Seth Rollins had the same reaction to Cody Rhodes’ torn pec that you did

It was one of the more memorable moments in recent wrestling history. We knew going into Hell in a Cell that Cody Rhodes would be wrestling the main event with a torn pectoral muscle. We didn’t know what we’d see when the American Nightmare took off his robe before facing Seth Rollins.

The bruise that covered the entire right side of Rhodes’ torso caused most of us to exclaim some version of “HOLY $#!+!” Then we spent the entirety of the match feeling uneasy about the whole thing, giving the match a weight we weren’t used to even from other “big fight” matches.

Turns out, that’s pretty much the same experience Rollins had on June 5 in Allstate Arena. He told Digital Spy’s Stephanie Chase:

“It was pretty gnarly. I don’t think I expected it to look like that. I’ve had some torn muscles in my day and I know that the blood seeps down, gravity just takes over but I had never seen anything like that.

“I remember Triple H had torn his pec some time ago at an event and shared a picture of it and it was pretty brutal but nothing like what we saw from Cody at Hell in a Cell. His bicep, tricep, shoulder, pec it was down to his belly button almost, it was pretty gnarly.

“It was definitely shocking and I think the way I felt about it was how the audience in Chicago felt. They were just very uncomfortable for the first little bit. I think people were even wary just to cheer for him because it was so wild.”

The pair went on to deliver a match of the year candidate. Discussing how he approached creating something great given Cody’s injury, Seth said:

“It’s one of those things where, I’ve never encountered anything like it, so the preparation is entirely brand-new.

“It was a full hurdle thrown my way that I’d never seen before and so trying to wrap ourselves around it was an interesting process. I think what we got out of it was magic, how we got there wasn’t ideal but that’s life, you gotta roll with the punches sometimes.”

Indeed you do, and move on to what’s next.

For Rhodes, that’s rehab after a successful — if scary — surgery to repair his pec. For Rollins, it’s a SummerSlam program with Riddle.