The Story of… Seth Rollins vs Sting (2015)

Welcome back to the Story of… Series, where we look at a running series of uploads on the WWE Vault YouTube channel that typically covers the key details of major feuds and character evolution. In our previous columns, I have looked at the debut of The Fiend in 2019, the John Cena vs Nexus feud from 2010, and The Giant’s arrival in 1995. Today’s subject isn’t what I would call a MAJOR feud (just an idea of the month concept), but more of an odd one with head-scratching creative direction. Buckle in and get ready for when The Architect defended two titles in one night; this is The Story of Seth Rollins vs Sting (and John Cena) from 2015.

Before we start our compilation, how did we get to where we are in the timeline?

After being the dominant force of WWE programming for nearly a decade, John Cena faded from the World Title picture following the destruction at the hands of Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam 2014 and subsequent failures in regaining the gold (a DQ finish at Night of Champions and Brock winning a Triple Threat, also involving Seth Rollins, at the Royal Rumble). Cena would go on to win the United States Championship at WrestleMania 31 from the undefeated Bulgarian Brute, Rusev, kicking off the Open Challenge that we all know and love so much, especially when they trot it out in 2026 as a lame booking crutch. You can’t keep Cena down forever, and soon got caught up in the big title picture again, chasing title #16, which would tie him with Ric Flair’s acknowledged record.

Seth Rollins is our latest corporate puppet, having turned his back on his Shield brothers Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose following multiple PLE victories over Evolution at Extreme Rules and Payback 2014. Rollins would become Mr. Money in the Bank that Summer, and be a nuisance, culminating with the Heist of the Century, cashing in the briefcase during the Main Event of WrestleMania 31, taking advantage of the fatigued Champion, Brock Lesnar, and pinning scheduled challenger and Royal Rumble Winner, Roman Reigns. In the months that followed, we would be treated to some extra-goofy finishes to protect him from losing, like a Dusty Finish losing to Ambrose at Elimination Chamber (pin-fall overturned to a DQ win), a non-finish following complete annihilation from Lesnar at Battleground (Taker returns), and plenty of Authority shenanigans.

After months of Rollins defending against ousted Authority member Randy Orton and former buddy Dean Ambrose, it was time to go back to Cena and Rollins, Champion vs Champion, WINNER TAKES ALL. Oh, and in a thrown-together match on Raw, Rollins busted the f*ck out of Cena’s nose, kicking off a string of unfortunate injuries sustained at the hands of Rollins. When the two finally met at SummerSlam, it was the next chapter in Rollins f*ck-finishes, as SummerSlam Celebrity Guest Host(™) Jon Stewart interfered and cost Cena the match, saying he was a big Ric Flair fan and couldn’t stand the idea of Cena tying the record of fake play-fighting in underpants.

Which brings us to the start of our compilation, the August 24th, 2016 episode of Monday Night Raw, the night after SummerSlam, and a CHAMPIONSHIP CELEBRATION as Seth Rollins reigns as the World Heavyweight AND United States Champion, and part of that celebration means the unveiling of a statue in his honor, BUT WAIT, IT’S STIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING… and his make-up is peeling from being hidden in that box for so long! A quick brawl ensues, and Sting is the last man standing, holding up the Championship as Rollins, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon retreat. On the following edition of Smackdown (August 27th), Rollins accuses Sting of being jealous because he accomplished more in his career than Sting ever did “toiling away in the minor leagues”, and promises to finish Sting’s career at Night of Champions. That’s right; Sting gets to enter the realm of immortality and challenge for the WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE. Jesus, who is writing these promos?

Sting addresses the situation the following week on Raw (August 31st), suggesting that Rollins is a lesser-than compared to Triple H, who undeservingly wants his name up there with the likes of Bruno Sammartino, Andre the Giant, and… THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR? Oh yeah, it’s 2015, we’re painting Warrior as a hero again. The last chapter of his career will be written when he defeats Seth for the Championship, because Seth is a little boy living in his world, and he’s in for a heck of a ride! The stirring of the pot creates some Authority infighting, as Rollins takes offense to the lack of respect, while Stephanie doesn’t appreciate Seth holding a higher opinion of himself than he does for her husband.

The fun continues later in the night, as John Cena makes his presence known, warning Rollins that he could be expendable just like Randy Orton and Batista, and an idiot for thinking he and the Authority are friends. If they were truly his friend, then they wouldn’t allow what he’s about to say; he’s cashing in his guaranteed rematch for the United States at Night of Champions, the same night that Sting will challenge him for the WWE World Heavyweight Title! If Cena breaking the news wasn’t enough, then Stephanie confirms it.

Instead of being pampered with apologies and reassurance to balance the workload, Rollins is put into TWO matches on the September 7th episode of Raw; a one-on-one battle with Intercontinental Champion Ryback (non-title, of course), and then he will team with Tag Champs the New Day to take on John Cena and the Primetime Players. Thanks to a distraction by Sting (who has revealed he is in possession of the Rollins statue), Rollins is pinned by Ryback via flash cradle, and later in the show, John Cena picks up the win for his squad by pinning Kofi Kingston (at least Seth is spared doing another job). As for the statue, it gets sent into the back of a garbage truck and destroyed. Don’t feel too bad, Rollins gets his win back from Ryback on Smackdown in a ludicrously over-booked Lumberjack Match.

On the go-home episode of Raw (September 14th), we’re in for a real treat, as The Icon, the Vigilante, The Face of the Minor Leagues Sting will compete for the first time EVER on Monday Night Raw (YAY!)! He’s wrestling the Big Show (BOO!). Of all the possible matches you could run, you take something we saw in WCW almost 20 years earlier, and as a tribute to WCW, the match is nothing special and ends with Rollins casually running in, leading to an impromptu tag match with Sting teaming with Cena against Rollins and Big Show, with Rollins doing a tap-out job to Sting’s Scorpion Death Lock!

(The conclusion of the compilation shows the closing minutes of each match from Night of Champions, and also edits out an unfortunate moment during Sting vs. Rollins (for the better), but we’ll deep dive and recap both matches in full)

WWE United States Championship Match:
Seth Rollins (c) vs. John Cena:
Night of Champions 2015 took place on September 20th from the Toyota Center in Houston, TX. Rollins has his White Ranger gear on for this one, which I believe he first used at SummerSlam the previous month, but could be mistaken. You would think that the matches would be split apart, one early and one late, but they are running back-to-back to close out the event. I’ve mostly ignored it, because I was saving it for the end, but good God, they are really struggling between trying to lay the foundation of Rollins being a valiant babyface and being a scumbag, undeserving Honkytonk Man-level Champion who keeps finding ways to hold onto the belt, even when he’s clearly overmatched.

Lockup and Cena gives a clean break in the corner. We get some history from Prof. Cole, who reminds us the US Title has only changed hands once in Houston, when Barry Windham won the belt in 1988. Rollins busts out a Blockbuster, with the logic (according to the commentary team) that he’s trying to get the match over as soon as possible to preserve his energy. Cena gets fired up until a sleeper cuts him down. Rollins sets Cena up in a tree of woe and comes off the top with a double stomp for two. Rollins gets a little too comfortable and plays to the crowd as they do the wave, allowing Cena to sneak a roll-up for two.

Rollins keeps a nice pace, knowing he’s in for a tough night, and then we turn it into your typical Cena match, as it’s all about trading and countering big moves. Rollins tries to steal a signature move, but Cena cuts it off. His attempt at the Five-Knuckle Shuffle is countered with a slingblade for two. Cena counters the Pedigree with a back suplex and busts out the Code Red for a near-fall. Rollins blocks the AA, and Cena counters the Buckle Bomb with a hurricanrana. Rollins avoids another AA and hits a pair of Super-Kicks for two.

Rollins follows Cena to the floor with a tope con hilo, but misses a Frog Splash. Cena with a Tornado DDT for two. He takes too long climbing the ropes, allowing Rollins to hit his Super-Plex and Falcon Arrow combo for two. Cena with the leg trip into the STF, but Rollins gets to the ropes. The AA is countered AGAIN and a Buckle Bomb gets two. Pedigree countered, Rollins rolls through Cena’s body press and Cena counters a Rollins AA attempt. Cena comes off the top with the guillotine leg drop and one AA finishes Rollins at 16:02, giving Cena back his United States Title (he would lose it in about a month to Alberto Del Rio). Rollins tries taking a walk, but Cena cuts him off and hits him with the AA on the floor before throwing him back in the ring. WHAT A HERO. It was your typical Cena match; if you enjoy finisher spams and counters, then it’s for you. It’s always interesting to see when someone takes the loss without being hit by the actual finisher 3-4 times.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match:
Seth Rollins (c) vs. Sting:
The curious booking of Rollins continues, being laid out and left like scraps for Sting to pick at. If you thought 2019-21 Vince was a maniac, the signs were already there that he lost the plot. Sting doesn’t waste time, immediately hitting a Stinger Splash and teasing the Scorpion Death Lock, but Rollins scrambles and escapes to the apron. He hangs Sting up across the top, but a flying body press is countered. Rollins gets sent over the ropes and gets served a plentiful amount of steel steps. Back inside, Rollins gets a free shot as the first man in and stomps Sting down in the corner. Sting with a whip reversal, and a clothesline sends Rollins to the floor again, this time getting introduced to the barricade.

The battle works its way to the announcer’s tables, and OH MY GOODNESS, Rollins shoves Sting backwards, crashing through the Spanish table and smacking his head on one of the monitors. It doesn’t sound like an impressive spot, but that’s leaving too much to chance for a guy who is falling back with table dressing still intact. With Sting clearly compromised, Seth teases taking a walk, which makes so little sense, I can’t think of a smart ass joke to go with it. Rollins decides it would be best to take care of business honorably, getting near-falls off a slingblade, Falcon Arrow, and Buckle Bomb. Sting recovers to block a Pedigree, and Rollins’ springboard knee is countered, with him flying into the barricade.

Stings runs off a flurry of rights and clotheslines, followed by a pair of Stinger Splashes. Rollins is sent to the floor again, and this time Sting follows him out with a flying body press! Back inside, the Scorpion Death Drop connects but Seth gets a foot on the ropes at two. Sting with another Splash and mounted punches, but Rollins escapes and sends him into the corner with a second Buckle Bomb! Things go sideways however, as Sting doesn’t have his legs under him. They try to keep going, but Sting is barely able to run the ropes and crumples under a clothesline, bringing the medic in the ring to buy them time. Sting somehow gets to his feet and the match continues. We go right to the finish, as Rollins attempts a Pedigree, but Sting counters with the Death Lock. Rollins escapes, we do the sequence again, but this time Seth counters the Death Lock with a small package to retain at 14:56. Unfortunate finish to what was a pleasant surprise of a match, considering Sting, at least by 2015, was coming off a few years of severe decline in TNA, and I’d argue this was a better match than what Cena and Rollins delivered earlier, but due to how it ended, it’s difficult to say because a legitimate injury sucked the life out of everything. [Note: The “Story of” compilation excludes the post-match shenanigans with Sheamus and Kane, which is fine]

Night of Champions would be Sting’s last in-ring appearance for WWE. Originally expected to retire with lingering injuries that would require career-ending surgery, Sting would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016, and would only make one more appearance on WWE programming before his contract expired in the Spring of 2020. Later that year, Sting would make a surprise debut at AEW’s Dynamite special “Winter is Coming”, forming an alliance with Darby Allin that would carry on through the next few years, with Sting having his last match (to date) at AEW Revolution in March 2024.

Coming out of Night of Champions, Seth Rollins’ story is a bit of a mess, and some of it is beyond the control of any script writer or agent, as Rollins tore his ACL, MCL and meniscus while attempting a sunset-flip Powerbomb on Kane at a live event in Dublin, Ireland on November 4th, putting him on the shelf for 7 months and shuffling plans (that would reshuffle several times as the build to WrestleMania 32 is the most snake bit the WWE roster had been). It would be interesting to see what officially triggers Rollins’ turning babyface, and what it does for Roman Reigns’ plans at WrestleMania, but I doubt we’ll ever know with definitive confirmation.

Based on this small sample size, it’s clear there were long-term plans for a Triple H vs. Seth Rollins feud for a match at WrestleMania 32 (and were so committed we got it a year later), but I can’t imagine being too hyped for that one, as they were all over the map with how they were letting their story unfold; at times we’re pushing Rollins as this mastermind who knows when to take advantage of a situation, others a sympathetic puppet who is trying to convince himself otherwise, and then he’s just a complete idiot. By the time Rollins returned to action, the wheels were in motion to split the rosters again, and a new Championship introduced to adjust for one brand getting the already established WWE Title, but that’s a story for another day.