Seth Rollins has garnered media attention once more with his statements. In an interview with BT Sport’s Ariel Helwani, the former WWE and Universal Champion shared his opinions on a variety of subjects. His views on the significance of wins and defeats in wrestling garnered just as much discussion as his comments on his position within the organisation and how Roman Reigns’ ascent has impacted it.
“Winning and losing aren’t important; they are, but not nearly as much. What counts in pro wrestling is how the stories affect viewers’ emotions. To be honest, Rollins isn’t entirely off base when it comes to matching results, and his point about “making people feel something” is undoubtedly true. However…
We comprehend it on the simplest of levels. The person in charge of a promotion’s creative director decides who wins and losses in professional wrestling, which is a scripted sport. In that regard, match outcomes in professional wrestling obviously don’t carry the same significance that, for example, a win or a loss does in the NFL or the NBA.
Despite the fact that everyone knows how the match will turn out, what makes professional wrestling so amazing is the performers’ ability to make the audience care whether they win or lose.
At the most fundamental level, victories and defeats give the wrestlers legitimacy and, depending on how frequently specific wrestlers win or lose, place each outcome in its correct context. The spectators’ interest in one wrestler winning and one losing plays a significant role in some of the best wrestling tales.
There are also many contemporary examples. Would Maxwell Jacob Friedman’s current “I’m leaving AEW and taking the world title with me” narrative still hold true if he had suffered more defeats than victories? Would Jon Moxley’s decision to put MJF over mean nearly as much if he spent 2022 losing to everyone with a pulse? If victories and defeats aren’t important, then why hasn’t Roman Reigns, the top wrestler in the WWE, dropped a match in almost two years?
You could argue that Rollins, who has maintained his popularity with the fans despite losing numerous significant pay-per-view matches, falls into that category. This likely explains why he has the outlook he does. Yes, some wrestlers ultimately really get over that they are becoming immune to the effects of wins and losses.
