Seth Rollins Responds To Dean Ambrose's Controversial Comments on Current State of WWE: SI Media Podcast

Seth Rollins not only appeared on the latest episode of the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina, but he burnt the whole thing down.

The WWE Universal champion is clearly fed up with all the negativity that's been directed toward the company over the past several weeks and he made sure to let everyone know that the WWE is still the top dog when it comes to professional wrestling. Rollins also responded to the strong criticism former colleague and good friend, Dean Ambrose, unleashed toward the WWE during a recent appearance on Chris Jericho's podcast and opened up about his relationship with Becky Lynch and being the Man's man.

Listen to Seth Rollins on the SI Media podcast here and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Spotify or Google Play.​​​​ The following transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Jimmy Traina: You've been feisty on Twitter lately with some of the fans. There's been some backlash against the WWE recently and you took up for the company. What was the motivation behind that?

Seth Rollins: You can only sit back and read people bashing something you love for so long and sit there and take it and try to take the high road, so to speak. I’m real proud of what I do every single week, not just Mondays, but every single Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, really. I’m real proud of what I do and what our crew does and the effort they put forward. I’m not just talking about the wrestlers, the guys and girls who you see out in the ring, I’m talking about everybody, from creative all the way up to Vince McMahon.

We put a ton of effort into making a product that I think it pretty darn good considering the amount of content we put out there. The fact that people wanna sit on their little soapboxes and their little stupid social media machines and talk down about it really speaks volumes about the generation and where they’re at and so I figured if somebody's is gonna fight back, it might as well be me since I’m the champ and I consider myself the top guy in our company.

JT: You're really good friends with Dean Ambrose. He left the WWE and then did an interview with Chris Jericho in which he said a lot of negative things about the WWE. I would imagine that puts you in an awkard position?

Rollins: Ambrose can do what he wants. He’s a big boy. He's got his big boy pants on, he can go out there and say whatever he wants, but the bottom line is not everyone is equipped to handle the rigors of the WWE and the schedule and how it affects you mentally and emotionally. Ambrose gave everything he had to the company for the entire time he was here. He put his heart and soul into the travel and the schedule and the injuries and the work in the ring and all that stuff, but at the end of the day, he took his ball and he went homek or he went elsewhere, at least.

I think it’s a little presumptuous of him to get on a podcast and talk down about the company that gave him such opportunities, and he referenced some of those, he did talk about how he was thankful for the time he spent here and the fact that he was able to learn, meet his wife and all that good stuff. Like I said, I love the guy. I love him, I’ll always love him, but at the end of the day, we share differing perspectives about what we want out of life and where we’re at in our own lives. I hope he does well, I’ve kept enough tabs on him to know he’s doing super well for himself right now and I’m happy for that, but I don’t think there’s any reason to hop on a soapbox and complain after the fact. You need to take the first step and that’s looking in the mirror and asking yourself, did you do every single thing you possibly could to make yourself and your situation what you want it to be. If the answer is yes you did, then you can go elsewhere and complain, and if you feel good about it if that’s where he’s at mentally, then go right ahead, but if he hasn’t done that and looked in the mirror and made that decision, maybe he should look think about that and that goes for any other disgruntled talent, past or present.

JT: Have you had a conversation with Ambrose about those comments he made?

Rollins: No. And I don't need to. Like I said, he's grown man. He's got his big boy pants on. He can do whatever he wants do. He can say whatever he wants to say. He filled his contractual obligations here and there's nothing but mutual love and respect for him. He's one of my favorite people in the entire word.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on iTunes, Spotify or Google Play. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.