April 21, 2025 • 26 mins
Seth Rollins joins Daniel Cormier for a special edition of the DC Check-In LIVE FROM WRESTLEMANIA 41 in Las Vegas! DC and Seth talk about his historic Triple Threat match against Roman Reigns and CM Punk and how he plans on making wrestling history. Plus, Seth "freaking" Rollins BREAKS NEWS that he will be announcing the Chicago Bears NFL Draft pick! And don's miss Rollins talk about participating in his 12TH WRESTLEMANIA and why this feat is so special for him today. #Volume #Herd
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
It's WrestleMania season, and you know, the boy gets super
excited about anything WWE. So I'm checking in with some
of the wrestlers that they get ready for the show
of all shows. And today's episode is brought to you
by Total Wireless, the official wireless provider of UFC. They're
in your corner with unlimited five G data that will
not slow you down. I'm honestly liking to give that
(00:34):
keeps giving because my next guest, Hey, he's one of
my favorite wrestlers. I mean, I know I just said
that about the last guy, but he's one of my favorites.
So I had once I was in San Francisco and
I went to WrestleMania with my son. My son was
(00:55):
a massive Roman Range fan, loved him. So this this
guy was a bad guy. He cashes in the money
in the bank, he wins the World Championship.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
I go crazy.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
My son does not speak to me one word all
the way home because he was so mad that I
was celebrating this guy.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Yo. This guy came into.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
The WWE as a member of a group, and when
you have a guy like the Roman Reigns at times,
it's hard. But this dude, listen.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
To these stats.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
This has to be some of the crazy shit. Listen
to these stats. He is a two time world champion.
He's a five time Universal champion. He's a six time
tag team champion. I'm not done yet, do I'm still
not done. I'm still not done. This man has won
(01:53):
the Grand Slam two times because he's also an Intercontinental champion,
United States Champion. He is in his twelfth WrestleMania. Guys,
give it up for one of the greatest w W
two stars of all time.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Shut freaking road.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yes, don't gotta stink, but that mas stink.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
But that man, there we go. What a.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Nice we got the pyro and everything that's good. I
like that. I like that. What's up y'all? Are y'all
doing out there? Telling you're so true? I mean every time,
every time seth Rollins's not gonna let you down, you know,
in the style of department. You know that.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Come on now, good man, appreciate you.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
I remember I was telling the story about my son
at WrestleMania in San Francisco, Santa Clara when you won
and you were waving the belt and I was going
crazy from the stands.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Hey, how life is changed.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
I got the family tickets that were in the nosebleeds before.
Now I sit down on the floor. I'm in row two.
On Saturday, Nice, I went crazy. My kid would not
speak to me. But you know what you did. We
became friends. You signed the money in the bank for
me before that and it said Champ to Champ seth rawlins.
Since that day, man, I've been a massive supporter. So
(03:45):
proud of your success. Congratulations on everything. This career has
been amazing to watch my brother.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Oh, thank you so much. Man.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
Yeah, I really appreciate that it has been uh ten years.
This WrestleMania would be ten years the heist of the
Century in Santa Clara. So yeah, a lot has changed.
I am a father now. Yes, few world title reigns later.
I mean it's you know, you have a burgeoning career
(04:13):
and broadcasting and I mean it's it's just everything's changed.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
It feels like another lifetime ago. Really.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
But I'm also happy for all of your success and
everything you've done, and I appreciate all the love and
support over the years. So thank you very much. Man,
I appreciate again, from Champ to Champ, thank you.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
You are the man exeth. You are a father and
life has changed tremendously for you since those days back then.
How explain the people how the career changes when you
have that why? A lot of times as an athlete,
you always search for the why. What gets me up
in the morning, What makes me so committed to my craft?
(04:52):
When you can see that why? How much easier is
it for you, even as you've been in the game
for a while, to be the best in the world,
because you know you have your daughter and your wife
at all.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Yeah, you know, it's it's such an interesting thing for
me when I had my daughter, when I got married,
and it all kind of came together for me. It
really allowed me, and this might sound super strange, it
allowed me to take my foot off the gas pedal
of myself and I was able to coast and what
(05:24):
I always saw. I also have a wrestling school back home,
and what I always tell my students is fast isn't fast.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Smooth is fast.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
And so I've been able to like take my foot
off the gas a little bit and sort of given
myself an entire different perspective on what it means to
be a person in the world that's not just focused
on me. And what I think that's done is it's
opening up an entire new world for me in my
(05:55):
career because I have somebody else to live for. I
have another priority that's more important than myself, and so
when I jump back in the car and put my
foot on the gas, it's not just for me. It's
for her and for her future. But it also allows
me to do it in a way that is in
(06:17):
some ways more productive because I have less pressure. Like
it's not the most important thing in the world for
me that I'm the greatest you know what I mean.
What's the most important in the world for me is
that I'm the greatest dad, that I'm the best husband
I can be.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
And it's allowed me to kind of have.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
A different perspective on my career and what it means
to be successful.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
These people love you, man, and it's not just the song.
There are times when you are the bad guy. And
for me, if I'm being honest, man, my favorite seth
Rawlins is the bad guy.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
I love when you're I love when.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
You're sneaky, I love when you cheat, I love when
you're like, I love that guy. But the love that
you get from these fans, How great does that feel
for you every time you hit that curtain to feel
that type of just love and appreciation.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
Well, you know how it is.
Speaker 4 (07:11):
You know you've had so many fights in your career,
and you know there's an adrenaline rush every single time
you do it. But every time you do it, it's
just a little less and a little less and a
little less. But the thing that never changes, the thing
that is more and more is the kind of this
relationship of gratitude that you get with all of you guys.
(07:33):
So every time I come out through the curtain, doesn't
matter what it feels like behind the curtain. The second
I step out and I hear you guys singing the
song or channing the name or whatever it is, if
you're booing the life out of me, or you know
you're cheering for whatever. I say, that relationship to me,
I am more and more grateful for that the more
(07:57):
that I do it, And so I never get tired
of that. And for me as a fan, as someone
who is just like all of you, who idolized people
in my shoes growing up, I never ever get tired
of that. And it is one of my driving forces
that keeps me coming back time after time, match after match,
year after year.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
You know what I love.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
And I was speaking of Gunter just recently and he
said it's been twenty years since he started wrestling. You
guys know at a very young age that this is
the craft that you want to make your living in,
This is the career path that you choose. When you
get to twelve WrestleManias?
Speaker 3 (08:33):
Is it twelve? Now?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Twelve WrestleManias for seth rawlins? Can they still feel bigger
year in in year out, especially when you're in the
main event as you are on Saturday Night.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
I think because the business has gotten bigger and bigger,
especially in the past few years. You know, you look
back to when I came in and my first one
in twenty thirteen, and then you kind of go through
those years that fourteen to fifteen to sixteen to seventeen,
and the business wasn't it was. It was sort of stagnated, right,
(09:06):
But over the past few years we've seen this resurgence.
A lot of fans have started to come back to WWE,
A lot of new fans are coming to WWE, a.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Lot of new eyes. Now we're on Netflix, right.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
So We're such a massive brand right now, and there's
so many eyes on the company. So every single time
we go out there for WrestleMania, which as you know,
is our super Bowl, is our big event now, the
pressure amps up because you want to validate all the
old fans coming back, You want to validate all the
(09:38):
new fans coming and show.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Them this is it, man.
Speaker 4 (09:42):
This is the most beautiful form of sports entertainment in
the entire world, and we are the very best.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
And so it keeps pushing forward.
Speaker 4 (09:51):
You always find new challenges, and WrestleMania is the everest
of those challenges.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
Yeah, and when you have been in the game as
you've been, we've seen multiple seth rawlins internally, when you're
having to recreate yourself to keep it interesting because not
everybody can do that, Not everybody can be at the
main event year in and year with I've giving us
something different internally, when you're going through that process to
(10:20):
become seth freaking rawlins, or to become the architect and
all these other things, how do you go through that
process to make sure that is still fresh, because after
all these years, you're still as valuable and as valuable
to the product as you've.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Ever been, well, I get bored too. You know. We
don't with you, Yeah, I mean, but we do.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
You know you can feel it, you know, it's a
sense that you get after doing it for so many years.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
It's not necessarily.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
Boredom, but you get that vibe like, ah, man, I
want to freshen this up. I want to do something new.
I want to change my look, I want to change
my tone. I want to change the way I do
this or do that, the way I interact with certain characters,
the way I interact with the audience. And then you
sort of just start putting stuff out there, whatever you
think might stick, and you got to commit to it.
And then and then you see what the feedback is.
(11:09):
You know, when the Entrance theme is a great example.
That was something that I never really imagined that it
would get the response that it has, and the fact
that people sing it like crazy every single night, still
years later is something that I wouldn't have assumed when
I put it together. I just thought it was a
cool song and it kind of fit the vibe of
(11:29):
what I was going for. So it's just a matter
of I like the challenge of reinventing myself. I like
the challenge of seeing what the next evolution is going
to be and how I can take it to the
next level. And then I like to see what the
response is, to see what you lovely folks give back
to me. In this scenario, you know, this character kind
of started as as.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
A bad guy.
Speaker 4 (11:50):
Yeah, but at some point it just took on a
life of its own and that had nothing to do
with what I was doing. That was just you guys
responding to me. And so now we're in a different space.
And so it's a very unique process. It's a synergy
between a performer and his audience to see what you
guys want, and then what I can give to you.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
And so I love that process.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
I love that collaborative, artistic vibe to try to get
the best. It brings the best out of me, to
face what my weaknesses are and try to improve and
reinvent and to get better.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Every year that I'm in WWE.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
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Speaker 2 (14:09):
I was talking to someone the other day and they
said to me, did you ever take note of your
career when you were in it?
Speaker 3 (14:17):
And I said I never did.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
I was always on to the next thing. So I
never truly appreciated the champions, says, because on Monday I
was up to who's next? Who do I get to
fight the next time? Do you ever sit back, seth
and take.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
It all in?
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Because when you're standing back there waiting to come out
here and I go. He's been a two time world champion,
he's been a five time Universal champion, been a six
time TAED champion. You know, inter continental United States. Do
you ever sit back and go, this is much better
than I ever could have imagined it going, especially when
(14:52):
you're a person that follows the business as you have
your entire life.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
Now, you know what.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
So I'm with you in the sense that it's always
been very difficult for me to sit back and enjoy
my success because I'm the same way.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
I just go, what's the next challenge? Yeah, who's the
next fight? Like?
Speaker 4 (15:13):
How do we sell tickets to tomorrow? And because our
business is year round, like, we don't really have an
off season to reflect on WrestleMania the way say the
Philadelphia Eagles did when they win the Super Bowl. You know,
we don't just get to go off to Disneyland, you know. Yeah,
shout out to the Eagles. Hey, I'm a Bears fan, man,
I'm a Bears fan.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Oh no, you don't like the Bears. I love that.
Everybody like the Bears. Oh I'm from Iowa. They're right there.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
Don't hate on me, man. You look, it's loyalty, all right. Loyalty,
That's what it is. Loyalty to my family, to my people.
I'm a Bears man, through and through. It's in my blood.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
I saw something that you're gonna be doing some NFL stuff.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
Is that true? Yeah, maybe a little bit.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
I was able to co host Good Morning Football a
few weeks ago.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
I had a lot of fun doing that. Rich Eisen asked.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
Me to sub in on his show, coming up a
little bit of breaking news here, I'll give you a
little breaking news.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Dip. Where's Dip? Where's my manager? Can I say this?
I don't know I'm saying it.
Speaker 4 (16:16):
So I'm going to announce a draft pick for the
Chicago Bears at the upcoming draft in Green Bay here
at the end of April.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
Sorry, Dip if I screwed that up. So maybe you
do like the Bears. I do like the Bears.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
But to answer your question, because I think it's an
important one, and I think it's a lesson that I
tried to instill in a lot of my students, is
I was a very goal oriented person and I attribute
that mindset to a lot of my success, being able
to set goals and do everything in my power within
you know, I mean, sometimes without reason to reach that
(16:51):
goal like that was, it didn't matter how much pain
I was in, what personal relationships I had to sacrifice,
you know, what I had to do to get to
the end goal, I would do it. And I always
thought when I got to those goals, those measures of
success would would give me happiness and fulfillment and I
would reach all of them. And the WrestleMania cash in
ten years ago is a good one.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Right.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
I'm at the end of WrestleMania waiving a World Championship
as the Pyros going off in the background. In essence,
I've achieved my childhood dream and I expected happiness, I
expected fulfillment. And the next day I woke up on
the you know, going to the Today Show to talk
about this match, and I.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Didn't feel any of that.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
I kind of felt like an emptiness and it took
me years to fill that space. And what I realized
was it's really not about the goal. It really is
about the journey, and it really is about the people
and the relationships that you meet along the way and
how it changes you and how they change you as
(17:53):
a person, and those experiences and that love is what's
going to fill you up and allow you to be
a better person for your family. So yeah, man, it's
it's an interesting place to be as a competitor, you know,
where you have that mindset that gets you to a
certain point, but it doesn't give you the things you
expected to.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
It's the craziest thing.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Like when I think back on my career, the fights
in the championship belts are great. I miss sitting in
the gym with Caine and kuld Be and Luke and those.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Guys after practice.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Yeah, more than the belt because it is about the journey,
uh getting to that goal. It leaves you empty because
you really don't have anything to chase and that Yeah, look,
but that's what makes you great at what you do
in life.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
And I and I'm say, man, I missed the long
car rides from town to town with my friends like
Claudio or Mox or even Roman. I miss sitting in
the car with my wife going from town to town,
you know, just talking about the business and the camaraderie.
And like then I miss you know, like like either
shows like I love the live events, going to the
non televised event and seeing all you guys there, whether
(19:01):
it's in like you know, Paducah, Kentucky, or like Abilene
or you know, you know, like all these places where
you just get to interact with people on a personal
level and you get to see what that experience does
for them. Like, that's the stuff that I love, That's
the stuff.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
That gets me.
Speaker 4 (19:16):
Like, that's what I get off on, not not winning
world championships at WrestleMania, as crazy as that might sound.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
So we are at WrestleMania.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
We are here. We are at WrestleMania.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
We are at the granddaddy of them all. Yeah, the
show of shows. Yeah, and you guys close the night
on Saturday. You versus Roman versus see them Pump three? Babyface?
How does that work for all you guys to be
loved by the fans but made event against each other
and it's still feel important and we are all as
(19:50):
invested in this as we are in evil John Cena
versus Cody Rhoads.
Speaker 4 (19:58):
Well, my question to you is we all babyfaces? Are
you telling you guys are all good guy? You're telling
me Seeing Punk is a good guy.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
See, that's what I see.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Is that what we're talking about?
Speaker 4 (20:07):
You're telling me Roman Reigns is a good guy? No,
what are we talking about? So you're the only good
guy a bunch exactly? And the thing is, I bet
if you I bet if you ask Seeing Punk, he
would tell you he's the only good guy at the bunch,
And if you ask Roman Rains, he would tell you
he's the only good guy of the bunch. And I
think that right there is why you have a recipe
(20:29):
for greatness and why I think this triple threat match
is the most important triple threat match in the history
of WrestleMania, maybe the history of our industry.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
I believe it.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
I truly believe that it is now stuff. You guys,
when you come together, magic happens. Right in so many
cases you and Roman, are you in punk, magic happens.
Can you feel it when you're in there and you're
going to work and you're fighting. Can you feel that
you're painting the type of masterpiece that we are watching
(21:00):
because you are known for delivering those types of matches.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Well, you mentioned all of my sort of incarnations in
the past, right, and I'll mention a couple of those,
the architects, the visionarys.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
Right, the Messiah.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
But the point is not only can I feel when
it's happening, I can see it happening before it happens.
And I think that's the magic of who I am
and what I bring to the table and what I
see come Saturday is one of those masterpieces, one of
those game changing, pivotal moments that's going to shape the
(21:38):
future of this industry. You've got three top stars, babyfaces
if you want.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
I don't think we all are.
Speaker 4 (21:45):
Yeah, but you got Punk, you got Roman, and you
got Seth freaking Rollins. All of us have a different
vision for what the industry should look like, for what
the future should look like. But only one of us
is going to be able to dictate what that future is.
And I think you're gonna see something very very special
happen on Saturday.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
Now Sunday.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
We're talking about battling for souls and all this nonsense
between Sena and Cody, and they can have that if
they wanted, But to me, the real main event of
this weekend, no doubt, Night one Triple Threat, because the
future of the industry depends on it.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
That's what I'm talking about right there, Seth, you and
Roman have a long history, you and see him punk, heavy,
nasty history. How easy is it to get up to
fight those guys on Saturday night?
Speaker 4 (22:35):
You tell me we're gonna have nearly sixty thousand people
packed into Legients Stadium and I get to punch Roman
reigns in the face. I get to punch seeing punk
in the face in front of all those folks while
the lights are at their brightest.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
Sign me up, DC. That's like you're getting there with
John Jones. Man, Oh you know how much I have
John Jones slapped the Jesus out of him? All right?
You know what I mean it? You love it when
you look.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
You know, when you get in there fighting somebody you like,
there's a little bit of sympathy, there's a little bit
I don't want to hurt this guy.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
A fights a fight. We gotta do business. But when
you get in there with someone that you genuinely.
Speaker 4 (23:11):
Do not like, oh man, all that feeling goes away,
and that violence comes out, right, that violence, that aggression,
all that pinned up stuff that you have inside that
you can't do.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Anything about in the real world.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
Right, But you get inside that octagon in your case
or in our case, the squared circle. You get inside
that squared circle, and for however long it takes to
decide a winner, you get to rip these mother apart.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
There ain't no better feeling in the world. I'll tell
you what.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
So you got some stumps loaded, ah, man, if you
thought last Monday was gonna you wait till Saturday.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
It's gonna be a stomp city up in there.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Okay, before I let you go, Champ. Two years ago
we were in Los Angeles. I asked you a question
about Cody Rose. You gave me as real an answer
as I've ever got. So I asked you about CM punk.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Is this real? Like, do you guys really have that?
Speaker 2 (24:05):
And if you do, how do you work with him
in the way that you have been able to?
Speaker 4 (24:09):
Well, I'll tell you this, I am a professional through
and through and I've said it time and time again,
and I said it on Monday. I will always do
what is best for business, and I think that's what
separates me from seem Punk and from Roman Reigns. Cempunk
has proven proven no matter what he says to you guys,
(24:30):
he will always do what's best for seem Punk. And
if that includes taking his ball and going home and
crying when he has to, that's what he's gonna do,
all right.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
Roman Reigns make.
Speaker 4 (24:40):
No secret about the fact that he is the end
all be all of the industry, right and so he
is gonna do whatever it takes to make sure Roman
Reigns is at the very top. I, on the other hand,
and you can see by what I did last year
at WrestleMania.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
I had my knee hanging by a thread. Right. Yes,
my stepdad's at home.
Speaker 4 (24:59):
He's dying cancer, and I'm there to help Cody Rhodes
make sure that he beats Roman Reigns and takes a
WWE championship home. Because I will always do what is
best for you guys and for the future of this industry.
And if that means that I got to put my
pride aside and get in the ring with Seeing Punk,
(25:21):
then I will do that. But I will tell you this,
and it's as real as it gets. I do not
like seeing Punk. I do not respect seeing Punk. I
have a hard time being in the same room with
him and having conversations in his space.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
And I don't trust him, and I.
Speaker 4 (25:38):
Don't trust that he's back with all this good intention
and that it's going to last. And so time may
prove me wrong, and I am open to being wrong.
But right now I have no love loss with seeing Pung,
and I will take every opportunity I can to knock
him out.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
Man. That is why I love you. That is why
I love you. You are the man boy. Good luck
on Saturday night.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Guys, Let's give it up for one more time for
one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, giving up
for the visionary, the architect, Seth freaking Rawlins
The volume.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
It's WrestleMania season, and you know, the boy gets super
excited about anything WWE. So I'm checking in with some
of the wrestlers that they get ready for the show
of all shows. And today's episode is brought to you
by Total Wireless, the official wireless provider of UFC. They're
in your corner with unlimited five G data that will
not slow you down. I'm honestly liking to give that
(00:34):
keeps giving because my next guest, Hey, he's one of
my favorite wrestlers. I mean, I know I just said
that about the last guy, but he's one of my favorites.
So I had once I was in San Francisco and
I went to WrestleMania with my son. My son was
(00:55):
a massive Roman Range fan, loved him. So this this
guy was a bad guy. He cashes in the money
in the bank, he wins the World Championship.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
I go crazy.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
My son does not speak to me one word all
the way home because he was so mad that I
was celebrating this guy.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Yo. This guy came into.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
The WWE as a member of a group, and when
you have a guy like the Roman Reigns at times,
it's hard. But this dude, listen.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
To these stats.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
This has to be some of the crazy shit. Listen
to these stats. He is a two time world champion.
He's a five time Universal champion. He's a six time
tag team champion. I'm not done yet, do I'm still
not done. I'm still not done. This man has won
(01:53):
the Grand Slam two times because he's also an Intercontinental champion,
United States Champion. He is in his twelfth WrestleMania. Guys,
give it up for one of the greatest w W
two stars of all time.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Shut freaking road.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yes, don't gotta stink, but that mas stink.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
But that man, there we go. What a.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Nice we got the pyro and everything that's good. I
like that. I like that. What's up y'all? Are y'all
doing out there? Telling you're so true? I mean every time,
every time seth Rollins's not gonna let you down, you know,
in the style of department. You know that.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Come on now, good man, appreciate you.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
I remember I was telling the story about my son
at WrestleMania in San Francisco, Santa Clara when you won
and you were waving the belt and I was going
crazy from the stands.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Hey, how life is changed.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
I got the family tickets that were in the nosebleeds before.
Now I sit down on the floor. I'm in row two.
On Saturday, Nice, I went crazy. My kid would not
speak to me. But you know what you did. We
became friends. You signed the money in the bank for
me before that and it said Champ to Champ seth rawlins.
Since that day, man, I've been a massive supporter. So
(03:45):
proud of your success. Congratulations on everything. This career has
been amazing to watch my brother.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Oh, thank you so much. Man.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
Yeah, I really appreciate that it has been uh ten years.
This WrestleMania would be ten years the heist of the
Century in Santa Clara. So yeah, a lot has changed.
I am a father now. Yes, few world title reigns later.
I mean it's you know, you have a burgeoning career
(04:13):
and broadcasting and I mean it's it's just everything's changed.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
It feels like another lifetime ago. Really.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
But I'm also happy for all of your success and
everything you've done, and I appreciate all the love and
support over the years. So thank you very much. Man,
I appreciate again, from Champ to Champ, thank you.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
You are the man exeth. You are a father and
life has changed tremendously for you since those days back then.
How explain the people how the career changes when you
have that why? A lot of times as an athlete,
you always search for the why. What gets me up
in the morning, What makes me so committed to my craft?
(04:52):
When you can see that why? How much easier is
it for you, even as you've been in the game
for a while, to be the best in the world,
because you know you have your daughter and your wife
at all.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Yeah, you know, it's it's such an interesting thing for
me when I had my daughter, when I got married,
and it all kind of came together for me. It
really allowed me, and this might sound super strange, it
allowed me to take my foot off the gas pedal
of myself and I was able to coast and what
(05:24):
I always saw. I also have a wrestling school back home,
and what I always tell my students is fast isn't fast.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Smooth is fast.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
And so I've been able to like take my foot
off the gas a little bit and sort of given
myself an entire different perspective on what it means to
be a person in the world that's not just focused
on me. And what I think that's done is it's
opening up an entire new world for me in my
(05:55):
career because I have somebody else to live for. I
have another priority that's more important than myself, and so
when I jump back in the car and put my
foot on the gas, it's not just for me. It's
for her and for her future. But it also allows
me to do it in a way that is in
(06:17):
some ways more productive because I have less pressure. Like
it's not the most important thing in the world for
me that I'm the greatest you know what I mean.
What's the most important in the world for me is
that I'm the greatest dad, that I'm the best husband
I can be.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
And it's allowed me to kind of have.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
A different perspective on my career and what it means
to be successful.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
These people love you, man, and it's not just the song.
There are times when you are the bad guy. And
for me, if I'm being honest, man, my favorite seth
Rawlins is the bad guy.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
I love when you're I love when.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
You're sneaky, I love when you cheat, I love when
you're like, I love that guy. But the love that
you get from these fans, How great does that feel
for you every time you hit that curtain to feel
that type of just love and appreciation.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
Well, you know how it is.
Speaker 4 (07:11):
You know you've had so many fights in your career,
and you know there's an adrenaline rush every single time
you do it. But every time you do it, it's
just a little less and a little less and a
little less. But the thing that never changes, the thing
that is more and more is the kind of this
relationship of gratitude that you get with all of you guys.
(07:33):
So every time I come out through the curtain, doesn't
matter what it feels like behind the curtain. The second
I step out and I hear you guys singing the
song or channing the name or whatever it is, if
you're booing the life out of me, or you know
you're cheering for whatever. I say, that relationship to me,
I am more and more grateful for that the more
(07:57):
that I do it, And so I never get tired
of that. And for me as a fan, as someone
who is just like all of you, who idolized people
in my shoes growing up, I never ever get tired
of that. And it is one of my driving forces
that keeps me coming back time after time, match after match,
year after year.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
You know what I love.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
And I was speaking of Gunter just recently and he
said it's been twenty years since he started wrestling. You
guys know at a very young age that this is
the craft that you want to make your living in,
This is the career path that you choose. When you
get to twelve WrestleManias?
Speaker 3 (08:33):
Is it twelve? Now?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Twelve WrestleManias for seth rawlins? Can they still feel bigger
year in in year out, especially when you're in the
main event as you are on Saturday Night.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
I think because the business has gotten bigger and bigger,
especially in the past few years. You know, you look
back to when I came in and my first one
in twenty thirteen, and then you kind of go through
those years that fourteen to fifteen to sixteen to seventeen,
and the business wasn't it was. It was sort of stagnated, right,
(09:06):
But over the past few years we've seen this resurgence.
A lot of fans have started to come back to WWE,
A lot of new fans are coming to WWE, a.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Lot of new eyes. Now we're on Netflix, right.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
So We're such a massive brand right now, and there's
so many eyes on the company. So every single time
we go out there for WrestleMania, which as you know,
is our super Bowl, is our big event now, the
pressure amps up because you want to validate all the
old fans coming back, You want to validate all the
(09:38):
new fans coming and show.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Them this is it, man.
Speaker 4 (09:42):
This is the most beautiful form of sports entertainment in
the entire world, and we are the very best.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
And so it keeps pushing forward.
Speaker 4 (09:51):
You always find new challenges, and WrestleMania is the everest
of those challenges.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
Yeah, and when you have been in the game as
you've been, we've seen multiple seth rawlins internally, when you're
having to recreate yourself to keep it interesting because not
everybody can do that, Not everybody can be at the
main event year in and year with I've giving us
something different internally, when you're going through that process to
(10:20):
become seth freaking rawlins, or to become the architect and
all these other things, how do you go through that
process to make sure that is still fresh, because after
all these years, you're still as valuable and as valuable
to the product as you've.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Ever been, well, I get bored too. You know. We
don't with you, Yeah, I mean, but we do.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
You know you can feel it, you know, it's a
sense that you get after doing it for so many years.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
It's not necessarily.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
Boredom, but you get that vibe like, ah, man, I
want to freshen this up. I want to do something new.
I want to change my look, I want to change
my tone. I want to change the way I do
this or do that, the way I interact with certain characters,
the way I interact with the audience. And then you
sort of just start putting stuff out there, whatever you
think might stick, and you got to commit to it.
And then and then you see what the feedback is.
(11:09):
You know, when the Entrance theme is a great example.
That was something that I never really imagined that it
would get the response that it has, and the fact
that people sing it like crazy every single night, still
years later is something that I wouldn't have assumed when
I put it together. I just thought it was a
cool song and it kind of fit the vibe of
(11:29):
what I was going for. So it's just a matter
of I like the challenge of reinventing myself. I like
the challenge of seeing what the next evolution is going
to be and how I can take it to the
next level. And then I like to see what the
response is, to see what you lovely folks give back
to me. In this scenario, you know, this character kind
of started as as.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
A bad guy.
Speaker 4 (11:50):
Yeah, but at some point it just took on a
life of its own and that had nothing to do
with what I was doing. That was just you guys
responding to me. And so now we're in a different space.
And so it's a very unique process. It's a synergy
between a performer and his audience to see what you
guys want, and then what I can give to you.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
And so I love that process.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
I love that collaborative, artistic vibe to try to get
the best. It brings the best out of me, to
face what my weaknesses are and try to improve and
reinvent and to get better.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Every year that I'm in WWE.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
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Speaker 2 (14:09):
I was talking to someone the other day and they
said to me, did you ever take note of your
career when you were in it?
Speaker 3 (14:17):
And I said I never did.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
I was always on to the next thing. So I
never truly appreciated the champions, says, because on Monday I
was up to who's next? Who do I get to
fight the next time? Do you ever sit back, seth
and take.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
It all in?
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Because when you're standing back there waiting to come out
here and I go. He's been a two time world champion,
he's been a five time Universal champion, been a six
time TAED champion. You know, inter continental United States. Do
you ever sit back and go, this is much better
than I ever could have imagined it going, especially when
(14:52):
you're a person that follows the business as you have
your entire life.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
Now, you know what.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
So I'm with you in the sense that it's always
been very difficult for me to sit back and enjoy
my success because I'm the same way.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
I just go, what's the next challenge? Yeah, who's the
next fight? Like?
Speaker 4 (15:13):
How do we sell tickets to tomorrow? And because our
business is year round, like, we don't really have an
off season to reflect on WrestleMania the way say the
Philadelphia Eagles did when they win the Super Bowl. You know,
we don't just get to go off to Disneyland, you know. Yeah,
shout out to the Eagles. Hey, I'm a Bears fan, man,
I'm a Bears fan.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Oh no, you don't like the Bears. I love that.
Everybody like the Bears. Oh I'm from Iowa. They're right there.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
Don't hate on me, man. You look, it's loyalty, all right. Loyalty,
That's what it is. Loyalty to my family, to my people.
I'm a Bears man, through and through. It's in my blood.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
I saw something that you're gonna be doing some NFL stuff.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
Is that true? Yeah, maybe a little bit.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
I was able to co host Good Morning Football a
few weeks ago.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
I had a lot of fun doing that. Rich Eisen asked.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
Me to sub in on his show, coming up a
little bit of breaking news here, I'll give you a
little breaking news.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Dip. Where's Dip? Where's my manager? Can I say this?
I don't know I'm saying it.
Speaker 4 (16:16):
So I'm going to announce a draft pick for the
Chicago Bears at the upcoming draft in Green Bay here
at the end of April.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
Sorry, Dip if I screwed that up. So maybe you
do like the Bears. I do like the Bears.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
But to answer your question, because I think it's an
important one, and I think it's a lesson that I
tried to instill in a lot of my students, is
I was a very goal oriented person and I attribute
that mindset to a lot of my success, being able
to set goals and do everything in my power within
you know, I mean, sometimes without reason to reach that
(16:51):
goal like that was, it didn't matter how much pain
I was in, what personal relationships I had to sacrifice,
you know, what I had to do to get to
the end goal, I would do it. And I always
thought when I got to those goals, those measures of
success would would give me happiness and fulfillment and I
would reach all of them. And the WrestleMania cash in
ten years ago is a good one.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Right.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
I'm at the end of WrestleMania waiving a World Championship
as the Pyros going off in the background. In essence,
I've achieved my childhood dream and I expected happiness, I
expected fulfillment. And the next day I woke up on
the you know, going to the Today Show to talk
about this match, and I.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Didn't feel any of that.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
I kind of felt like an emptiness and it took
me years to fill that space. And what I realized
was it's really not about the goal. It really is
about the journey, and it really is about the people
and the relationships that you meet along the way and
how it changes you and how they change you as
(17:53):
a person, and those experiences and that love is what's
going to fill you up and allow you to be
a better person for your family. So yeah, man, it's
it's an interesting place to be as a competitor, you know,
where you have that mindset that gets you to a
certain point, but it doesn't give you the things you
expected to.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
It's the craziest thing.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Like when I think back on my career, the fights
in the championship belts are great. I miss sitting in
the gym with Caine and kuld Be and Luke and those.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Guys after practice.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Yeah, more than the belt because it is about the journey,
uh getting to that goal. It leaves you empty because
you really don't have anything to chase and that Yeah, look,
but that's what makes you great at what you do
in life.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
And I and I'm say, man, I missed the long
car rides from town to town with my friends like
Claudio or Mox or even Roman. I miss sitting in
the car with my wife going from town to town,
you know, just talking about the business and the camaraderie.
And like then I miss you know, like like either
shows like I love the live events, going to the
non televised event and seeing all you guys there, whether
(19:01):
it's in like you know, Paducah, Kentucky, or like Abilene
or you know, you know, like all these places where
you just get to interact with people on a personal
level and you get to see what that experience does
for them. Like, that's the stuff that I love, That's
the stuff.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
That gets me.
Speaker 4 (19:16):
Like, that's what I get off on, not not winning
world championships at WrestleMania, as crazy as that might sound.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
So we are at WrestleMania.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
We are here. We are at WrestleMania.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
We are at the granddaddy of them all. Yeah, the
show of shows. Yeah, and you guys close the night
on Saturday. You versus Roman versus see them Pump three? Babyface?
How does that work for all you guys to be
loved by the fans but made event against each other
and it's still feel important and we are all as
(19:50):
invested in this as we are in evil John Cena
versus Cody Rhoads.
Speaker 4 (19:58):
Well, my question to you is we all babyfaces? Are
you telling you guys are all good guy? You're telling
me Seeing Punk is a good guy.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
See, that's what I see.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Is that what we're talking about?
Speaker 4 (20:07):
You're telling me Roman Reigns is a good guy? No,
what are we talking about? So you're the only good
guy a bunch exactly? And the thing is, I bet
if you I bet if you ask Seeing Punk, he
would tell you he's the only good guy at the bunch,
And if you ask Roman Rains, he would tell you
he's the only good guy of the bunch. And I
think that right there is why you have a recipe
(20:29):
for greatness and why I think this triple threat match
is the most important triple threat match in the history
of WrestleMania, maybe the history of our industry.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
I believe it.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
I truly believe that it is now stuff. You guys,
when you come together, magic happens. Right in so many
cases you and Roman, are you in punk, magic happens.
Can you feel it when you're in there and you're
going to work and you're fighting. Can you feel that
you're painting the type of masterpiece that we are watching
(21:00):
because you are known for delivering those types of matches.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Well, you mentioned all of my sort of incarnations in
the past, right, and I'll mention a couple of those,
the architects, the visionarys.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
Right, the Messiah.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
But the point is not only can I feel when
it's happening, I can see it happening before it happens.
And I think that's the magic of who I am
and what I bring to the table and what I
see come Saturday is one of those masterpieces, one of
those game changing, pivotal moments that's going to shape the
(21:38):
future of this industry. You've got three top stars, babyfaces
if you want.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
I don't think we all are.
Speaker 4 (21:45):
Yeah, but you got Punk, you got Roman, and you
got Seth freaking Rollins. All of us have a different
vision for what the industry should look like, for what
the future should look like. But only one of us
is going to be able to dictate what that future is.
And I think you're gonna see something very very special
happen on Saturday.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
Now Sunday.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
We're talking about battling for souls and all this nonsense
between Sena and Cody, and they can have that if
they wanted, But to me, the real main event of
this weekend, no doubt, Night one Triple Threat, because the
future of the industry depends on it.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
That's what I'm talking about right there, Seth, you and
Roman have a long history, you and see him punk, heavy,
nasty history. How easy is it to get up to
fight those guys on Saturday night?
Speaker 4 (22:35):
You tell me we're gonna have nearly sixty thousand people
packed into Legients Stadium and I get to punch Roman
reigns in the face. I get to punch seeing punk
in the face in front of all those folks while
the lights are at their brightest.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
Sign me up, DC. That's like you're getting there with
John Jones. Man, Oh you know how much I have
John Jones slapped the Jesus out of him? All right?
You know what I mean it? You love it when
you look.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
You know, when you get in there fighting somebody you like,
there's a little bit of sympathy, there's a little bit
I don't want to hurt this guy.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
A fights a fight. We gotta do business. But when
you get in there with someone that you genuinely.
Speaker 4 (23:11):
Do not like, oh man, all that feeling goes away,
and that violence comes out, right, that violence, that aggression,
all that pinned up stuff that you have inside that
you can't do.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Anything about in the real world.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
Right, But you get inside that octagon in your case
or in our case, the squared circle. You get inside
that squared circle, and for however long it takes to
decide a winner, you get to rip these mother apart.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
There ain't no better feeling in the world. I'll tell
you what.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
So you got some stumps loaded, ah, man, if you
thought last Monday was gonna you wait till Saturday.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
It's gonna be a stomp city up in there.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Okay, before I let you go, Champ. Two years ago
we were in Los Angeles. I asked you a question
about Cody Rose. You gave me as real an answer
as I've ever got. So I asked you about CM punk.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Is this real? Like, do you guys really have that?
Speaker 2 (24:05):
And if you do, how do you work with him
in the way that you have been able to?
Speaker 4 (24:09):
Well, I'll tell you this, I am a professional through
and through and I've said it time and time again,
and I said it on Monday. I will always do
what is best for business, and I think that's what
separates me from seem Punk and from Roman Reigns. Cempunk
has proven proven no matter what he says to you guys,
(24:30):
he will always do what's best for seem Punk. And
if that includes taking his ball and going home and
crying when he has to, that's what he's gonna do,
all right.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
Roman Reigns make.
Speaker 4 (24:40):
No secret about the fact that he is the end
all be all of the industry, right and so he
is gonna do whatever it takes to make sure Roman
Reigns is at the very top. I, on the other hand,
and you can see by what I did last year
at WrestleMania.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
I had my knee hanging by a thread. Right. Yes,
my stepdad's at home.
Speaker 4 (24:59):
He's dying cancer, and I'm there to help Cody Rhodes
make sure that he beats Roman Reigns and takes a
WWE championship home. Because I will always do what is
best for you guys and for the future of this industry.
And if that means that I got to put my
pride aside and get in the ring with Seeing Punk,
(25:21):
then I will do that. But I will tell you this,
and it's as real as it gets. I do not
like seeing Punk. I do not respect seeing Punk. I
have a hard time being in the same room with
him and having conversations in his space.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
And I don't trust him, and I.
Speaker 4 (25:38):
Don't trust that he's back with all this good intention
and that it's going to last. And so time may
prove me wrong, and I am open to being wrong.
But right now I have no love loss with seeing Pung,
and I will take every opportunity I can to knock
him out.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
Man. That is why I love you. That is why
I love you. You are the man boy. Good luck
on Saturday night.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Guys, Let's give it up for one more time for
one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, giving up
for the visionary, the architect, Seth freaking Rawlins
Host
Daniel Cormier
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