Seth Rollins recently provided an update on his recovery from neck surgery during an extensive interview with his wife, WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch. The conversation detailed his physical condition and challenges following a serious neck injury that affected him throughout 2025. Rollins shared that nearly three months after surgery, he is gradually regaining normal movements and remains hopeful about his eventual return to WWE competition.
“It’s coming along. It’s coming along. I had surgery about almost three months now. So, I can do most normal things like wash my hair and scratch my armpit and all those things so it’s good. You still got time. I don’t know exactly when we’re gonna come back but, I’m making progress in the right direction.”
– Seth Rollins, WWE Performer
Struggles With Debilitating Neck Pain Last Summer
Reflecting on the previous year, Rollins described the intense pain he endured due to his neck condition, which severely impacted both his professional and personal life. He recalled the difficulty of managing constant discomfort while maintaining his wrestling schedule, along with the emotional toll it took when his physical limitations affected his ability to interact with his daughter.
“Last year, my neck was destroying me. That was really bad… During the summer last year… I couldn’t go 30 seconds without fidgeting. I had to get in a different position, I had to jam my thumb into my neck. I mean, it was not fun and then had to try to go to work and wrestle and be normal and stuff like that and the worst part is when your daughter wants to play and you’re like, ‘Ah, daddy needs a minute…’ It’s seeing her disappointed is the worst feeling in the world. I can get through wrestling stuff, whatever. But seeing my daughter disappointed and the sadness on her face because daddy can’t pick her up. That hurts. That sticks with you.”
– Seth Rollins, WWE Performer
Vince McMahon’s Ban on the Curb Stomp and Triple H’s Reluctance Over Pedigree
Rollins revealed the unexpected difficulty he faced when Vince McMahon banned his signature finisher, the Curb Stomp, shortly after Rollins captured his first World Title. The decision, communicated without prior warning, frustrated Rollins given how central the move had been to his character and success. He explained how concerns about safety and influence on younger fans played a role in the ban, despite Rollins’ confidence in the move’s safety when performed correctly.
“Ah, it sucked. I was given no heads up and it was right after I won the World Title for the first time, with that move that I’d been using for years as a finish, and that had built up a ton of equity, and then all of a sudden, ‘I mean, so I don’t think we’re gonna use that anymore.’ ‘What the –’ ‘You know, it’s too dangerous. I know you’re not dangerous. Very safe.’ If anybody can tell, it’s my Vince McMahon impression. ‘Kids can do it too easily at home.’ I don’t know what happened. Somebody got in his ear and said it was a problem. I’m like, ‘Dude, it’s wrestling. If any kid imitates any wrestling move, they’re gonna hurt –’ your armbar’ [Rollins said to Becky Lynch]. They just snap a shoulder off. It’s like, c’mon. A Rock Bottom, any of it, all of it, anything. It’s silly. A punch to the nose, you know what I mean? If they know how to do it, of course it’s gonna hurt somebody. So I thought it was so silly but whatever, you know? It was on a whim. Literally, I did the move Sunday, won the title, beat Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar and then fly to New York from San Francisco, do the TODAY Show, pet a couple dogs, say hi to Katie (Couric) and Matt (Lauer), fly back to Santa Clara to do Raw and I go and Vince is like, ‘Come in. I gotta talk to you about something.’ He’s like, ‘Ah, we’re not gonna do that anymore.’ I was like, ‘Well, what do you want me to do?’ And then they wanted me to do a frog splash and I’m like, ‘Absolutely not. I’m not doing that every single night.’ I like my knees and I like my elbows. It’s not happening. So then it was the process of trying to figure out a new finisher, and thankfully, I was in the mentorship of Triple H at the time in The Authority and no one else had ever used the Pedigree as a finishing move and he was not an active performer at the time so I was like, ‘I think this would be the perfect –’ he was hesitant about it too. He didn’t like it. I think he really hates it now because people kick out of it sometimes [laughs]. Yeah, fully, fully diluted it but I think it worked for the time being. It got the desired reaction and it already had the 20 years of equity to it which is the hardest thing to do with a finisher because anything can be a finisher. You just have to beat people with it for a while.”
– Seth Rollins, WWE Performer
Impact and Outlook on Seth Rollins’ WWE Future
This candid discussion sheds light on the physical and emotional hurdles Rollins has faced, emphasizing the vulnerability behind the performances fans see in WWE. The ban on the Curb Stomp illustrates the complexities performers navigate between creativity, safety, and corporate decisions. Triple H’s initial hesitation about the Pedigree finisher also highlights the importance of legacy moves and audience perception in WWE storytelling.
With his recovery advancing steadily, Rollins appears committed to making a full return to the ring when ready. Fans and analysts alike will be watching closely to see how his return influences WWE programming and if further adjustments will take place regarding his in-ring style and finishing moves. The experience also underscores ongoing conversations about wrestler health and performance innovation within professional wrestling.
