Posts Tagged ‘The Shield’

Seth Rollins: ‘Betraying the Shield Changed Wrestling for the Better’

Seth Rollins wouldn’t change a thing about betraying the Shield over a decade ago, as what he did on that June 2, 2014 RAW changed the face of wrestling. After the Shield defeated Evolution at the previous night’s Payback pay-per-view, Rollins betrayed his brothers with a steel chair and aligned with Triple H.

Since then, all three Shield members have gone on to become huge names in wrestling as well as all holding World Championships. When asked on ESPN SportsCenter if he’s reflected on the paths his betrayal caused, Rollins admitted that he wouldn’t change a thing about what he did.

“I’ve been asked about it a lot. Obviously, that’s the one thing if you’re a fan of Seth Rollins or the Shield or Jon Moxley or Roman Reigns, that’s the one thing that sits with you. Over the course of the last ten years, essentially. And I get asked about it all the time and I’ve thought about it. ‘Would you go back? Would you change it? Would you do something different?’ And my answer is unequivocally no, I wouldn’t.

“Because where we’re at now, the business as a whole is healthier than its ever been and that moment of time shifted everything. That’s what put us all on our separate paths. Our goal in the beginning was to run the show. To run the business, to change it, to make it better. And here we are, a decade later, and I dare say that it was accomplished with the swing of that steel chair.”

That steel chair shot certainly changed the landscape of WWE and Seth got a taste of his own medicine at WrestleMania 40 this past April when Roman Reigns delivered a chair shot of his own to the Architect. Ironically, this chair shot would cost the Tribal Chief, as picking Rollins over Cody Rhodes gave the latter the opening to hit three Cross Rhodes’ and end Reigns’ tenure as Undisputed WWE Champion.

Reigns, Rollins, and Moxley may be on separate paths, but the Shield will live on as one of the greatest factions in WWE. Stay tuned to SE Scoops for all the latest on Seth Rollins and his Shield brothers as they continue to dominate the wrestling business.

For the use of quotes, please give an H/T to SE Scoops.

Roman Reigns Was Against The Shield’s Split & Face Run But “You Have to Be a Good Soldier”

The end of the Shield may have helped propel Roman Reigns to singles superstardom, but the Tribal Chief was no fan of splitting up the popular faction. 

A year-and-a-half after their debut on the main roster, the Shield imploded during the June 2, 2014, episode of Monday Night Raw. 24 hours removed from the Sheild’s victory over Evolution at WWE Battleground, Seth Rollins betrayed his brothers and aligned himself with Triple H, becoming a part of the Authority. 

Roman Reigns Was Against The Shield’s Split

The end of the Shield was a shocking moment that marked a change for Rollins, Reigns, and Dean Ambrose, but Reigns was not on board at the time. During the A&E Biography: Legends episode about him, Reigns shared his reservations about the split.

“I didn’t wanna break up The Shield. And I definitely didn’t wanna be a good guy. That’s exactly what was happening. I was so young on the rise. It’s not like I had a nest egg built up. It’s not like I had a whole bunch of options that I can just say ‘No I’m not feeling this.’ This doesn’t feel good to me or I wouldn’t say this. It was so hard to do that.”

“When you don’t have that backup, when you don’t have that ‘f**k you’ money. And you can’t just stand on your art and your family is depending on you. Your livelihood is depending on you. You have to just be a good soldier and do what you’re told.”

What Came Next? 

Following the split, Rollins and Ambrose would feud for months with both men receiving new attires and themes for this post-Shield chapter of their careers. Reigns on the other hand continued to use the same theme song and the same attire for years after the Shield broke up. 

Rather than enter the fray with Ambrose and Rollins, Reigns was quickly thrust into feuds with established names. This high-profile move to the main event scene would play a part in the fans’ rejection of Reigns that would continue for years.

Shield Reunions

While The Shield’s proper run ended in 2014, the faction would reunite over the years. The group saw reunions in 2017, 2018, and 2019. The final reunion saw the group go out on top as Ambrose’s final match for WWE saw the Shield defeat Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley, and Drew McIntyre. Ambrose would debut for AEW shortly after as Jon Moxley. 

For the use of quotes, please give an H/T to SE Scoops

Seth Rollins: ‘I Wish Shield Reunions Were Handled Better’

The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Jon Moxley, aka Dean Ambrose) made their main roster debut at WWE Survivor Series 2012 and became one of the most successful factions in WWE history. 

All group members went on to become top stars and world champions. They broke up in 2014 although The Shield reunited on multiple occasionsAmbrose left WWE in 2019 after the trio had one final run together. 

While speaking with Graham “GSM” Matthews of Bleacher Report, Rollins reflected on the group’s run together and acknowledged the criticism of the trio’s split.

Rollins’ Take on The Shield

Jon Moxley and The Shield
Jon Moxley made his debut as part of the Shield

“You can look back at the breakup and say I wish we would’ve done that and be more prepared, but being forced to swim in the deep water as individuals was what helped us. We had to learn and grow and just figure it out. That learning process was important in its own way.”

WWE Hall Of Famer Kurt Angle temporarily joined the group at WWE TLC 2017. Rollins noted that he wishes the multiple reunions of The Shield had been handled better but knows there wasn’t much they could do about it, including Angle’s brief association with the group that he wasn’t a fan of. 

“I guess one regret would’ve been managing some of the reunions a little bit better and some of that was out of our control and there was nothing we could do,” he said. “It’s not ideal to have Kurt Angle in a Shield costume, but desperate times call for desperate measures, so we made the best of it and there’s something to be said for putting people in that role and being able to have the equity to do that,” Rollins said.

Rollins has previously said that he thinks the next time fans see The Shield together will be at their WWE Hall of Fame induction. 

Roman Reigns, Jon Moxley, and Seth Rollins Reflect on the Formation of The Shield

The Shield first appeared at WWE a decade ago at WWE Series 2012. Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Jon Moxley debuted as mercenaries for CM Punk.

The trio became known as The Shield in WWE and was an incredibly popular faction. The Hounds of Justice dominated the company and battled with legends such as The Undertaker, John Cena, and more along the way.

All three members of The Shield, Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, United States Champion Seth Rollins, and AEW World Champion Jon Moxley recently spoke with Justin Barasso of Sports Illustrated about the formation of The Shield.

Seth Rollins stated that he noticed he and Roman Reigns had a similar mindset during a training session.

Roman was on the offense, and I was on the defense, so I knew what was going to happen,” Rollins says. “Roman knew how to bring it, and he got us out of this drill.

Mox and I were already on the same wavelength, and that was the moment that showed the three of us were of one mind and one goal,” Rollins added. “That allowed us to be The Shield. Without that mindset, there is no Shield, and the last ten years look a lot different.

Roman Reigns said that WWE was training them like dogs and he beat the hell out Seth in the gym that day.

That was a time when no one knew who we were,” says Reigns, who has evolved into the industry’s single most compelling star. “They were training us like dogs, training us good, and I turned it up on Seth big time that day.

I remember it well, and I know Seth remembers it,” Reigns says. “I beat the hell out of him.

The Tribal Chief added that they knew early on that the company was going to rely on them and The Shield did everything in their power to put themselves in the right position.

Early on, we found out we were going to be the guys for the company that could pull the wagon as far as we wanted if we worked hard enough,” Reigns says. “If we didn’t step up, someone else would, so we’ve always done everything in our power to put ourselves in the right position.

AEW World Champion stated that the first few months of The Shield were very intense but before long everyone wanted to work with them.

Looking back, it was like we were kids,” Moxley says. “The first few months of The Shield were f—ing intense. It was a different time back then. We weren’t necessarily welcomed with open arms by everybody, but we didn’t give a f—. We were going to push the pace and have good f—ing matches. Before long, everybody wanted to start working with us.”

Moxley added that he still has the work ethic from his days with The Shield and it makes him who he is.

We created that ‘Shield work ethic,’” Moxley says. “The people we were around have that, too. Claudio [Castagnoli] is an old riding partner of The Shield. Hell, Bryan [Danielson] was our opponent in our first match.

I still have that. We all do. It makes us who we are.

H/T: Sports Illustrated

Seth Rollins Doesn’t Expect Shield Reunion Until WWE HOF Induction

Seth Rollins doesn’t expect The Shield to reunite with one another until they’re eventually inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame.

Rollins was recently interviewed by Stephanie Chase with Digital Spy, where he was asked about a potential reunion between the trio. “The Architect” admits that he doesn’t expect a true Shield reunion could ever take place again given the star power of the three as individuals.

“It wouldn’t look the way you want it to look. It wouldn’t be like the old days in The Shield, it would be a different animal. I think we’re all just too big stars with too big personalities at this point.

“We needed each other back then and now none of us need the other one. We’re at a point where we’re all standalone stars on a different level. So to have to kind of minimize that to fit into each other’s molds, I just don’t see it ever happening again. I think it would look a whole lot different than the next time you see us together.

“The next time you see us together it’s going to be when we’re inducted into the Hall of Fame. That’s going to be it.”

When the three do finally reunite together on WWE TV, Rollins expects it will be when they’re inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame.

Currently, both Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns remain as top stars in WWE. Reigns holds the WWE Undisputed Championship over on SmackDown Live. As for Rollins, he’s one of Monday Night RAW’s top stars.

Dean Ambrose, now going by the name Jon Moxley, reigns as the World Champion over at All Elite Wrestling (AEW). If and when the three do finally get together again on professional wrestling programming, it will likely be a very long time from now.

Big E Recalls Forgotten Talks Of Him Joining The Shield

Being part of the New Day with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods is one of the career highlights of Big E and joining the group has allowed the current IC champion to showcase a very unique side of his personality.

However, on the latest WWE 24 special based on his life and his wrestling career, the former NXT champion revealed some forgotten talks which could have seen him debut as part of a very different group.

During the episode, Big E remembered the time before his main roster call up and he revealed that at one point, there were talks of him debuting with The Shield as the fourth member of the group:

 “My first feeling of getting called up was 2012. I was doing loops. Any collective period of days is a loop. It’s Roman, Seth, Dean, and me.

There was some thought of bringing all four of us in together as a group. Obviously, that changes, and they go on to international fame as The Shield.”

The plans were obviously nixed. The Shield ended up debuting as a trio in November 2012 and their impactful debut led to all three of the members being recognised as main event stars from the start of their career.

Big E ended up on the main roster a month later where he aligned himself with Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee. He joined the New Day in the Summer of 2014 and the group has since created a unique legacy of their own.

Roman Reigns On The Shield’s Debut, Run Times For Survivor Series Weekend Events

Roman Reigns Reflects On The Shield’s Debut

Although Jon Moxley, formerly known as Dean Ambrose from his time with WWE, is no longer under contract with the company, Roman Reigns still decided to celebrate the anniversary of The Shield’s WWE debut. 

Reigns sent out a heartfelt message on his official Twitter account where he reflected on the main roster debut of the group that consisted of Reigns, Ambrose, and Seth Rollins. He wrote the following: 

“7 years ago. 3 hungry dudes ready to take over the world debuted in @WWE. Multiple world championships. Main events around the world. Money made. Families grown. Taking our own paths but will always be brothers. #TheShield.”

“Broken” Matt Hardy Releases Latest Episode of “Free The Delete” (Video)

At the 2012 Survivor Series pay-per-view event, The Shield helped CM Punk retain the WWE Title over John Cena and Ryback in a Triple Threat Match. 

Run Times For Survivor Series Weekend Events

WWE is less than a week from Survivor Series weekend with NXT TakeOver: WarGames III taking place this Saturday night while Survivor Series takes place the following night. 

Both shows will be held in Chicago, Illinois at the Allstate Arena and will air on the WWE Network. WWE has released the run times for both shows. 

A thirty-minute WWE NXT “Takeover: WarGames 2019” Kickoff pre-show starts at 6:30pm ET. The main card is scheduled to begin at 7pm ET and run until around 10pm ET. 

The Survivor Series Kickoff will begin at 5pm ET while the main card is scheduled to begin at 7pm ET, and run until around 11pm ET.

The Shield Victorious In Their Final Match Together (Video)

WWE had advertised the Shield’s final chapter for WWE Network and the trio of Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns wrestled their final match as a team from Moline, Illinois this Sunday Night.

These three faced the team of Bobby Lashley, Baron Corbin, and Drew McIntyre and as you would expect, the Shield won the bout with their signature triple powerbomb on Corbin.

After the match, Seth Rollins took the mic and said that everything that he can say has already been said. He then dedicated his recent Universal Championship victory over Brock Lesnar to his brothers.

Dean Ambrose picked up the mic next and put over both Rollins and Reigns for their hard work mentioning Seth’s Universal title win and Roman defeating Leukemia.

Ambrose went on to say that The Shield is about kicking down doors, taking what is yours and not taking no for an answer and the power of Shield is proof that anything is possible.

The trio then ended the show with their usual hand gesture. You can check out some photos and videos of their final chapter together below:

https://twitter.com/MikeKillam/status/1120163992633323521
https://twitter.com/pw_dotcom/status/1120153411893305345
https://twitter.com/heeIroman/status/1120155025249116161
https://twitter.com/AnnetteReid24/status/1120158507897118720
https://twitter.com/BeyondDamned/status/1120163884285952000
https://twitter.com/RomanFansite/status/1120155757243060224

With this match, we have seen the last of what could be considered the most impactful group in WWE of the past decade. What is your favorite moment of the trio? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

The Shield’s Opponent For Their Final Match Revealed

Earlier this week, WWE confirmed that we haven’t seen the last of the Shield just yet and the trio will be teaming up for “The Shield’s Last Chapter” this Sunday.

At the time WWE hadn’t announced their opponents, leaving fans wondering about the team that will face these three in what is being dubbed as their final match together.

Now a new report from Pwinsider has revealed that the obvious team of Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, and Baron Corbin are going to be the ones the Shield will be facing at the show.

This is disappointing news for fans who were hoping for a more high profile or mysterious opponent for the trio but it makes sense considering the setup of a regular Live Event.

As we noted before, Dean Ambrose’s current WWE contract expires at the end of this month and he is not advertised for any shows after this Sunday’s Live Event.

There is no word yet on what Ambrose will be doing after leaving the company but it’s likely that he’ll take some time off to wind down instead of rushing to his next endeavor

“The Shield’s Last Chapter” will air live on the WWE Network this Sunday from a live event at the Tax Slayer Center in Moline, Illinois.

The Shield’s Final Match To Air On WWE Network This Sunday

WWE announced that Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins would team up for the final time as members of The Shield.

On Monday afternoon, the company announced through their official website that a special called “The Shield’s Last Chapter” will air live on the WWE Network this Sunday from a live event at the Tax Slayer Center in Moline, Illinois.

The fan-favorite group is being advertised for a six-man tag team match but their opponents have yet to be revealed. Also on tap for this special is WWE Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor with the title on the line.

The group was last seen in action together when they beat Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin, and Bobby Lashley in a six-man tag team match at the Fastlane pay-per-view event. This contest served as the headliner of this show that took place from the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.

At the time, WWE hyped this match as the final match for the group leading up to it. The reason for that is due to WWE confirming that Ambrose would be departing from the WWE at the end of April as he has decided to not sign a new contract with the company.

Footage Of The Shield’s Emotional Goodbye At WWE Fastlane Released (Video)

WWE has released some footage of The Shield’s emotional goodbye at the most recent pay-per-view event, Fastlane.

Former WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns got the group back together in order to compete in his first match back in several months after he had announced that his battle with leukemia is in remission.

He teamed up with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins to beat Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin, and Bobby Lashley in a six-man tag team match.

This contest served as the headliner of this show that took place from the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio on the WWE Network earlier this month.

WWE hyped this match as the final match for the group leading up to it. The reason for that is due to WWE confirming that Ambrose would be departing from the WWE at the end of April as he has decided to not sign a new contract with the company.

You can watch the video here that was posted on WWE’s YouTube channel:

WWE has yet to announce who Ambrose and Reigns will face at WrestleMania 35. The company has confirmed that Rollins will challenge WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar.

WWE presents the WrestleMania 35 pay-per-view event on Sunday, April 7, 2019 in East Rutherford, NJ at MetLife Stadium that will air on the WWE Network.

The Shield To Give Farewell Address On WWE RAW

The Shield’s Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins are slated to give a farewell address on tonight’s episode of Monday Night RAW. The company announced the news this afternoon when they revealed that the group would open the show.

This comes after The Shield reunited for a six-man tag team bout where they were victorious over Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley & Baron Corbin on Sunday night at the WWE Fastlane pay-per-view event.

During this match, WWE made sure to have Michael Cole put over the fact that this would be the final appearance for The Shield due to Ambrose leaving the company next month as his contract is slated to expire.

It will be interesting to see if this leads to a Fastlane rematch as The Shield vs. Corbin, Lashley and McIntyre is locally advertised for this TV event. It’s worth noting that The Shield are advertised for some dark main events after tonight’s RAW.

Corbin dropped a teaser about a possible rematch as he noted in a recent tweet that he thinks his team should’ve won.

The company holds Monday Night RAW in Pittsburgh, PA at the PPG Paints Arena. Also confirmed for this show is a face-off with Batista and Triple H, plus Lashley vs. WWE Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor.

The Shield Victorious In Reunion Match At WWE Fastlane

The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose) were victorious in their reunion match.

The trio beat Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley & Baron Corbin in a six-match tag team match on Sunday night at the WWE Fastlane pay-per-view event.

This match marked Reigns has his first match in several months after he had announced that his battle with leukemia is in remission.

As noted, Reigns is advertised for all Monday Night RAW TV events through the May 6th episode in Cincinnati. The belief is that the former Universal Champion will be added to the RAW TV taping on May 13th in London, England after being advertised for events taking place on the annual post-WrestleMania 35 European tour.

This likely marked the final time that The Shield will team up together for the near future as WWE has confirmed that Ambrose would be departing from the WWE at the end of April as he has decided to not sign a new contract with the company.

Once news broke about Ambrose’s decision to leave the company, it’s been reported that the reason behind his call to depart is due to him being unhappy with his position in the WWE for some time.

He’s so unhappy that even though WWE officials offered him a five-year contract that was more than seven figures per year, Ambrose turned it down.

What are your thoughts on The Shield going over? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.

Shield Match Announced For WWE Fastlane

Roman Reigns has his first match in several months booked and it comes at the Fastlane pay-per-view event.

Reigns is slated to team up with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose to reunite The Shield to take part in a six-man tag team match against Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley & Baron Corbin.

As noted, Reigns is advertised for all Monday Night RAW TV events through the May 6th episode in Cincinnati. This comes after he had announced that his battle with leukemia is in remission. WWE made the news official on Monday’s RAW episode.

WWE presents the Fastlane pay-per-view event on March 10, 2019 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming days. Here is the updated card:

  • WWE Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Kevin Owens
  • The Shield (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins) vs. Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley & Baron Corbin – Six-Man Tag Team Match
  • WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos vs. Shane McMahon & The Miz
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Sasha Banks & Bayley vs. Nia Jax & Tamina
  • WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Mandy Rose
  • Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch – Vacant RAW Women’s Title Match

What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.

Seth Rollins Looks Back On Turning Heel, Breaking Up The Shield

With Roman Reigns sadly battling leukemia and Dean Ambrose leaving WWE after WrestleMania 35, that leaves Seth Rollins as the only Shield member to be on WWE’s roster post-April.

Speaking with Edge and Christian on their popular podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness, “The Architect” opened up on his time in the trio. A major point in The Shield’s history is the moment Seth Rollins would turn heel on his teammates, ruthlessly attacking them. His actions would split the group as Rollins aligned himself with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon within The Authority.

Rollins confessed that he wasn’t ready for the heel turn and eventual fallout of his character change. He recalled that when WWE informed him that he would be “pulling the trigger” as the heel within The Shield, he almost wanted to decline the turn.

“I was almost like, ‘No, I was a babyface in NXT. I’m the babyface; [Dean] Ambrose is the heel. It’s not the other way around. It doesn’t make any sense. I don’t know how to do this.’”

Turning heel had a learning curve for Rollins, who admitted it “took some learning” to adjust his characteristics to match his new persona. “I’d been a heel in Ring of Honor, but it’s just a different world here. It’s a different animal and you’re working with different guys.”

“[…] it took me a little while to get in my groove trying to figure out who is Seth Rollins? What is this character when he’s not in The Shield? It took me a little while to grow into who that person was, and figure him out, and try on different skins, and sometimes they didn’t work.”

Seth Rollins Shares His Thoughts On Roman Reigns’ Illness

Speaking with alarabyia.net, the current WWE Intercontinental Champion, Seth Rollins, shared his thoughts on his Shield brethren, Roman Reigns, and his unfortunate battle with his returning leukemia.

‘The Architect’ admitted that it “threw everything up in the air” and that it’s “hard to go a day without thinking about him and how he’s doing and hoping he’s doing alright. I’m fighting the urge to check in on him like a brother every two hours, but he’s a strong dude, and I know that he’s in a good place mentally as well as physically.”

He did shine some light on Reigns’ current health, however, saying that “He’s in good health for the most part. I think he’s going to be able to fight this thing pretty strong. We’re just getting through it while we can.”

“Obviously it’s going to be easier as time goes on,” Rollins reflected, “but certainly, the last couple weeks have been, and last week especially, have been a rollercoaster of emotions. Lots of ups and downs.”

Roman Reigns was sadly rediagnosed with lekaemia. This forced him to relinquish the WWE Universal Championship on RAW a few weeks ago, where he publicly addressed his health issues to a shocked WWE Universe.

More Information About Dean Ambrose Turning On Seth Rollins

The ending of Monday Night Raw left fans in a state of shock for many different reasons.

With Dean Ambrose turning on his Shield brother, Seth Rollins, after winning the tag team titles from Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler, the attack left viewers emotionally conflicted.

This is because the man that completes their trio, Roman Reigns, had only just revealed his unfortunate battle with leukemia earlier that night. During his heartfelt promo, Reigns would also relinquish the WWE Universal Championship.

Turns out that Ambrose’s actions weren’t originally planned to take place this past Monday. Original plans had his assault scheduled in November circa Survivor Series.

Dirty Deeds

According to the Wrestling Observer Live’s Bryan Alvarez, Dean “wasn’t even supposed to turn heel last night.”

Apparently, “the actual plan was that he was going to turn around Survivor Series and they [the WWE] moved it up and they specifically did it to capitalize on the emotions of a guy who’s home to fight for his life.”

He also speculated that a huge one-on-one match between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins would be scheduled for Wrestlemania 35 on April 7th, 2019.

“I believe 100% that the WrestleMania main event is Seth Rollins challenging Dean Ambrose for the WWE Title,” he said. “Now how you get there, I have no idea.”

What do you think? Would you like to see this match main event Wrestlemania 35? Were you conflicted at all at what transpired? How would you like to see them book their feud going forward?

The Shield Victorious at WWE Super Show-Down, Ambrose Heel Turn Incoming?

The Shield were victorious at WWE Super Show-Down against Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman. The story heading into the bout revolved around Dean Ambrose and whether he would turn on his long time stablemates, ala Seth Rollins’ original heel turn back in 2014.

There was a big tease during the bout that may have seen the ‘Lunatic Fringe’ finally turn heel. Ambrose has been portraying a babyface/tweener since late into the Shield’s initial run. Many fans are anticipating a change of pace for the character in the near future.

This came when Roman Reigns inadvertently hit Dean Ambrose with a Superman Punch. Ambrose was on the apron when Reigns attempted to hit his signature move on Drew McIntyre when the Scottish Superstar ducked out of the way. Ambrose was sent flying and reappeared several minutes later.

Later in the bout Reigns and Seth Rollins were surrounded by Strowman, Ziggler and McIntyre. Ambrose then appeared and took several moments to enter the ring and help his Shield brothers.

In an interesting twist Roman Reigns hurled himself into a charging Strowman on the outside through the barricade, thus ‘saving’ Ambrose and allowing him to enter the ring and hit his Dirty Deeds finisher on Ziggler for the three count. The move from Reigns got a big pop from the crowd and when the three men celebrated post match.

WWE’s Original Plan For The Shield Reunion Revealed

Last night on Monday Night Raw, WWE teased that Dean Ambrose might turn on the Shield. He didn’t, however, and the show ended with all three members standing in the ring together.

According to a recent report on Wrestling Observer Radio, however, when the Shield originally reformed last year, the plan had been for Ambrose to turn on the other two members.

Original Plan For The Shield Reunion Revealed

“Originally, Dean Ambrose, before he tore his triceps and had surgery, he was going to turn heel on the Shield,” said Dave Meltzer. “That was the plan and Dean Ambrose was going to wrestle Seth Rollins at WrestleMania this year.”

How long the Shield was going to remain reunited before Ambrose turned on the others is not clear.

“I had always assumed when Roman Reigns won the title, that Dean Ambrose was going to turn just because it was always the plan, I figured they might as well.”

As it stands now, the Shield is scheduled to face Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler, and Drew McIntyre in a 6-man tag team match scheduled for Super Show-Down in Australia on October 6th. Reigns will then look to defend his newly won Universal Championship against Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia in November.

Corey Graves Reveals How The Shield Got Out Of Jail On RAW

On Monday’s RAW, tensions between The Shield and Braun Strowman’s new faction continued to grow. Strowman has now aligned himself with RAW Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre. He has now evened the odds against Roman Reigns and The Shield. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose came to Reigns’ aid when Strowman attempted to cash-in his Money In The Bank (MITB) briefcase.

Now, Strowman will get his one-on-one shot at Reigns’ Universal Title inside Hell In A Cell. As we build to that, however, The Shield continue to feud with Strowman, Ziggler and McIntyre. This week the two factions collided to open up RAW.

Acting General Manager Baron Corbin ushered out the entire locker room to separate the six men. They continued to fight into the backstage area, but eventually The Shield were arrested and taken away for most of the show.

Towards the end of the night, Michael Cole announced that The Shield had been released from jail. They returned in a cop car and made their way to the ring to meet Strowman, McIntyre and Ziggler.

Before that could happen, however, all the heels in the locker room came out to ambush The Shield. The show went off-air as Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose laid lifeless on the floor.

The Explanation

Several days removed from RAW, we finally have an explanation as to how The Shield got out of jail. Corey Graves took to Twitter and suggested that WWE’s David Otunga phoned in a friend in the legal community to get The Shield released.

Here’s Graves’ Tweet:

Discussion: What do you think of WWE’s explanation of how The Shield got out of jail? Let us know in the comments below!

WWE Ranks The Shield As The Greatest Faction Of All Time

WWE has ranked The Shield as the Greatest Faction of All Time, which is sure to get fans debating the topic. A graphic posted on the company’s Instagram account lists Seth Rolins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns in the top spot of the Top 10 Greatest Factions of All Time.

The account doesn’t detail what went into the WWE Instagram accounts’ voting process in order to determine the order of these factions, nor does it highlight the number of stables that were in contention before being eliminated or the range of promotions they could stem from.

WWE’s Top 10 Factions Of All Time

WWE ranks the following groups as the ‘greatest’ of all time:

10. Undisputed Era
9. Freebirds
8. Nexus
7. Hart Foundation
6. The New Day
5. Evolution
4. nWo
3. DX
2. Four Horsemen
1. Shield

A post like this, based so much on subjective taste and opinion, was always going to be divisive amongst fans – and has been, given the Instagram comments section for the photo. Still, what’s controversial for some aligns with others.

With that in mind, who would be your top factions of all time?

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The Shield’s Opponent And Ronda Rousey’s Match Announced For Super Show Down

This week’s episode of Monday Night Raw saw the Monster Among Men Braun Strowman aligning himself with Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler to overcome the challenge of The Shield.

After this, WWE announced that this newly formed trio will face the Hounds Of Justice in a tag team match at the upcoming WWE Super Show Down from Australia.

Though this wasn’t the only match the company announced for the show during the day and they also revealed Ronda Rousey’s bout for the event.

They announced that the Raw Women’s Champion will be teaming up with the Bella Twins to face the trio of Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan known as the Riott squad.

These bouts are in addition to the previously announced match between Daniel Bryan and The Miz with the winner getting a WWE Championship opportunity sometime later.

After these announcements, the number of confirmed matches for the show has become 5. You can check out an updated Super Show Down match card below:

Updated Super Show Down Match Card

  • The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan – winner gets WWE title shot
  • Triple H vs. The Undertaker
  • John Cena and Bobby Lashley vs. Elias and Kevin Owens
  • The Shield vs. Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler, and Drew McIntyre
  • The Bella Twins and RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. The Riott Squad

More On The Shield’s Return On RAW

The Shield’s return on RAW last night really took a lot of WWE fans by surprise.

Roman Reigns was defending his Universal Championship against Finn Balor in the night’s main event. In the middle of the match, Braun Strowman hit the ring with his Money In The Bank (MITB) briefcase. He intended to cash-in on the match’s winner.

Reigns was able to pick up the win on a distracted Balor, after hitting him with a Spear. Strowman then got into the ring and downed Reigns with a big boot to the chest. Just before the referee could ring the bell to begin the match, The Shield’s music hit.

Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, dressed in their old Shield gear, came out to Reigns’ aid. The trio attacked Strowman and hit him with a Triple Powerbomb through the announce table. For the time being, it looks like The Shield is back together.

Reigns took to Twitter shortly after the show to comment on The Shield’s reunion:

Another interesting note, The Shield’s old Twitter account has resurfaced again. It had been two years since their last Tweet – until today. The account retweeted and commented on WWE’s photo of the trio’s reunion last night:

Discussion: What do you think about The Shield’s return on RAW last night? What do you make of their Twitter account resurfacing? And how long do you see the reunion lasting? Sound off in the comments below!

The Shield Celebrates After Raw Goes Off Air (Video)

For the surprise of many, the trio of Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins collectively known as the Shield reunited on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw.

Roman had just defeated Finn Balor in a one on one match and as the Universal Champion was trying to get up on his feet after the bout, Braun Strowman entered the arena.

Braun laid out Reigns with a big boot and afterward, made his intentions of cashing in his Money In The Bank contract clear by handing out the briefcase to the referee.

However, before the bell rang, Ambrose and Rollins came out to the aid of Roman and the trio then went on to attack Strowman.

The segment ended with The Shield delivering a triple powerbomb to the former Wyatt Family member and then celebrating at the ringside with their signature Pose.

After the show went off air, WWE posted the following video where Shield is shown to continue their celebration as they make their way back to the stage and Braun Strowman is trying to recover from the attack:

No word yet on what we can expect from the Shield reunion or where this storyline will lead us but we’ll keep you posted.

The Shield Split: 4 Years On

4 years ago, with the swing of a chair, Seth Rollins bought an end to one of the most dominant and popular stables in recent WWE history, The Shield. At the time it seemed to make little to no sense. The trio of Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose were at their collective height, and coming off a winning feud with Evolution, they looked rubber-stamped to rule over the company, side by side, for years to come.

However, hindsight is a wonderful thing, and as time has shown, the end of The Shield was just the beginning, leading to all three Hounds of Justice to ride the momentum of their implosion to successful singles careers, the likes of which seemed just out of reach when they were together.

The break-up was the catalyst for a new era in WWE, and all three stars have continued to lead the company ever since, though obviously some have been more successful than others.

Dean Ambrose

Dean Ambrose bio

Whilst part of The Shield, Ambrose was painted as the de facto leader. He was their mouth-piece; a charismatic psychopath greenlit to carry the trio with the kind of frenetic unpredictability he has since become synonymous with. So when the split came, it was assumed he would be the first of the three to get a rocket strapped to his back.

This was not the case, and it would be two years before The Lunatic Fringe got his chance to hold a World Title, becoming the last of the trio to do so. A dilution of his character from the whirling ball of madness to just being “a wacky guy” also didn’t help.

Even though he hasn’t quite lit the main event scene alight as much as his former compadres, his post-Shield C.V. consists of one Tag Team Title reign, two Intercontinental Championships, a Money In The Bank victory and the aforementioned WWE World Heavyweight reign. He was however the first of the three to become a GrandSlam Champion.

Roman Reigns

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4 Wrestlemania main events in a row. That should be all you need to know about Roman Reigns standing in the company ever since the split. Whilst he was the most unpolished, and least critically popular of the three at the time, he was almost immediately christened as “The Guy” by the company, and has basically lived rent-free in the main event scene ever since.

Whilst some fans disdain for being made to accept Reigns as the face of company has reached john Cena-esque levels of pantomime, Roman has, in the ring at least, lived up to his billing, putting on excellent matches with everyone from AJ Styles, Brock Lesnar, Kevin Owens and even against his former brethren.

Despite his top guy status, he just misses out on being the most decorated of the three, with one US Title run, one IC run, three WWE World Heavyweight Championships and one (notoriously ill-fated) Royal Rumble win.

Seth Rollins

Seth Rollins bio 5b959c76bc8187e0697952267151501d

The Architect of The Shield’s demise, at the time Rollins was considered to be the one most at risk of slipping through the cracks and getting lost in the shuffle of WWE’s burgeoning roster. Oh how wrong we were. Becoming’s The Authority’s hand picked champion, Rollins has been on absolute tear these past 4 years, gaining a reputation as one of the best wrestlers not only in the company, but on the planet.

From lasting over an hour in a gauntlet match, to defending titles in eight separate countries on four different continents in the space of 4 weeks, he has growing into a beast of a workhorse for the company. All those miles and hours he has put in have not gone unrewarded, with him being the most successful member of The Shield in terms of silverware.

The KingSlayer has two post-split Tag Team Title runs to his name, along with one reign a piece with the Intercontinental and US belts. He also is a two-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion, one of which came about from a Money In The Bank win.

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While a reunion has been teased and even attempted (you can’t really count late 2017 as the wheels fell off well before it was even out of the garage), and it would be insanely profitable for the company, you’ve got to commend the WWE for not fully pulling that particular trigger. It’s refreshing to see them hold off for so long and bank on all three to individually carry the company, becoming some of the biggest stars they have at their disposal.

4 years on from a moment that genuinely shocked and surprised audiences around the world, the break-up of The Shield has proved to be beneficial not only to the three individuals who ran roughshod over the company for two years, but also for the WWE, fans and wrestling as a whole.

What did you make of The Shield’s split, and it’s impact on the landscape of the WWE? Let us know in the comments section below.