Seth Rollins Says Modern WWE Heels Can’t Handle Being Villains

Seth Rollins didn’t hold back when talking about how hard it is to be a heel in modern pro wrestling.

During his appearance on Games with Names, the WWE superstar opened up about the evolving nature of bad guys in the business—and why most of today’s wrestlers struggle to truly play the villain. Rollins explained that in past eras, heels knew their role and embraced it. But today’s talent? Not so much.

“Back in the day, the old guys didn’t care. They all knew they were rotten so they didn’t care. Nowadays, I think everybody sees themselves in a way that they’ve got no flaws… they don’t want to admit that they’ve got these types of tendencies inside of them.”

He said that this lack of self-awareness makes it hard for wrestlers to flip the switch when the red light comes on. Rollins laid out what it really takes to get it right:

“It’s hard for them to then become that character when it’s time. You have to take an honest look at who you are. Understand that we’ve all got good and bad inside of us and you have to be unafraid to find those rotten parts of you and figure out how to manifest them into a character live on screen.”

But he also admitted that it’s never been easier to get fans to react—because everyone online is looking for something to hate.

“It’s much easier in 2025 to be a bad guy than it is to be a good guy… everybody wants to hate everything. No one wants to get online and talk about how much they love something… they just want to get online and [complain] about anything they can find. So it’s so easy to troll people, to mess with people.”

According to Rollins, that environment has created a strange dynamic where heels can screw up and still benefit from it.

“You can do no wrong as a bad guy. You can mess up your promos. You can screw up in the ring. Doesn’t matter. They’ll boo you for it—and then you’re gold.”

Rollins’ comments shine a light on the new challenges wrestlers face when trying to draw real heat. In a world where fans know it’s all a performance, being the villain might just be the hardest role in wrestling today.

Do you agree with Seth Rollins’ take on modern heels in wrestling? Is it still possible to get real heat from fans—or is that era long gone? Drop your thoughts in the comments.

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