Seth Rollins Reveals the Hidden Injury That Nearly Broke Him Behind the Scenes in WWE
Seth Rollins has been off WWE television since tearing his rotator cuff at Crown Jewel last October, but the injury that forced him to step away wasn’t the only battle he was fighting. Behind the scenes, Rollins says his body was quietly falling apart — and his neck was the worst of it.
Speaking with Complex News alongside his wife, WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch, Rollins gave a brutally honest update on his recovery nearly three months after surgery. While he’s still not medically cleared to return to the ring, he says progress is finally happening and everyday life is becoming manageable again.
Rollins shared that he can now handle basic day-to-day tasks, though there’s still no confirmed timeline for his WWE return. The priority, he stressed, is healing properly rather than rushing back, even as speculation continues about a possible WrestleMania 42 comeback.
The most striking part of the interview came when Rollins opened up about the pain fans never saw. While he’s dealt with serious back issues before, he admitted that his neck problems last year were on another level entirely. The pain, he said, was relentless and exhausting, making it nearly impossible to get comfortable at any point during the day.
Rollins revealed he couldn’t go more than a few seconds without shifting his body or pressing on his neck just to cope. Despite that, he continued wrestling and appearing on WWE television, pushing through pain while maintaining his role at the top of the card.
That revelation adds new perspective to last summer’s storyline where Rollins faked a knee injury at Saturday Night’s Main Event — an angle that eventually led to his Money in the Bank cash-in at SummerSlam. While the knee issue was part of the story, the neck pain behind the scenes was very real and far more damaging.
Beyond the physical suffering, Rollins admitted the emotional toll has been devastating, especially at home. He described the heartbreak of seeing his young daughter’s disappointment when he can’t lift her or play the way he wants — a pain he says cuts deeper than anything inside the ring.
For Rollins, that moment is the harsh reminder of what WWE superstardom truly costs, long after the cameras stop rolling.
Fans will get an even deeper look into this difficult chapter when the full interview appears in WWE: Unreal Season Two, premiering January 20 on Netflix.
