Listen up, New Jersey weather: WWE Superstar Seth Rollins wants “something whacky to go down” at WrestleMania 35 on Sunday when faces Brock Lesnar outdoors in the Garden State’s elements.
“I hope it snows, brother,” he told TheWrap just inside the 10-day forecast for this weekend’s MetLife stadium event.
“Can you just imagine the entrance if it’s snowing around you? Like, how cool would that be?” he said. “I just hope it gets wild, you know?”
“As long as it’s not ice cold, I think we’ll be alright,” Rollins continued. “Even then, to hell with it — you’re only own there for a half-hour, let’s go.”
Yes, that would make for a hell of an entrance, though the extended forecast doesn’t look like it will comply. By the time Rollins and his men’s main-event opponent, WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, hit the ramp, it’ll surely be a bit chilly — but there is very little chance of precipitation.
Rollins won’t rely on Mother Nature to provide him with a special moment. Expect cool custom ring gear and something badass with the ramp when Seth’s chance comes.
“That was the one thing I fell in love with about wrestling was the bigness of it — and WrestleMania especially,” he said of maximizing that moment in the spotlight. “It just always made it feel more special. It made the match feel more special, it made the show feel bigger.”
As a fan, Rollins’ favorite WrestleMania entrances mostly belong to Rey Mysterio and the legendary luchador’s annual costumes, but he also gave a shoutout to Shawn Michaels zip-lining to the ring at WrestleMania XII in Anaheim, California.
“I always wanted to do stuff like that, so whenever I got to the point where [WWE] said, ‘Hey, would you like to do a cool entrance?’ I was like, ‘Yes, of course I would, absolutely. Here are all of my ideas, what can we do?’” he told us, adding, “It’s cool to be in a position now where I’m one of the guys that they ask to have a cool entrance or, ‘What’s on your mind this year?’”
And a WrestleMania entrance is something that is truly on Rollins’ mind all year.
“I think about it like almost right after [the previous WrestleMania],” he said. “After last year, I’m like ‘oh, well, shoot man, what am I gonna do next year?’ So I kind of start brainstorming and percolating and stuff.”
“After Survivor Series, you start to realize [Royal Rumble’s] coming up in a couple of months,” Rollins added. “‘OK, we can’t just be spit-balling ideas anymore. Let’s put something down on paper and see what we can figure out.”
Below is what he’s come up with for the past two ‘Manias.
Top those.
Of course, after one enters the arena, there is still much more show to put on. Rollins knows matches against the WWE part-timer Lesnar — who has a reputation for being difficult to work with during the planning stages — have a big-fight feel, and that tandem performance comes with a little extra scrutiny than your average contest.
No worries: Rollins is widely considered one of the best and most consistent wrestlers in WWE, thus his placement in this position and numerous past titles.
“Nobody puts more pressure on themselves than I do,” Rollins said. “There’s nobody out there — no blog, no sportswriter, no fan, no group of fans — nobody that’s gonna put more pressure on me than me to have a great match.”
“Luckily… I’ve been very fortunate to have a lot of great matches. And so I think the expectation going in is very high — I know it is for myself and I think from the audience — but that’s when I do my best work, man,” he continued. “I’m really looking forward to the contrasting styles between myself and Lesnar, the size difference.”
So are we, Seth. So are we.
See Rollins try to “Burn It Down” and take the WWE Universal Championship off of Lesnar at Sunday’s WrestleMania 35, which kicks off at 7/6c on WWE Network.