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Seth Rollins' Mt. Rushmore; Undertaker Hypes Sami Zayn; Cody Rhodes Praises John Cena
February 14, 2023
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Rollins Names His Mt. Rushmore of Wrestling
During a recent appearance on the Pat McAfee Show , WWE Superstar Seth Rollins gave his thoughts on the age-old debate of who belongs on pro wrestling's Mt. Rushmore.
While giving his picks (h/t WrestlingInc's Fernando Quiles Jr. ), Rollins broke it down into two categories with one Mt. Rushmore being made up of the biggest box-office draws in wrestling history and the other being the best in-ring workers.
In terms of the biggest attractions, Rollins chose John Cena, The Rock, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan. For his Mt. Rushmore of workers, Rollins went with Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Eddie Guerrero and Bryan Danielson.
Regarding his choice to go with a current AEW star in Danielson on one of his Mt. Rushmores, Rollins said:
"I'm gonna throw out a wild one for you guys because he's currently performing right now, but 'The American Dragon' Bryan Danielson. Bryan, his body of work, I think when it's all said and done, will stack up with those guys. I hope to be in the conversation one day, maybe, at least in the conversation or a whisper on the side, something like that, but I think that's it for me."
Danielson was a huge star and a multi-time world champion in WWE under the name Daniel Bryan, but he accomplished plenty before WWE in ROH, and he has remained a top guy since going to AEW as well.
Rollins is a top-flight worker in his own right, and it can be argued that he has been doing the best work of his career over the past couple of years thanks to the character development he has undergone.
For as long as Rollins wants to continue wrestling, he figures to be at or near the top of the card in WWE, and competing at a high level for many years could put him in the Mt. Rushmore conversation at some point.
If nothing else, he is a surefire future WWE Hall of Famer and is already regarded among the all-time greats.
Undertaker Praises Zayn and Bloodline Storyline
Count WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker among those who have been loving Sami Zayn and his long-running storyline with The Bloodline.
During an appearance on Sportsnet's Tim & Friends (h/t WrestlingInc's Dakota Cohen ), The Undertaker was effusive in his praise of Zayn and the angle that has captivated the wrestling world for months:
"The Bloodline story is just phenomenal. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Sami Zayn and the job he's done in that story. But that Bloodline and Sami Zayn story is so compelling. It's so well done. It's what we do, that's what we do at our best. We story-tell and I think that whole thing has been done, I mean, just the layers of how it started ... You know, and bringing The Usos into it and the uncertainty there, and bringing everything together where it's just a well-oiled machine till you can see the wheels loosening up and about to come off, and then the thing with Sami. It's really been well done."
Zayn first attempted to align himself with The Bloodline several months ago, and the story became so popular with fans that it continued to evolve and grow into something even bigger.
Things truly came to a head at Royal Rumble when Zayn turned on Roman Reigns and refused to hit Kevin Owens with a steel chair. That led to Bloodline members Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa jumping him, although Jey Uso refused to get involved despite being Sami's biggest detractor at first.
At Elimination Chamber in Zayn's hometown of Montreal on Saturday, he will challenge Reigns for the undisputed WWE Universal Championship in the most highly anticipated WWE match in quite some time.
The match itself should be excellent and the atmosphere should be electric, plus fans are on their toes about what kinds of storyline developments will happen.
If Jey appears, who will he align with? Will Owens show up? Will Zayn find a way to win and throw the Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes WrestleMania match into disarray?
Most fans seemingly have no clue what is coming next, but they are engaged, and that is the hallmark of a great story.
Rhodes Calls Cena 'Ultimate Role Model'
Cody Rhodes is perhaps trending toward becoming the face of WWE at WrestleMania 39, and he is drawing inspiration from another Superstar who led the company for nearly two decades.
Appearing on My Mom's Basement with Robbie Fox (h/t Nikunj Walia of Ringside News), Rhodes discussed John Cena and how much he admires him as a leader:
"You mention John. John's the ultimate role model as far as how he conducted himself, whether it was with the media, with the fans, the good fans, the more unruly fans, everything. He is the ultimate role model. Before he became a bus guy, I got to drive him around a little bit, and he was just talking. I was, in my mind, just writing everything down that he was saying. He was really invaluable as a person to be around. I'm so blown away by how he's doing and what he's doing. I think if you try to copy what he did … everyone's gotta do it their own way. I think my style, if I ever was to be somebody that was a locker room leader, would just be to lead by example."
Before Rhodes requested and received his release from WWE in 2016 and later went on to be one of the founders of AEW, he and Cena were on the WWE roster together for several years.
Rhodes enjoyed some success, including being an intercontinental champion and multi-time tag team champion, but he never came close to Cena's level as a perennial main eventer and world champion.
Now, Rhodes has all the makings of being that type of Superstar after winning the 2023 men's Royal Rumble and positioning himself to face Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania.
If Rhodes goes on to win the world title and remains on top, it is inevitable that younger wrestlers will look toward him for leadership and advice.
He had to take on that role to some degree in AEW as one of the executive vice presidents, so he is likely well prepared for a similar situation in WWE as well.
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