Seth Rollins Opens Up About Heartbreaking Cost Of Chronic Pain

Seth Rollins is no stranger to battling through injuries, but he may never get used to the added obstacles that comes with being a family man.
The Visionary has been out of action ever since he suffered a torn rotator cuff at Crown Jewel back in October. He did have to undergo surgery, but WWE is reportedly hopeful that he could be back in time for WrestleMania 42 this April.
Rollins, along with wife his wife and reigning Women's Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch, sat down this week for a new interview with Complex News, and Seth did provide another update on his recovery.
“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. I still got time. I don’t know exactly when we’re gonna come back but, I’m making progress in the right direction.”
The conversation eventually steered toward the effect that debilitating injuries can have at home. While Rollins had his arm was a sling for the better part of six weeks, he said he remained mostly self-sufficient.
The multi-time World Champion revealed that he actually has more trouble with the chronic, nagging injuries than he does with the headline grabbers.
“Last year, my neck was destroying me. That was really bad. I had the low back stuff... when I was World Heavyweight Champion for the first time. That was a really rough stretch, where I would land wrong like one time and I felt like I couldn't do anything for weeks. That was a struggle."
Seth Rollins really was hurting last summer, it just wasn't his knee

Seth Rollins famously faked a knee injury at Saturday Night's Main Event this past July. Only a handful of people were in on the angle, and he spent three weeks walking on crutches in order to successfully pull off his surprise Money in the Bank cash-in at SummerSlam, which has since been dubbed the 'Ruse of the Century'.
The entire ordeal will be chronicled in WWE: Unreal Season Two, which premieres on Tuesday, January 20 on Netflix. But just because Rollins spent weeks pretending to be injured, doesn't mean he wasn't in some serious pain. He detailed to Complex News just how bad his neck was last year.
"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 I had to try to go to work and wrestle and be normal and stuff like that."
Finding a way to power through the pain and still perform at a high level is what Rollins does best. Never once in his career has he called off from wrestling due to a nagging injury. As long as he can physically go, he'll put on a show for the fans.
The real difficulties come at home, when sometimes a battered, bruised and injured Seth Rollins isn't able to play with his young daughter.
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"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.”
As a man with chronic back problems, and a father of two young children who love to roughhouse, I can personally attest — he's not lying.
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Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com