7 Years of Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins in WWE: 5 positives and 5 negatives

Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins burst onto the WWE scene with Dean Ambrose at Survivor Series 2012. The trio, known as The Shield, attacked Ryback in the main event, allowing CM Punk to retain his WWE Championship in a Triple Threat match which also involved John Cena.

Between their debut on November 18, 2012 and their eventual demise on June 2, 2014, The Shield established themselves as WWE’s next group of main-event Superstars, particularly towards the end of their time as a faction when they won back-to-back PPV matches against Evolution.

Fast forward to 2019 and, after multiple reunions, The Shield’s final chapter was written in April when Ambrose decided to leave WWE at the end of his contract. Now going by the name Jon Moxley, the one-time WWE Champion is among the top stars in AEW, while he has also competed for NJPW in recent months.

Reigns and Rollins, meanwhile, remain two of WWE’s highest-profile names, with “The Big Dog” currently starring on SmackDown and “The Beastslayer” performing as one of the main attractions every Monday night on RAW.

Seven years to the day since their first main-roster WWE appearance, let’s take a look at five positives and five negatives from Reigns and Rollins’ time with the company so far.

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#5 Positive: One of the greatest factions of all time

Shortly after The Shield’s 2018 reunion, WWE posted a list on social media of the top 10 factions of all time, which included “The Hounds of Justice” in the No.1 position.

It might be an exaggeration to say that Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose were the greatest team in WWE history, but they were certainly the most dominant faction of their generation.

#5 Negative: Not enough opponents for The Shield

All three members of The Shield have explained in media interviews throughout the years that WWE decided to separate the trio in June 2014 because they did not have any opponents left to face on RAW and SmackDown.

Looking back, could WWE have done more to build future opponents for three of the company’s rising stars? The Shield’s most memorable rivalries came towards the end of their initial run against teams including The Rhodes Brothers, The Wyatt Family and Evolution, while Reigns and Rollins had some impressive matches against The Usos.

Other than that, many of their matches were against makeshift tag teams and trios.

#4 Positive: The moment of The Shield’s demise

As soon as somebody wins a title in WWE, it does not take long for fans to predict who could potentially dethrone that person to become the new champion.

In 2013-14, that conversation was often had about The Shield, with fans wondering when Dean Ambrose – the most villainous of the three men – would inevitably turn against his fellow faction members.

As it turned out, Seth Rollins shocked the world by attacking Roman Reigns and Ambrose with a steel chair on RAW in June 2014, creating one of the greatest moments in the Red brand’s history.

#4 Negative: Roman Reigns kept The Shield's music and attire

Following The Shield’s split, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose reinvented their characters with new music and attire, while Roman Reigns continued to wear a Shield tactical vest and use a remix of The Shield’s original music.

Unlike many WWE factions, The Shield did not have one main person who fans could highlight as the leader of the group. All three men played their part and each one of them was just as important as the others.

However, WWE’s decision to have Reigns use the same music and attire, as well as the Shield fist taunt and “Believe That” catchphrase, made it seem like he was the top star of The Shield, which could not have been further from the truth.

#3 Negative: Dean Ambrose overlooked at WrestleMania 31

Despite Dean Ambrose receiving the loudest babyface reactions in WWE towards the end of 2014, WWE pushed Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins as the company’s next top stars ahead of the first WrestleMania since The Shield split up.

This resulted in Rollins cashing in his Money In The Bank contract in the main event of WrestleMania 31 during the match between Reigns and Brock Lesnar. Ambrose, meanwhile, competed in a seven-man ladder match earlier in the night and he was nowhere to be seen when his fellow Shield members shared a career-altering moment at the end of the show.

#3 Positive: Early proof that the NXT system worked

WWE promoting Superstars from developmental systems is hardly anything new. Back in the early 2000s, an OVW class once boasted future talents Batista, Brock Lesnar, John Cena and Randy Orton, and all four men went on to become multiple-time World Champions.

During a time when the NXT product was gaining more and more popularity, it was important that former Superstars from the brand achieved success on the main roster to not only prove to WWE’s up-and-comers that their hard work will one day pay off, but also to show fans that they can witness stars of the future in NXT.

Seth Rollins already had years of wrestling experience before he joined WWE, but Roman Reigns – a former football player who learned how to wrestle as part of FCW and NXT – was proof that the new development system was going to work.

#2 Negative: WWE’s booking of both men as babyfaces

Many WWE fans rejected Roman Reigns as the company’s next top babyface after The Shield split up, while Seth Rollins has received similarly negative reactions from audiences during his run as the main good guy on RAW throughout 2019.

Both men thrived earlier in their careers as heels, but WWE’s cartoonish booking of the former Shield members as babyfaces has prompted large sections of the fanbase to turn against them.

Reigns, in particular, received a huge amount of negativity between 2014-2018, and Rollins often receives more boos than cheers despite his babyface status.

#2 Positive: Silencing doubters with in-ring performances

Regardless of how fans have reacted to their WWE characters and storylines, nobody can doubt that Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins are two of the best in-ring performers that the company has had over the last seven years.

When the fan reactions were at their most vociferous, Reigns consistently proved why he deserved to be in main events – his 2015 Fastlane win over Daniel Bryan springs to mind – and Rollins has always had a reputation for being one of the most talented wrestlers in the world.

#1 Negative: The multiple Shield reunions

Nobody can blame WWE for attempting to recreate The Shield’s glory days, but it is fair to say that their 2017, 2018 and 2019 reunions did not work.

In 2017, they briefly joined forces towards the end of the year but their reunion was hindered by an illness to Roman Reigns and a long-term injury to Dean Ambrose. Nine months later, the trio got back together again but they failed to garner the same kind of crowd reactions that made them so popular in the first place.

After Ambrose’s failed heel run and Reigns’ return from battling leukemia, The Shield reunited once again in early 2019, but the storyline explanation for their reunion made little-to-no sense.

#1 Positive: WWE's post-Cena era is in good hands

CM Punk’s 434-day reign as WWE Champion is remembered fondly by WWE fans. However, it is also worth remembering that, such was his importance to the company at the time, many PPVs during that era were headlined by John Cena’s non-title matches.

It looked for a long time as if WWE would never be able to find Superstars to eventually dethrone Cena as the company’s top guy, but Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins have stepped up and proved that they can be the top full-time attractions in the post-Cena era.

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