Yes, Seth Rollins heard that “Talk Is Jericho” podcast with Jon Moxley — aka Dean Ambrose — and Vince McMahon’s current Universal Champion found the former SHIELD member’s complaining about his years in WWE to be “a little presumptuous.”
“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,” Rollins told “SI Media Podcast” host Jimmy Traina on Monday ahead of USA Network’s “Raw.”
The podcast was published on Tuesday.
“I don’t think there’s any reason to — again — hop on a soapbox and complain after the fact,” Rollins added. “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.”
It’s important to point out that Rollins had mostly positive things to say about Ambrose, whom he called “one of my favorite people in the entire world.”
Rollins also said “Ambrose can do what he wants” and “I love the guy” a few times apiece.
Read the Ambrose-specific excerpts from the podcast below. The actual Tuesday episode of the “SI Media Podcast,” which contains more than just Ambrose talk, is embedded at the bottom of this post. It’s also here.
Brush up on some of the negative things Ambrose/Moxley (whose real name is Jonathan Good) had to say about WWE, its creative process, and his ex-boss McMahon on the now-famous “Talk Is Jericho” episode here.
Jimmy Traina: 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 awkward position?
Seth 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 everybody’s equipped to handle the riggers 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 into the schedule and into 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 home — 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 just share differing perspectives about what we want out of life and where we’re at in our own lives. And so, I hope that 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 — again — 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, if he hasn’t looked in the mirror and made that decision, ten 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 him about those comments he made?
SR: “No, 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 world.”