10 Best WWE Matches of The Shield

It was with a heavy heart that on the October 22 edition of WWE RAW in 2018 that the then WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns announced that his returning Leukemia has forced him to relinquish the Universal title and take time away from WWE to be with his family while he once again returns to fight the horrible disease.

After an emotional speech that very quickly turned boos into loud echoing chants of ''Thank You Roman'', his Shield brothers Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins joined him on stage for a heart-wrenching embrace. As Reigns prepares for the biggest fight in his life, I think we should honor him by taking a look over the top 10 best matches of The Shield.

#10 The Shield, Jack Swagger & Cesaro vs. Cody Rhodes, Goldust, Rey Mysterio & The Usos

This was a history-making match, and a match that showed us how dominant Roman Reigns was going to be in WWE. The record that Roman obtained this night, which still stands today, was for eliminating all 5 men on the opposite team, all by himself.

It was a very good match as expected. They were all fantastic performers and The Shield and the Rhodes brothers had been feuding for just about a month, delivering a show-stealing performance every single time.

We had some surprising moments, such as Cody eliminating Dean Ambrose after just 3 minutes, high flying action from Rey Mysterio and The Usos, incredible strength shown by both Regins and Cesaro, and a lot of fast-paced action from everyone involved.

Reigns was the sole survivor of his team and eliminated all 5 of his opponents with great force throughout the match, with the Big Dog last pinning Rey Mysterio to take home the win.

#9 The Shield vs. Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre - Super Show-Down 2018

These two former trio teams had several 6-Man Tag Team matches over the past two months, and they all generally delivered, with this one at WWE Super Show-Down in Australia being the best.

For just about 20 minutes, these two teams beat the hell out of each other. There was tension building between Dean Ambrose and his two teammates, so speculation was wide that it would be this night that he would have enough and turn on his brothers, but no, they remained a brotherhood to take the fight from the then united Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre.

It was a well-worked match, each man had his moment to shine and the action was fast-paced from start to finish. As the action was at its peak, Ambrose, seemingly out of nowhere, hit a Dirty Deeds DDT on Ziggler to get the three count.

#8 The Shield vs. The New Day - Survivor Series 2017

I think everyone was well aware that The Shield would be taking this one home, what with The Shield having just reunited, but never the less we were still given an exciting and believable match.

It was an exciting match from start to finish. A lot of fast-paced action, the usual Shield and New Day triple moves, an awesome double Midnight Hour by The New Day, and the end came when Reigns hit a Spear on Kingston.

Then with all three Shield members in the ring, Reigns sat on the turnbuckle and Rollins and Ambrose hoisted Kingston up and Reigns delivered the Triple Powerbomb off the ropes, which led Ambrose to cover Kingston for the pinfall.

This was only The Shield's second match back together, so no one thought they would lose, especially when those three are main event guys and The New Day are tag team wrestlers, but it was still a cracking match.

#7 The Shield vs. The Usos - Money in The Bank 2013 Pre-Show

Originally scheduled for the main show, this WWE Tag Team Championship match pitting Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins vs. The Usos was moved to the pre-show just a week prior.

Pre-show pay-per-view matches are generally a 7 or so minute match to get the crowd a little excited for the main show, however, this match was given more than double that time and both teams went out to prove why they should have remained on the main Money in The Bank event, and I think they did.

It is arguably the best WWE pre-show match ever. There were a lot of fun moments that the crowd were really into and the action was crisp. As the bell rang, the crowd already began chanting 'RVD', as Rob Van Dam was returning to WWE that night, but these two teams quickly brought all of the attention to them. They did a lot of great spots, most notably a huge Tower of Doom with powerbombs and suplexes and several exciting nearfalls.

The end came when Reigns made a blind tag and hit a Spear on Jay for the victory.

#6 The Shield vs. Cody Rhodes & Goldust - WWE RAW October 7, 2014

After stealing the show the previous evening at WWE Battleground, Cody Rhodes and Goldust were granted a rematch with The Shield (Reigns and Rollins) on RAW, only this time a No Disqualification match for the WWE Tag Team Championships.

It started off a little basic but by the end, it had all four guys working a tremendously fast-paced match that had the crowd going crazy. Goldust, in his 40's, proved he was like a fine wine in only improving with age as he gave one of the best performances of his career. Cody also showed promise in how he could be a great performer, even more so than how he handled himself in the ring in recent years.

Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins looked great as usual, continuing the 2013 trend of The Shield stealing the show. After some great back and forth action, the previously absent Big Show return and took out Reigns and Rollins with some big punches, leading to Cody to pin Seth to win the match and Tag Team titles for he and his brother.

#5 The Shield vs. Evolution - Extreme Rules 2014

Triple H certainly doesn't have the best reputation for putting others over, and extremely well, but here, along with Randy Orton and Batista, they helped make The Shield look like a Million bucks.

A big brawl started things off as The Shield clear Evolution of the ring. Triple H and Seth Rollins started things off, officially. The Game had control for a while before Rollins fights back and tagged Dean Ambrose.

Ambrose quickly took down everyone before Evolution triple assaulted him to take control back. All six men got involved soon as it became Tornado style rules.

Some fun brawling and exchanges, that led into the crowd. Rollins gave the best moment in the match when he performed a Cross Body off a balcony. Back in the ring, Roman Reigns reversed the Batista Bomb into a Superman Punch and Spear for the win.

#4 The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family - Elimination Chamber 2014

This was an outstanding match, and arguably a career-best showing for all three members of the Wyatt Family.

The crowd were so into this match that they chanted 'This is awesome' before it even began. While it started off slow, after the first 7 or 8 minutes, the action became very fast paced and barely ever slowed down, quite an accomplishment seeing how it ran for just about 22 minutes.

Roman Reigns was the star of this show for sure. He gave a dominating performance and looked like a superstar. Luke Harper hit a flying dive on Dean Ambrose outside the ring in between the middle rope, which was followed by Rollins hitting a somersault plancha that took out Harper outside the ring, which was a great sequence. Rollins took a huge bump through the Spanish announce table with a Double Chokeslam, while Ambrose brawled with Harper.

The end came when Reigns his a superman punch on Erick Rowan, then one for Bray, then a Spear on Harper who had recovered from his tangle with Ambrose, only to be met with a Sister Abigail from Bray, taking the win for the Wyatt Family.

#3 The Shield vs. Cody Rhodes & Goldust - Battleground 2013

As mentioned earlier, The Shield lost their WWE Tag team Championships to Cody Rhodes and Goldust in an excellent match on RAW, the following night after this event.

Before that match, they faced the Rhodes brothers at Battleground, delivering an even more phenomenal match. The late great Dusty Rhodes accompanied his sons to the ring as Dean Ambrose joined Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. The crowd were really fired up for this one, and rightly so as it was action-packed from start to finish.

We got some great double team moves from each team, some exciting nearfalls, attempted interference from Ambrose, only to be stopped by Dusty, who delivered his last ever Bionic Elbow here to a huge ovation, and a lot of intense drama. Cody pinned Rollins with a Cross Roads for the win.

#2 The Shield vs. Evolution - WWE Payback 2014

This was an excellent match, and for me is superior to the first match between the two trio teams at Extreme Rules the previous month. What helps make this match so good, is the crazy yet very good booking.

It was a No Holds Barred Elimination match. The match was very fast paced from start to finish, had so many great brawling moments, the crowd were very much into every moment, each man on both teams looked great and it took more than 20 minutes to get even the first elimination.

What is even more amazing is how well The Shield were booked here. All three members of The Shield remained in the match, and each one eliminated a member of Evolution with Batista being eliminated by Seth Rollins, Randy Orton by Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns last pinned Triple H to take the win for his team. Excellent booking and what a way to put The Shield over.

#1 The Shield vs. Ryback & Team Hell No - TLC 2012

This was the debut main roster match for Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose and it was probably the greatest debut match in WWE history.

It was a fantastic Tables, Ladders and Chairs match that was wild and exciting from beginning to end. The audience was hot for all of it and reacting accordingly to every big spot, and there were plenty of them. The Shield showed here, even this early together, how well they were going to work as a unit.

All three members had their own impressive moments and opponents Ryback, Kane and Daniel Bryan put in a fine performance too. This was probably a career-best showing for Ryback.

There were many insane moments with each weapon of choice, particularly the tables. The pacing of the match was incredible. The Shield hit a lot of their future signature moves, and each got moments to shine, while still allowing Ryback and Team Hell No to look great.

Seth Rollins took a sick bump when he came crashing down from a tall ladder through two tables, while the back of his head very dangerously hit another. He looked dead.

The end came when Reigns held Bryan up for the Powerbomb off the middle rope and drove him through a table and made the cover for the three count.