What if The Shield works a triple threat match at WrestleMania?

There’s little question The Shield is one of the most successful stables in recent memory for WWE. Not only were they successful as a unit, but they’re that rare group that legitimately launched three Superstars, each of whom would go on to achieve world champion and main event competitor status.

Even before The Shield split up for the first time, speculation had started up about what would happen if they were to have a three-way match. That idea only gathered steam after Seth Rollins turned his back on the team in one of the most significant heel turns of the last decade.

The Shield had a triple threat match at Battleground 2016. It was a good match, and a fitting swan song before Dean Ambrose went off to a separate brand from his former teammates, and walked away with his head held high from not only winning the match but retaining the WWE Championship in the process.

Since The Shield reformed, there has been speculation about the next breakup, and particularly about Ambrose turning heel this time. Time will tell if that’s the story, but if WWE does revisit this match, it would only make sense for it to be on the biggest stage of all at WrestleMania. This article takes a look at five potential outcomes of WWE booking that match.

#5 Dean Ambrose plays the heel

From the first hints of a Shield reunion, the prevailing word was that Dean Ambrose would eventually turn heel to split them up. The choice made sense enough as Ambrose has a track record as a heel and had grown stale as a face over his years as a solo act on the main roster. Moreover, Seth Rollins had already turned previously, and WWE seems dead set on keeping Roman Reigns a face.

WWE has been teasing an Ambrose turn enough recently to suggest it’s too predictable and therefore isn’t actually going to happen. This may well be a moment of reverse psychology, though. If WWE were to pursue this triple threat, it feels like a tougher sell with everyone as a face, and an inevitably divided crowd that might be all the more prone to boo Reigns. No, it makes sense that we have at least one heel in the mix, and Ambrose remains the most logical pick to make that transition.

#4 Six-man tag matches leading up to ‘Mania

Even if The Shield does split up to lay the groundwork for a triple threat between the three members at WrestleMania, it doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t see them teaming up at all. Indeed, it has become a bit of a trope in WWE to have opponents for big time shows appear as uneasy tag team partners with one another for a bit to add tension to their issue, and to feature them in matches and confrontations without actually giving away matches between the principle players.

For The Shield, given both their history and their tendency to produce excellent matches as a unit, it’s all the more sensible to think WWE would build to a ‘Mania match between them by putting the band back together against a series of opponents against whom they can both prove their greatness, and have something extra to fight over when they lose.

#3 A breakout moment for Seth Rollins

In the most recent iteration of The Shield, Seth Rollins has run the risk of feeling like a forgotten third man, not altogether different from how he looked at points in the original Shield run. After all, Roman Reigns has always been the group’s big man and presumptive eventual breakout star. Dean Ambrose’s personality has always been magnetic, and the intrigue around whether he might turn on the team has taken center stage this fall.

So, in order to rebalance the scales and keep Rollins special in his own right, he may get the victory In this triple threat situation. It’s a win that Reigns certainly doesn’t need for his credibility, and that Ambrose already has from the original Shield triple threat at Battleground 2016. Rollins would walk into WreslteMania the kayfabe underdog, but quite arguably the best choice to emerge victorious and as the new Universal Champion.

#2 Roman Reigns breaks the consecutive ‘Mania main event record

WWE has enough invested in The Shield brand that if the Hounds of Justice are to have a three-way war at the biggest show of the year, it’s hard to imagine them not getting the main event spot. In addition to star power and kayfabe implications, there’s also the simple matter of how good these guys are, particularly working with and against one another, that they’d put on a match that’s extremely difficult to follow.

Whether he was to win or lose, Roman Reigns would stand to make the most history in this situation. There remain figures like Hulk Hogan, John Cena, and Triple H with more WrestleMania main events than Reigns. However, The Big Dog is already tied with Hogan for the most consecutive WrestleMania main events at four (a feat Hogan established from WrestleManias 5 to 8—not counting him technically closing the show with an impromptu match at WrestleMania 9). In headlining his fifth straight ‘Mania, Reigns would further establish himself as this generation’s face of the company.

#1 The band still gets back together down the road

Shield backstage — When it comes to Shield reunions, never say never.

The Shield generated a lot of buzz when it reunited at all, and for the group to split up again isn’t something WWE could take lightly, especially if the ensuing feud were to include a featured match at WrestleMania. The thing about this particular faction is that they’re good enough, marketable enough, and collectively young enough that there’s still every opportunity for them to come back together for another quality reunion tour years down the road. The group may well be all the better established for the additional years of experience and clout as full-on main roster veterans by that point.

Indeed, WWE will likely be shrewd in not breaking up the team too soon, to get the most mileage out of this iteration of them working together. Regardless, however, they may split up, as long as Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Dean Ambrose remain under contract and active wrestlers, there’s little doubt there will be another reunion down the road.