WWE star Seth Freakin' Rollins appeared on Monday Night Raw last night, but rather than his typical live appearance, it was in the form of pre-taped interviews with commentator Corey Graves that reflected on his career. Turns out the reason he wasn’t at the Greensboro Coliseum in North Carolina was because he was in Atlanta on the set of Captain America: New World Order. Apparently he’s been cast in the upcoming Marvel movie, and not surprisingly, the role is already setting off rumors about what it could mean for Rollins’ chances at Night Of Champions in less than two weeks.
Let’s talk about the movie role first. The MCU casting has not been officially confirmed by Kevin Feige or anyone else over at Marvel, but photos and videos of the WWE star in costume on set started rolling around Twitter. Some are claiming, based on his look, that he’s playing a member of The Serpent Society, though that has not been confirmed either. Regardless, he’s very clearly on the set and in full costume contributing in a seemingly key way.
Obviously, there’s a long history of WWE stars taking roles in major Hollywood movies. From Andre The Giant to The Rock to Dave Bautista to John Cena, WWE’s roster has proved to be fertile casting ground in the past and likely will continue to be in the future. In fact, Damian Priest auditioned for Black Panther 2, and there were long rumors of Rollins’ superstar wife Becky Lynch cameoing in The Eternals. That never happened, but given Rollins’ charisma and physicality, it’s not surprising he’d find a space in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Given his role wasn’t announced prior to production, it’s likely Seth Rollins doesn’t have a huge role in Captain America 4. Whether that means a few days on set or a week or two is unclear, but that lack of information hasn’t stopped WWE fans from already speculating on what it could mean for his wrestling plans. The Visionary is currently slated to fight AJ Styles in the finals of the tournament to crown a new Heavyweight Championship at Night Of Champions. Given how popular he has become over the last six months, many assumed he would win the newly created belt, but rumors are claiming WWE may be squeamish about giving him the gold given he’s looking toward Hollywood.
WKRD Wrestling is claiming there is “hesitancy” backstage about putting the belt on him, at least if “these roles continue.” Not surprisingly, many wrestling fans are already taking the outlet’s word and running with it. Some believe WWE will put the title on AJ Styles as a precaution and maybe circle back around to Rollins later if it becomes clear he’s not still focused on movie roles.
Now, I’m not in the WWE locker room, and I’m not working with Triple H and Bruce Prichard. So, I can’t speak to what’s going through WWE’s head, but given the company’s track record, as well as what we’ve seen lately, I have a hard time believing there’s “hesitancy” over what looks like a relatively small role. Cena, Bautista, The Rock and more were put in major high profile spots while they juggled movie careers, and if Rollins were to land a big role in the future, it would assumedly come with enough notice for him to drop the belt on his way out the door. Plus, it’s not exactly like one of WWE’s top guys appearing in blockbuster movies is bad for business.
That doesn’t mean Seth Rollins is going to win, of course. He seems like the people’s choice right now, given fans often sing his song for minutes at a time, but AJ Styles is a historically great wrestler who was out with an injury for awhile. There are a lot of great stories WWE could tell if he wins, particularly with Edge. So, there’s a very realistic chance Seth Rollins could lose, but if he does, it’s probably not going to have anything to do with this movie role.
Captain America 4 is currently scheduled to be released on May 3rd, 2024, and we have a ton of information about it. There’s no word on how much Seth Rollins we might see in it, but I’m very eager and excited to find out.
