WWE Superstar Seth Rollins Previews His SummerSlam Showdown vs Roman Reigns

Seth Rollins took the sunglasses off, and then he went after Roman Reigns.

The setup was a bit that Chris ran the day before, a powerless rankings segment listing the summer stories he is already sick of. One item made the list: enough acknowledging Roman Reigns.

"It's been how many years and this guy is still looking for acknowledgement?" Chris said. "Are you an only child begging for acceptance and love?"

Rollins, sitting in the host chair, loved every word of it.

"That's my guy," he said. "He gets it, guys."

Then he turned on the rest of the room, and specifically on O'Shea Jackson Jr., who had scoffed at the whole premise from that same seat and has been identified as a Roman guy. Rollins was not letting that slide, because he had just seen Jackson in person.

"He looked at me, he smiled, gave me a big old hug," Rollins said. "He was backstage at one of our shows this past weekend. He was right there at the main event. It was a terrible night for me, but at the end of the day, he was there and he was all like glad-handing me like we were best friends. And then he comes out here and he does something like that."

The tribal chief material got a full eye roll. Head of the table, the rings, the whole catalog.

"We get it. We've acknowledged you plenty," Rollins said. "Time to move on."

All of which is prologue for what happens in a week at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, where SummerSlam runs two nights, August 1 and August 2, with Reigns versus Rollins for the world heavyweight championship in the main event.

For Rollins, the stakes are personal in a specific way. He had to relinquish that title in October when he hurt his shoulder, which means this is his first crack at getting back a belt he never actually lost. It currently sits on the shoulder of the man he has more history with than anyone.

"It's going to be a special night," Rollins said.

He was quick to point out he is not the only thing on the card. CM Punk defends the WWE championship against Cody Rhodes, which Rollins expects to be a barn burner. There is a Hell in a Cell match. There is an interim women's world championship ladder match where only Tiffany Stratton and Jade Cargill are confirmed and three spots remain open. On Raw, Io Shirai challenges Liv Morgan.

The best moment came when TJ made the accusation that has been sitting there the whole time. Is Rollins not the person who caused all of this?

Rollins pushed back for exactly one second before conceding.

"You're right. You're right," he said. "I created the trajectory that we're all on right now. I did that way back in 2014 when I broke up The Shield by putting a chair in Roman's back."

That chair shot is now the subject of a sit-down interview Rollins taped this past week on Raw with WWE broadcaster Jackie Redmond. It airs on the SummerSlam pre-show and will likely land on YouTube during the week.

"All the information you ever wanted about that chair shot and what it meant and the sort of butterfly effect that it has had over the past decade will be available in that interview," Rollins said. "I think it's worth your time if you're interested in the history and what this match really means to me, to Roman, and to this industry."