Seth Rollins has been a part of the pro wrestling business for over 20 years, and his passion for the craft has never been in question. But according to the former World Heavyweight Champion, not everyone in today’s WWE locker room shares that same fire.
Appearing on Something’s Burning with Bert Kreischer, The Visionary contrasted the current WWE landscape with the grueling schedule of past eras, and suggested that the lighter workload has allowed people without true passion to slip through the cracks.
“It’s a paycheck, right? It’s a job, so there’s plenty of people that will do the job if they’re getting paid to do it. Some people turn to it and they learn to love it after. It becomes like a love, and I don’t think anybody stays in it for a career if they don’t love it because it will wipe you out.
The schedule is way lighter than it used to be. We still travel every week, but we’re not doing nearly as many shows like back in the day when we were doing 200 matches a year. That would weed people out very quickly if they didn’t love it. They would just get exhausted, burn out so fast they’d quit.
But yeah, there’s plenty of people I would say now on the main roster that don’t really have a love for it necessarily.”
WWE operated for decades by signing proven wrestlers from the independent scene. But since 2021, the company has also started recruiting athletes and prospects from other sports, many of whom never watched pro wrestling until signing with WWE.
Becky Lynch Reveals One WWE Star Used To Blacklist Female Talent Who Didn’t Sleep With Him
During this same episode, Becky Lynch opened up about one of the harshest realities she faced when first entering WWE – a behind-the-scenes warning that female talent needed to “stay away from the boys” to protect their careers.
Lynch explained that when she first arrived in WWE’s system as an NXT talent in 2014, new women were immediately advised to keep their distance from certain male wrestlers because the consequences could be severe.
“At the time it was also ‘stay away from the boys. Don’t go near the boys,’” Lynch said.
She revealed that this wasn’t just general advice – she was specifically warned about one well-known male star on the main roster. Without naming him, she described the situation:
“There was a guy on the main roster who was like… he’ll try to sleep with you. If he sleeps with you, then he’ll blacklist you.”
The warning came with a disturbing twist. Lynch was told that if she didn’t sleep with the individual, the outcome could still be damaging: “And then if he tries to sleep with you and you don’t sleep with him, he’ll also blacklist you.”
Lynch said that because of the power imbalance and the environment at the time, women had to walk an extremely careful line backstage. “So there was this like line that you had to walk, this tightrope.”
The consequences for women were clear and far more severe than for men. “If you get into a relationship and things go south, they’re not going to fire the guy. They’re always going to fire the girl.”
This backstage culture created fear, uncertainty, and a constant need to manage perceptions. Lynch recalled thinking strategically about even casual interactions, especially once some men started asking for her number.
“At one point he got my number and I remember being like… like how do you walk this line,” she said, trailing off as she described the anxiety of navigating the situation.
While WWE’s culture has evolved dramatically since then, Lynch’s story is a reminder of how difficult the environment once was for women trying to build a career in the industry.
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