Seth Rollins' 10 Best Matches Before WWE

For wrestling fans who know Seth Rollins' accomplishments in WWE, they know that he has a body of work that could make him considered for the WWE Hall of Fame in the future. As a multi-time champion, he has proven that he is among the absolute best in the company. However, his time in the wrestling business stretches long before he stepped into WWE as Seth Rollins.

With a long career on the independent circuit, including a long stint in Ring of Honor as the top wrestler in the promotion, Rollins had a great career before signing a WWE developmental deal in 2010. Known previously as Tyler Black, his work in WWE are just the tip of the iceberg and only part of his very full resume, which is plentiful even without his WWE accomplishments.

10 Vs Roderick Strong

After several years of working his way up through the ranks of Ring of Honor, Tyler Black had become Ring of Honor World Champion by defeating Austin Aries in 2010. Years before he would become a multi-time WWE Champion, this was his first shot to carry a company.

However, after 210 days and seven defences, Black finally lost his championship to Roderick Strong at Glory by Honor 9. With Terry Funk as a ringside enforcer during a no-disqualification match, Black was defeated in what would be his final Ring of Honor match before joining the WWE developmental system.

9 Vs Roderick Strong Vs Austin Aries

Black's World Championship reign saw him defend his championship against two main challengers - Austin Aries and Roderick Strong. Black had initially defeated Aries for the championship, and he had promised Strong a title shot should be successful in winning the title.

In order to fulfill Black's promise along with Aries' rematch clause, they faced off in a triple-threat elimination match at the Big Bang event. The match included plenty of great wrestling, but Black showed hints of his eventual dastardly ways as Seth Rollins when he was able to sneak a victory against a tired Roderick Strong after much of the hard work was completed.

8 Vs Kevin Steen

Close to two years before he would become Wrestling's Worst Nightmare, and six years before they would clash over the WWE Universal Championship, Tyler Black and Kevin Steen faced off for Black's World Championship at the Salvation event.

Black was successful in retaining his championship, but this match was a special night for Steen. In what would be his final ROH World Championship shot before he would win the title himself in 2012, this helped set the stage for the next stage of Steen's career in Ring of Honor.

7 Vs Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson

Before Black was able to transition to the main event level, he joined Jimmy Jacobs in the disturbing and blood-hungry Age of the Fall group. From his debut in 2007 through most of his ROH run, Black was affiliated with Jacobs, and they ran through the tag team division together.

In an attempt to put a stop to the brutal team, two of Ring of Honor's top stars tried to take the Tag Team Championships away from them. Austin Aries and Bryan Danielson tried to use their technical and striking prowess to take out the team, but they were unsuccessful at Respect is Earned 2. However, they did have one great match together despite not being able to stop the horrific group.

6 Vs Nigel McGuinness

For wrestling fans who only know Nigel McGuinness for his commentary work in WWE, they missed out on one of the best technical wrestlers of his generation. Prior to his in-ring retirement in 2011, McGuinness was one of the best wrestlers Ring of Honor had to offer, and he enjoyed a lengthy run as Ring of Honor Champion to prove it.

Before Black was able to win the big one, he came up short against McGuinness several times. However, he was one of the few wrestlers to take the Englishman to the limit, when at Injustice in 2009, Black took McGuinness to a 49-minute time-limit draw, which led to McGuinness retaining his championship.

5 Vs Austin Aries

Austin Aries would be the one that Tyler Black would eventually defeat to win the Ring of Honor World Championship, but his road to victory was even sweeter. Following several title opportunities, Black kept coming up short against the more experienced Aries and was beginning to get frustrated.

On route to eventually defeating Aries, they faced off at Final Battle in 2009 in an epic match. After a full sixty minutes had passed, their match ended in a draw. It takes a special pair of wrestlers to put on a one-hour contest, and this championship match proved that both men were among the best in the company.

4 Four Corner Survival

In Ring of Honor's first outing to Toronto, Canada, Austin Aries was the reigning and defending Ring of Honor Champion. Instead of having to face just one of ROH's elite that was vying for his championship, he had to take on three other wrestlers in a Four Corner Survival match.

The match featured Jerry Lynn, Nigel McGuinness and Tyler Black all striving to win the title. While each man had held the title before except for Black, all were very hungry to be at the top of the mountain again. Despite being the most inexperienced wrestler in the match, Black showed that he had what it takes to be in the ring with the absolute best.

3 Vs Bryan Danielson

On his way to proving that he was good enough to be the top wrestler in the company, Tyler Black had plenty of competition to go through. Among them was one of the most decorated Ring of Honor champions of all time - "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson.

While they had faced each other before, their third singles match at New Horizon was their absolute best encounter. Black had showcased he had the chops to be a tag team star, but needed a match like this to show that he could also carry an entire event on his back, even in defeat against a worthy opponent.

2 Vs Davey Richards

Once Tyler Black had been established as a top wrestler in Ring of Honor, it was time for new wrestlers to emerge for the future. Ring of Honor fans knew that Davey Richards was a tag team specialist, but he had yet to be truly showcased as a singles star.

In front of a packed Toronto, Canada crowd at Death Before Dishonour 8, Richards and Black took each other to the limit. While Black would emerge victorious and retain his World Championship, fans got a glimpse of the future, which would happen when Richards would become champion only a few short years later.

1 Tag Wars 2008

After their debut in 2007, The Age of the Fall had Ring of Honor in a relentless chokehold that saw the promotion try everything to eradicate the dangerous group. Before they could become champions, the team of Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black had to prove to the world that they shouldn't be messed with.

When the incredibly decorated team of Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin - the Motor City Machine Guns - were taken to the limit by Jacobs and Black, fans knew that they were a serious team. The match was a clinic in tag team wrestling and showed that Black was among the future of the wrestling business and should not be taken lightly.