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For those who don’t know, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose reunited on this week’s Monday Night Raw to reform The Shield.
After weeks of speculation, it was finally announced that the ‘Hounds of Justice’ will once again join forces to battle The Miz, Cesaro & Sheamus and Braun Strowman in a 4-on-3 handicap match at the upcoming TLC pay-per-view on October 22nd.
The Shield has to be considered the greatest faction of this era and is one of the best groups in the history of WWE.
So, after their recent reformation, now seems like a good time to take a trip down memory lane as we look back The Shield’s 5 best matches so far in WWE.
#1 TLC 2012: The Shield vs. Team Hell No & Ryback
After debuting at Survivor Series 2012 to help the WWE Champion at the time, CM Punk, defeat Ryback and John Cena in a triple threat and retain his title, The Hounds of Justice would have their first match in WWE at the following month’s TLC pay-per-view.
As far as debut matches go, the Shield's was pretty spectacular as they faced Team Hell No & Ryback in a 6-man tag TLC match. Welcome to the big time, guys.
After making a big impact even before their first official bout, there was plenty of anticipation for this match and their debut, and they certainly lived up to the hype in this contest.
The match was typically chaotic from start to finish and gave the audience a taste of what was to come from Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns. But more importantly, it showed that The Shield was a cohesive unit and would be a force to be reckoned with in WWE.
#2 Money In The Bank 2013: The Shield (Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins) vs. The Usos
In what could be considered something of a hidden gem in The Shield’s catalogue of matches, their 2013 outing against The Usos on the Money In The Bank pre-show is one of my favourite bouts involving the ‘Hounds of Justice’.
Roman Reigns has admitted in the past that all four of the men involved in this match were offended that their Tag Team Championship contest was dropped to the pre-show and that they had a chip on their shoulder when they came out for their match.
But instead of letting it get them down, it made them determined to have one of the best ever pre-show matches in WWE history.
The action was fast and frantic and built up to an excellent final five minutes or so that made sure that people would be talking about their match instead of some of the other bouts on the main show.
#3 Battleground 2013: The Shield w/Dean Ambrose vs. Cody Rhodes & Goldust w/Dusty Rhodes
There was a lot at stake when The Shield met the Rhodes family at Battleground 2013. Not so much for The Shield, but for Cody & Goldust who were fighting for their family’s future.
If the Rhodes family won, then Cody, who had recently been fired from WWE, would be reinstated. But, if they lost, Goldust and Dusty Rhodes would also be fired and their entire family would be banned from the company.
The crowd was invested in this match throughout, but when the late Dusty Rhodes got involved outside the ring and hit his patented bionic elbow on Ambrose, the audience went into a frenzy that lasted all the way until Cody hit the ‘Cross Rhodes’ on Rollins for the victory.
This was an emotional moment for the Rhodes family, even more so now in retrospect after the untimely passing of Dusty just a couple of years later.
As for The Shield, although they played a supporting role in this story, they still delivered a great match and contributed towards a memorable moment.
#4 Elimination Chamber 2014: The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family
When The Shield and The Wyatt Family met at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in 2014, they were the two most dominant factions in WWE and were both at the height of their powers. Therefore, their colossal collision was a match that simply could not be missed.
For my money, this is the greatest 6-man tag match in WWE history. It had a bit of everything, from the brawling style of Dean Ambrose to some incredible high-flying from Seth Rollins and Luke Harper, not to mention a great performance from Bray Wyatt.
The storytelling in this match was also faultless as the Wyatts slowly and systematically weathered the Shield’s onslaught and eventually picked them off one by one. First of all, Wyatt and the Lunatic Fringe battled to the backstage area and while the Eater of Worlds would return, Ambrose was not heard from again during this contest.
Rowan and Harper then double chokeslammed Rollins through an announcer’s table, to effectively eliminate him from the match. Which left Roman Reigns all alone against the three members of The Wyatt Family.
Despite a valiant effort, Reigns would eventually succumb to a ‘Sister Abigail’ from Bray, which gave the victory to The Wyatts.
#5 Extreme Rules 2014: The Shield vs. Evolution
By the time Extreme Rules 2014 came around, The Hounds of Justice were fully-fledged babyfaces after turning on Triple H the night after WrestleMania XXX.
This led to Triple H reforming Evolution with Randy Orton and Batista after 10 years, and the two factions proceeded to do battle at Extreme Rules.
The match began fairly slowly, typical of an Orton or Triple H match, and the crowd was waiting for the big babyface comeback from The Shield. The big comeback eventually came when Rollins & Ambrose brawled with HHH and Orton around ringside and into the crowd.
The Lunatic Fringe and the Architect took out two-thirds of Evolution after Rollins dived from a balcony in the crowd, leaving Reigns to spear Batista in the ring and pick up the victory for The Shield.
This landmark win, along with another victory over Evolution at Payback the following month, was considered a changing of the guard in WWE — until Seth’s infamous betrayal of his brothers.
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