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Rejoice, WWE fans: The Shield are back together!
Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose were the most dominant faction WWE had seen in years during their 19-month run together between November 2012 and June 2014.
Now, after three years apart, the “Hounds of Justice” have officially reunited and will face The Miz, Sheamus, Cesaro and Braun Strowman in the main event of the upcoming TLC pay-per-view.
Before the days of Seth swinging steel and calls for Roman to turn heel, the three-man group wreaked havoc everywhere they went.
In this article, we take a look at five of the best rivalries the trio had during their time as WWE’s top stable.
#5 Ryback & Team Hell No
If you listen to CM Punk, he says he came up with the idea to put The Shield together, although he would have had Chris Hero — now NXT’s Kassius Ohno — in the group instead of Roman Reigns.
If you listen to Ryback, he says he came up with the idea to use the Triple Powerbomb manoeuvre as their finisher.
However, if you listened to the WWE Universe at TLC 2012, they couldn’t have cared less who came up with any ideas for the group.
That night, in the first-ever TLC match with no titles on the line, Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose were victorious on their main-roster debut against Ryback and Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane).
Fans got a look at the trio’s in-ring work as a faction for the first time and it’s safe to say we weren’t disappointed. It was clear from the very start that all three guys were going to become major stars.
#4 John Cena, Ryback & Sheamus
In a continuation of the Ryback feud, “The Big Guy” recruited John Cena and Sheamus to go three-on-three with the seemingly unstoppable trio.
While this rivalry may not be the first that springs to mind when you think of The Shield’s most memorable feuds, perhaps this one was the most significant.
At Elimination Chamber 2013, Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose followed up a destructive first three months on the main roster by defeating John Cena, Ryback and Sheamus, but that’s not what WWE originally had planned for the match.
Speaking on Talk Is Jericho, Ambrose said: “As soon as we go down to John, we’re just like everybody else because that’s what he does to everybody else… we went into that pay-per-view that day like ‘we’re not doing it’.”
How different would The Shield’s run have been had they been beaten so soon after their debut?
#3 The Rhodes Brothers
While Rollins and Reigns' best match as WWE Tag Team champions came at Money In The Bank 2013 against The Usos, their best feud over the gold was with the Rhodes Brothers.
Cody had been fired by Triple H as punishment for questioning his decisions as leader of The Authority, while Goldust failed to win their jobs back in a match against Randy Orton on Raw.
At Battleground 2013, they had the chance to be reinstated, as well as keep their father Dusty in a job with NXT, if they could defeat The Shield in a non-title match.
The Rhodes Brothers were successful, with Cody pinning Rollins after a Cross Rhodes, and they won the titles from the “Hounds of Justice” a week later on Raw.
#2 Evolution
By April 2014, The Shield were running out of opponents to face. They took on the team of Kane, Road Dogg and Billy Gunn at WrestleMania XXX, defeating them in convincing fashion, and needed fresh challengers.
The following night, the seeds were planted for a feud that could easily have made top spot on this list, and one that eventually led to the demise of the most popular trio in modern-day WWE.
Of course, we’re talking about Evolution. The two teams went to war on back-to-back PPVs in 2014 — first in a six-man tag match at Extreme Rules and then in a No Holds Barred elimination match at Payback — with The Shield winning on both occasions.
The night after Payback, a sledgehammer-carrying Triple H ominously warned: “What I do better than anybody is adapt. Last night was Plan A. Tonight is Plan B. There’s always a Plan B.”
Cue one of the most unexpected heel turns in WWE history.
#1 The Wyatt Family
From the moment the Wyatt Family debuted on the main roster, there was only one tag-team feud the WWE Universe wanted to see: The Shield vs. The Wyatts.
At Elimination Chamber 2014, we finally got to see it. On one side: Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. On the other: Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. The end result: carnage.
Without a kick, jab or Superman Punch being thrown, fans were already chanting “this is awesome!” when all six guys stood across the ring from each other.
The Wyatts were the eventual victors of the match - and the entire feud - right at a time when dissension between The Shield had many predicting a break-up months before Seth turned on his fellow Hounds.
Maybe, just maybe, fans will be treated to this feud again one day.
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