Karl Anderson says Seth Rollins once got a planned WWE loss changed after taking the issue directly to Vince McMahon. The Good Brothers were apparently supposed to pin Rollins while he was World Heavyweight Champion, but by the time Rollins returned from speaking with Vince, that finish was gone.
Speaking on the latest episode of Talk’n Shop, Anderson and Luke Gallows were discussing one of the biggest differences they noticed between working in WWE and promotions such as NJPW. Anderson said that in Japan, the booker’s decision was generally the decision, since everyone understood they were performing a show with predetermined winners and losers.
“And also, you know, in Japan, at least with New Japan Pro Wrestling, and we’ve seen it with Pro Wrestling NOAH again, why it shocked me so much when we went to WWE — the direction from the booker, because this is all a work, right? And who writes the f****** show tells you who’s going to win. It shouldn’t be a f******— it wasn’t like the time when we were supposed to pin Seth Rollins.”
Gallows jumped in with a comparison to an actor objecting to something written into a movie. That opened the door for Anderson to explain exactly what he remembered happening with Rollins.
“It’s like if Tom Cruise doesn’t want to get hurt in the movie.”
Before getting into the story, Anderson made sure there was no confusion about his relationship with Rollins. Both he and Gallows stressed that they’re friends with the former World Heavyweight Champion and weren’t trying to bury him.
“But think about this, though. I’ll never forget this, okay? Seth Rollins and us, great friends. This isn’t a burial.”
According to Anderson, WWE’s original direction was pretty straightforward: The Good Brothers were supposed to pin Rollins despite him being World Heavyweight Champion at the time. Even Anderson and Gallows were somewhat surprised by the call, but they were prepared to go along with it.
“The direction was Good Brothers pin Rollins. He was the World Heavyweight Champion. Even we were like, ‘All right, whatever.’ And Rollins goes, ‘Really?’ And then he talked to the guy a little bit. He goes, ‘I don’t know. Let me just go talk to Vince. Maybe they’ll figure it out.’”
That’s apparently when everything changed. Anderson claimed Rollins went to speak with Vince McMahon and returned with a different finish, one that instead had Rollins pinning Anderson before The Good Brothers attacked him afterwards.
“He comes back, and it changed where Rollins rolled me up, and then we beat him down after.”
Anderson isn’t pretending that one finish would have completely changed The Good Brothers’ WWE careers. Still, he admitted that pinning the reigning World Heavyweight Champion certainly could have helped them at the time.
“It doesn’t matter. It does. And again, in the grand scheme of things, no one even remembers what I’m even talking about now. If we would’ve pinned the World Heavyweight Champion, maybe that would’ve helped us. I don’t know, you know?”
What really bothered Anderson wasn’t simply that the finish changed. He couldn’t understand how something could make its way through WWE’s entire creative process and lengthy production meetings, only to get tossed aside after one conversation shortly before the show.
“But again, this is where it takes me to the WWE thing that threw me off. How did the whole — this is where the writers confuse me. How does it go from Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday to Monday, all seven days, and then a three-hour fucking production meeting all the way until two hours before the show starts?”
For Anderson, that experience showed just how quickly WWE’s plans could change regardless of how long something had been discussed beforehand. He still doesn’t understand how all that preparation could suddenly mean nothing once someone went directly to the person with the final say.
“How does it get written into the show that this was what happens? Then, after one talk, okay, it changes. But explain that. I don’t understand that, though.”
Anderson and Gallows clearly aren’t holding a grudge against Rollins over what happened, but Anderson hasn’t forgotten the lesson it taught him about WWE’s creative process. No matter how firmly something appeared to be written into the show, one conversation with Vince McMahon could apparently change everything.
What do you think about Seth Rollins getting the planned finish changed after speaking with Vince McMahon? Let us know in the comments below
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
