and the United States Championship after Jon Stewart attacked Cena. With the win, Rollins became the first and only wrestler to hold both championships simultaneously until he went on to lose the United States Championship back to Cena at Night of Champions on September 20, but was able to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a clean finish against Sting (in Sting's final match). On October 25 at Hell in a Cell, Rollins successfully defended the championship against "Demon" Kane and as a pre-match stipulation "Corporate" Kane was fired as Director of Operations.

On November 4 during a match against Kane at a WWE live event in Dublin, Ireland, Rollins tore the ACL, MCL and medial meniscus in his knee while attempting to execute a sunset flip powerbomb. The injury required surgery and it was estimated it would take Rollins out of action for approximately six to nine months, therefore he was forced to vacate the WWE World Heavyweight Championship the next day and thus ending his reign at 221 days, though WWE recognizes his reign as lasting 220 days and ending the day he got injured. On the December 21 episode of *Raw*, Rollins (on crutches) made a special appearance to accept his Slammy Award for 2015 Superstar of the Year and during his acceptance speech claimed he would redesign and rebuild himself, as well as winning back the WWE World Heavyweight Championship which he never lost.

#### **Feud with Triple H (2016-2017)**

At Extreme Rules on May 22, Rollins returned from injury to attack Roman Reigns with a *Pedigree* after his WWE World Heavyweight Championship defense against AJ Styles. The following night on *Raw*, Rollins addressed the fans and said that he did not need anyone on his side, with Shane McMahon announcing a match between Reigns and Rollins for the title at Money in the Bank. Meanwhile, critics wondered if WWE was "leaving money on the table" by not slotting Rollins as a fan favorite and Reigns as a villain, as this was the opposite of what fans wanted (fans were cheering Rollins and booing Reigns). At Money in the Bank on June 19, Rollins defeated Reigns to win his second WWE World Heavyweight Championship, thus also giving Reigns his first clean loss in singles competition on the main roster, only to lose the championship minutes later to Dean Ambrose, who cashed in the Money in the Bank contract he won earlier that night and defeated Rollins for the title. In July, Rollins failed to regain the renamed WWE Championship in matches against Ambrose on both *Raw* and *SmackDown* before Battleground. In the 2016 WWE draft on July 19, Rollins was drafted to Raw as the brand's first draft pick. At Battleground on July 24, Rollins lost the triple threat match against Ambrose and Reigns for the newly renamed WWE World Championship, which became exclusive of SmackDown. Because of this, the WWE Universal Championship was introduced the following night on *Raw* and Rollins was scheduled for the inaugural title match against Finn Bálor, who won two qualifying matches on *Raw* to face Rollins for the title at SummerSlam on August 21, which he failed to win.

After Bálor relinquished the title on the August 22 episode of *Raw* due to a legit shoulder injury sustained at SummerSlam, Rollins defeated Sami Zayn to qualify for a fatal four-way match to determine the new WWE Universal Champion. On the August 29 episode of *Raw*, Rollins faced Big Cass, Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns in a four-way elimination match for the title; Triple H helped Rollins to eliminate Reigns, but then hit him with a *Pedigree* and allowed Owens to win the championship. Rollins, now a face for the first time since 2014, interrupted Owens's celebration on the September 5 episode of *Raw*,by confronting Stephanie McMahon, who denied any knowledge of her husband's attack, while Owens began to berate Rollins, which caused Rollins to attack him. Stephanie initially suspended Rollins for the attack, but Mick Foley reinstated him and granted him a rematch against Owens for the championship at Clash of Champions, which he lost after interference from Chris Jericho. Rollins also suffered a legitimate rib injury. At Hell in a Cell on October 30, Rollins failed to capture the WWE Universal Championship in a Hell in a Cell match after Jericho was able to enter the cell and assist Owens. Rollins teamed with Jericho, Owens, Reigns and Braun Strowman as part of Team Raw at Survivor Series on November 20 in a losing effort. On the post-Survivor Series' *Raw* episode, Rollins failed again to win the WWE Universal Championship from Owens in a no disqualification match after interference from Jericho. The following week on *Raw*, Rollins attacked Jericho in the parking area while Jericho was attempting to leave the arena. At Roadblock: End of the Line on December 4, Rollins defeated Jericho.

Rollins then announced his participation in the 2017 Royal Rumble match via Twitter on January 9, but on the January 23 episode of *Raw* was defeated by Sami Zayn after a distraction by Triple H's music and thus replaced by him in the match. On January 28, Rollins appeared at NXT TakeOver: San Antonio, interrupting the show and calling out Triple H, who came out only to order security to remove Rollins from the ring, which was successful despite Rollins fighting off the first batch of security guards. On the January 30 episode of *Raw*, Rollins (who had been banned from the Royal Rumble the night before) confronted Stephanie McMahon and once again called out Triple H, demanding answers. Later that night, Triple H came out explaining that he betrayed Rollins because he felt that he was "a failure on his own" and before Rollins could confront Triple H he was ambushed from behind by the debuting Samoa Joe, who trapped Rollins in the *Coquina Clutch* and choked him out During the attack, WWE announced on their website that Rollins re-injured his knee.[188] On the February 27 episode of *Raw*, Rollins explained his knee injury told Triple H that he would be at WrestleMania 33. An injured Rollins returned on the March 13 episode of *Raw* to save Mick Foley from an attack by Triple H, signifying he was cleared by doctors, but was attacked by Triple H once more. In their non-sanctioned match at WrestleMania 33, Rollins defeated Triple H after executing a *Pedigree*.

After WrestleMania 33, Rollins began a feud with Samoa Joe, whom he defeated at Payback on April 30 to give Joe his first singles loss on the main roster. At Extreme Rules on June 4, Rollins competed in a fatal five-way Extreme Rules match to determine the number one contender to the WWE Universal Championship also involving Bálor, Joe, Reigns and Wyatt, which was won by Joe.

#### **The Shield reunion (2017-2018)**

On the July 10 episode of *Raw*, Rollins saved former stablemate and long-time rival Dean Ambrose from an attack by The Miz and the Miztourage (Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas). After failing to gain Ambrose's trust, Rollins offered Ambrose to attack him with a steel chair as retribution for Rollins' betrayal, but Ambrose refused and the two were then ambushed by Miz and the Miztourage, which resulted in Raw General Manager Kurt Angle scheduling a handicap match for the following week on *Raw*, which they won. In the following weeks, Ambrose and Rollins started a feud with Raw Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Sheamus and eventually getting a title match at SummerSlam. The two kept distrusting each other, argued in the ring on the August 14 episode of *Raw* and eventually brawled with each other but then fought off Cesaro and Sheamus and did a fist bump - something Ambrose had refused thus far - to a loud ovation. At SummerSlam on August 20, Ambrose and Rollins defeated Cesaro and Sheamus to win the Raw Tag Team Championship.

After weeks of feuding with The Miztourage and Cesaro and Sheamus (against whom they successfully defended their championship on September 24 at No Mercy and on the October 16 episode of *Raw*), both common enemies of Ambrose and Rollins as well as of former Shield teammate Roman Reigns, they officially reunited with Reigns on the October 9 episode of *Raw*, reforming The Shield. The Shield was scheduled to face the team of Braun Strowman, Cesaro, Kane, The Miz and Sheamus on October 22 at TLC in a 5-on-3 handicap Tables, Ladders and Chairs match, but health issues kept Reigns out of action. He was replaced by Kurt Angle. Ambrose, Rollins and Angle went on to win the match. Ambrose and Rollins were scheduled to face SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos in a non-title match at Survivor Series, but they lost the title back to Cesaro and Sheamus on the November 6 episode of *Raw* due to SmackDown's New Day distracting the champions, ending their reign at 78 days. This led to a match between The Shield and The New Day at Survivor Series on November 19, which The Shield won.

On the December 25 episode of *Raw*, Rollins teamed with Jason Jordan and defeated Cesaro and Sheamus to become the new Raw Tag Team Champions. Rollins helped Jordan defeat Cesaro on the January 1, 2018 episode of Raw. On the January 8 episoide of *Raw*, Rollins and Jordan teamed up with Roman Reigns to take on Bálor Club (Finn Bálor, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson) in a losing effort. The following week on *Raw*, Rollins faced Bálor in a rematch from SummerSlam and defeated him after interference from Jordan by performing a *Blackout*(previously known as the *Curb Stomp*), the first time the move had been used in nearly three years prior. At the Royal Rumble on January 28, Rollins entered at No. 18 in the Royal Rumble match, but he was eliminated by Reigns. Right after the Royal Rumble match, Rollins and Jordan lost the tag team titles to Cesaro and Sheamus, ending their reign at 34 days. Rollins and Jordan's tag team was dissolved on February 6 after Jordan had neck surgery.

#### **Intercontinental Champion (2018-present)**

On the February 12 episode of *Raw*, Rollins competed in a fatal five-way match against Bálor, Apollo Crews, Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy to determine the final entrant in the Elimination Chamber match to determine the number one contender for the Universal Championship at Elimination Chamber, but it ended with Rollins and Bálor simultaneously pinning Wyatt, resulting in both being added to the match. On the February 19 episode of *Raw*, Rollins participated in a seven-man gauntlet match against Roman Reigns, John Cena, Bálor, Elias, The Miz and Braun Strowman (Rollins defeated Reigns in the first fall and then Cena, before being eliminated by Elias), wrestling for one hour and five minutes, the longest performance in a match by any wrestler in *Raw* history. At Elimination Chamber on February 25, Rollins was the fifth man eliminated by Strowman. At WrestleMania 34 on April 8, Rollins became the first man to pin The Miz at WrestleMania as he defeated Miz and Balor in a triple threat match to win the Intercontinental Championship and become the twenty-ninth Triple Crown Champion and the eighteenth Grand Slam Champion in WWE history, respectively. On April 27, Rollins made his first successful title defense against Bálor, Miz and Samoa Joe in a ladder match at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Three days later on the April 30 episode of *Raw*, Rollins defeated Bálor to again retain the title. Six days later at Backlash, Rollins retained the championship against Miz. Following Backlash, Rollins would continue a string of successful title defenses as he defeated Mojo Rawley and Kevin Owens after issuing open challenges. At Money in the Bank, Rollins successfully defended the title against Elias. Rollins then lost the title to Dolph Ziggler the next night on *Raw* after a distraction by Ziggler's ally Drew McIntyre. Rollins had a rematch for the championship the following week, defeating Ziggler by disqualification after McIntyre interfered; however, Ziggler retained the title.

## Personal life

Lopez resides in Davenport, Iowa and is a fan of the Chicago Bears and St. Louis Cardinals. Lopez is an atheist.

In 2014, Lopez and his former tag team partner Marek Brave started The Black & The Brave Wrestling Academy, a professional wrestling school located in Moline, Illinois.

On February 9, 2015, a nude photo of former NXT wrestler Zahra Schreiber, reportedly Lopez's girlfriend, was posted to his social media accounts, the contents of which are automatically republished by WWE.com. Soon after, nude photos of Lopez were posted on the Twitter page of his then-fiancée, Leighla Schultz. In response, Lopez apologized for "private photographs that were distributed without [his] consent". On February 25, 2016, Lopez revealed that he had broken up with Schreiber, but he did not say what caused the split.

## Filmography

### **Film**

 2017
 2017

## Championships and accomplishments

* **Absolute Intense Wrestling**
	+ AIW Intense Championship (1 time)
* **All American Wrestling**
	+ AAW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
	+ AAW Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Marek Brave (1) and Jimmy Jacobs (1)
* **Florida Championship Wrestling**
	+ FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
	+ FCW 15 Championship (1 time)
	+ FCW Florida Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Richie Steamboat
	+ Jack Brisco Classic (2011)
	+ First FCW Grand Slam Champion
* **Full Impact Pro**
	+ FIP World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* **Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South**
	+ IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* **Mr. Chainsaw Productions Wrestling**
	+ MCPW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* **NWA Midwest**
	+ NWA Midwest Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Marek Brave
* **Pro Wrestling Guerrilla**
	+ PWG World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jimmy Jacobs
* ***Pro Wrestling Illustrated***
	+ Feud of the Year (2014) - vs. Dean Ambrose
	+ Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2015)
	+ Tag Team of the Year (2013) - with Roman Reigns
	+ Wrestler of the Year (2015)
	+ Ranked No. 1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the *PWI 500* in 2015
* **Ring of Honor**
	+ ROH World Championship (1 time)
	+ ROH World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Jimmy Jacobs
	+ ROH World Championship No. 1 Contender Tournament (2008)
	+ ROH World Tag Team Championship Tournament (2008) – with Jimmy Jacobs
	+ Survival of the Fittest (2009)
* **Wrestling Observer Newsletter**
	+ Tag Team of the Year (2013) - with Roman Reigns
* **WWE**
	+ WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
	+ WWE/RAW Tag Team Champion (3 times) - with Roman Reigns (1), Dean Ambrose (1), Jason Jordan (1)
	+ WWE United States Champion (1 time)
	+ WWE World Heavyweight Champion (2 times)
	+ Money in the Bank (2014)
	+ Twenty-ninth Triple Crown Champion
	+ Eleventh Grand Slam Champion (under current format; nineteenth overall)
	+ Slammy Awards (9 times)
		- Anti-Gravity Moment of the Year (2014) - Diving off the balcony at Payback
		- Breakout Star of the Year (2013) - with Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns as The Shield
		- Double Cross of the Year (2014) - Betraying The Shield and joining The Authority
		- Faction of the Year (2013, 2014) - with Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns as The Shield
		- Fan Participation (2014) - "You sold out."
		- Match of the Year (2014) - Team Cena vs. Team Authority at Survivor Series
		- Superstar of the Year (2015)
		- Trending Now (Hashtag) of the Year (2013) - #BelieveInTheShield
* **WWE NXT**
	+ NXT Champion (1 time)
	+ NXT Gold Rush Tournament (2012)