Who's the top heel?

Following Raw this past week, the WWE 24 series aired a special about Seth Rollins, chronicling his serious knee injury during a European tour late last year to his shocking return at Extreme Rules. While the production of the presentation was tremendous and speaks volumes to the high quality staff that the WWE has, it essentially puts the former champion in position to be the top baby face in the company.

Obviously, one of the main focuses of the nearly 60-minute documentary was the injury itself and tracked not only the surgery to repair it, but also the grueling recovery process. The network audience gets a very unfiltered look at the painful therapy sessions that Rollins had to endure just to attempt to pass the necessary test for medical clearance. During a strength test, you can see the pain etched on his face as he worked his knee. Basically, this feature of the entire process gives the fans a reason to rally behind Rollins to make a successful return to the ring because his dedication is there as he went through the various stages of rehabbing the injury. It's often said that one of the keys to an over baby face is getting some level of sympathy from the crowd, and while it varies depending on the character, it translates to fan support. It's tough not to see how important professional wrestling is to Seth Rollins, considering how the documentary showcases his desire to get back to the main stage of sports entertainment. Injuries are never a good thing, but the comeback can provide a platform for a particular talent to propel themselves to the next level upon their return. For example, it could be argued that Triple H was a bigger star after his return from a quad injury in 2002 than he was prior to that.

Another very baby face aspect of the presentation was a very interesting look into the family life of Colby Lopez, long before he worked Ring Of Honor as Tyler Black or won the WWE title as Seth Rollins. Again, his passion was highlighted as a very young Colby dropped elbows on the classic "wrestling buddies" and ran around his living room as the Ultimate Warrior. As time progressed, Lopez was shown during his teenage years preforming backyard matches with his friends. This is another way to get Rollins over as a major "good guy" because the backyard wrestling footage shows that pro wrestling is a life long dream for him. Keep in mind, one of the reasons that Mick Foley originally got over as strong as he did was the audience could identify, and appreciate the passion when the footage of him jumping off of his friend's garage to emulate his heroes aired on Raw.

You also get a very intriguing look into the career of Seth Rollins before he was a top star including the clips of independent matches in dingy buildings in front of small crowds. It certainly shows that he was willing to pay the price and climb the ladder to get to the WWE. Many of his peers including, AJ Styles, Cesaro, Sami Zayn, and others praised his work ethic.

The problem with this in-depth look into Rollins' journey back to the squared circle is, it reinforces almost every aspect of the negative perception of Roman Reigns, who Rollins is booked to wrestle for the title at the next pay-per-view. One of the reasons there's hostility towards Reigns is that it's thought he didn't "earn" his success, and the documentary details that Rollins had to claw his way up the ranks from independent scene. It's also well known that Roman Reigns attempted a career in the NFL before he transitioned to pro wrestling and logically, you know that if Roman would've had even moderate success on the field, he wouldn't be working in sports entertainment. On the flip side, WWE 24 showed that pro wrestling is the only dream that Seth Rollins wanted to pursue so it adds fuel to the notion that Roman was "entitled" to his spot because of his family. It probably didn't help that one of the main points of the show was that Rollins didn't heal in time for Wrestlemania 32, the event where Roman won the title in the main event, almost as if to suggest that he took Rollins' spot.

Sami Zayn spoke about Seth Rollins saying, "he sticks by his friends."

Isn't that a classic baby face? How is Seth Rollins supposed to get heat after that? Granted, the argument could be made that as entertaining as these specials are, they expose too much of the business, but that's another article for another time. The point is, despite all the production value that goes into WWE events, pro wrestlers (or sports entertainers) aren't actors and they aren't viewed in the same context as other TV characters. For example, when Roman Reigns appeared on ESPN, he was on the show as Roman Reigns, not Joe Anoa'i. When Al Pacino wins an award, he doesn't accept it as Michael Corleone, he's introduced as himself. When Robert De Niro won an award for his role in "Raging Bull," he wasn't announced as Jake LaMotta. You get the point. A pro wrestling character is continuous since the sport doesn't have an off season and there's an entirely different perception than other TV characters. In theory, pro wrestling is supposed to make the audience believe what they are seeing is legitimate, but that's not the case for other TV characters.

As mentioned, the WWE 24 production reinforces the hostility towards Roman Reigns. Seth Rollins wanted to be a pro wrestler since his youth, but Roman Reigns started in sports entertainment after he was cut from three football teams. Rollins wrestled for small crowds to work his way to WWE, but Reigns started with a developmental deal. On the surface, it adds to the notion that Roman didn't "earn" his spot. In reality, Roman Reigns has worked and put fourth the effort to improve on his weakness, but management continues to put him in a position that makes it difficult to generate fan support. It's disappointing to see Reigns continue to get flak that's directed more at management than him, but the bottom line is, he's still not over. There was a time in sports entertainment that when a performer was booed every week, it made the competitor a heel, but that's not the case. That being said, if it doesn't effect revenue, WWE brass doesn't have a reason to change the direction.

Seth Rollins is booked to challenge Roman Reigns for the title so does that make him the top heel in the company? After the WWE 24 documentary, it might actually make him the top baby face in the promotion.