Seth Rollins says first match back at WrestleMania 42 is ‘nerve-wracking’
Getting cleared in time for WrestleMania 42 was a concern for Seth Rollins after getting injured in October 2025. Despite which he is ready to face Gunther at the Premium Live Event keeping note of their career parallels.
Speaking with ESPN, Rollins talked about his history with Gunther who he’s known since their first in-ring encounter at Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) in 2019.
“He’s the real deal, that guy there’s no joke there. He’s legitimate. I mean you watch his body of work and I’ve been, this is a guy that I’ve known since he was Walter back in his wXw days in Germany. I crossed paths with him and he’s one of those guys that we have something very similar in that we came from kind of nowhere. No one really thought that we were going to be huge, major stars in the industry when we were young cats. And now we’re at a point where ‘here we are at Wrestlemania’, the Grandest Stage, two of the most renowned in-ring performers, the last two decades.”
“And this will be our first real go at it. We’ve had one in-ring encounter which was like seven years ago and this will be this will be an interesting test and especially for my first match back”
Talking about his mindset heading into WrestleMania 42, considering it’s his first match back in six months, he stated fans can expect the best version of him.
“As far as outcome is concerned, what I will predict is that I will put on a show because it’s Wrestlemania and that’s what I do. And so, if anybody out there is wondering what version of Seth Rollins we’re going to get, I promise you right now, I will look you dead in the eye. You are going to get the very best version. You are going to get the Wrestlemania version of Seth Rollins that you know and are accustomed to.”
He added that while it’s exciting, having a WrestleMania match as his first bout back post-injury is nerve-wracking especially without trial runs to ease into it.
“I’ve been jonesing for it. Yeah, it’s exciting. I mean, it’s nerve-wracking anytime you come back and your first match is at WrestleMania. You don’t even get a couple of trial runs or anything like that. You’re just into the fire.”
Rollins vs. Gunther is slated for Night One of WrestleMania 42 on April 18. Last month, he attacked Paul Heyman on Raw, and was arrested. On the March 30 edition of the show, Gunther ambushed Rollins further escalating their rivalry for the Premium Live Event.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.