Opinion: The Shield is the most dominant faction in Wrestling history

On November 18, 2012, a group of renegades would march into a WWE ring in sweatpants and turtlenecks and proceed to wreak havoc in the main event of Survivor Series. The match featuring John Cena, Ryback and CM Punk for Punk's WWE Championship was halted by the trio of Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, who proceeded to attack Ryback who was closing in on the WWE Championship.

While Ambrose and Rollins were known to the hardcore wrestling fans due to their time in the independent circuit, Reigns was a relatively unknown name. Over the next few years, the trio known as The Shield would go on to become one of the most dominant factions in WWE history taking out names like The Rock, The Undertaker, John Cena and Kane. The Shield's massive popularity over the years has made us think that the trio might just be the most dominant force in wrestling history and before you jump to any conclusions, here's our reasoning for it.

The Shield's initial run was sweet and short. The company didn't keep the trio together for too long and therefore their act never got stale. Another reason for The Shield's success was that the group never added any new members which meant that the group was never oversaturated.

In the past, we have had factions like the nWo and DX change beyond recognition during the course of their run as a faction. nWo in specific suffered due to oversaturation of its initial line-up to a point where almost every member of the WCW roster was a member of nWo. In addition to that, the different off-shoots of nWo also resulted in the faction losing its mystique which made it a household name in the first place. The Shield's staying true to their core line-up was truly a testament to how valuable the faction was to the company who didn't they want to dilute it by adding new members.

The Shield's rise to the top was unlike anything we had ever seen before. From an old-school stable like the Four Horsemen to the modern day Bullet Club factions have always been an integral part of pro wrestling.

But, what made The Shield truly special was the fact that unlike The Four Horsemen and Bullet Club, they were all rookies trying to take over the business. Ric Flair and the rest of The Four Horsemen were already household names before they joined forces and Prince Devitt (Finn Balor) was already an established name in New Japan before him, Tama Tonga, Karl Anderson, and Bad Luck Fale formed the Bullet Club.

Rollins, Ambrose, and Reigns Rose to prominence with The Shield and went on to become the cornerstones of WWE. Although Ambrose is considered to be the least successful member of The Shield, we must not forget the fact that he was the first member of the group to become a Grand Slam Champion.

The Shield, has for the past few years, been WWE's cash cow which is probably the reason why the company reunited the group time and time again. The popularity of Shield can be gauged from the fact even the company's most polarizing figure, Roman Reigns got cheered when he got back with the Shield. It is hard to imagine what the careers of Ambrose, Rollins, and Reigns would've been, had The Shield not been a part of it.

Even now, looking at the current wrestling landscape and with the impending war between WWE and AEW, it is going to a Battle between the members of The Shield, in a way. With Rollins and Reigns steering the ship for RAW and SmackDown, Ambrose/Jon Moxley is someone AEW will be banking on as they get set to debut on network TV.

The Battle between two warring factions, i.e, WWE and AEW, and Ambrose, Reigns, and Rollins being at the forefront for their respective brands/company is a testament to the kind of impact the faction has had on the business.