What were WWE's original plans for The Shield's break-up?

The Shield’s implosion on the June 2, 2014, episode of Monday Night RAW was one of the most dastardly and shocking acts of betrayal in WWE history. The infamous trio turned babyfaces a couple of months ago amid overwhelmingly positive reactions from the crowd.

WWE’s original plans for The Shield’s breakup, however, were quite different from what the company went ahead with in the summer of 2014. Per Seth Rollins himself, the company was willing to pull the plug on the storyline as far back as December 2013.

The Architect of The Shield elaborated on the company’s originals plans for the group’s split during an interview with Steve Austin on The Broken Skull Sessions in 2021. Of course, none of the three members liked the original pitch and pushed for a different path and the rest was history.

"What happened was, they wanted to break us up back in January [2014], maybe December. They wanted to go to Ambrose versus Roman at WrestleMania 30 in New Orleans. I was left out. Maybe a special referee or something," Rollins said.

Rollins further stated that he expressed his disapproval of the creative pitch because the three were super over with the crowd at the time. The two-time Grand Slam Champion recalled how a conversation with Triple H ultimately led to WWE scrapping the original plans. The group was then put into a storyline with The New Age Outlaws and Kane that led to a squash match at WrestleMania 30. The Shield would face Evolution in the months that followed until the infamous heel turn on Monday Night RAW.

“We went to Hunter, we talked about it, we ended up hashing it out and worked with The Outlaws [Road Dogg & Billy Gunn] and Kane at WrestleMania, which was a truncated match, a glorified squash because you guys [Austin, The Rock, and Hulk Hogan] talked for 35 minutes and the Daniel Bryan and Hunter went out and did 35 minutes [laughs]," Rollins said.

The 36-year-old continued:

“You know how it goes, sh*t falls downhill. We had about 90 seconds and we went out and did our thing. Then, we did two matches with Evolution, no peep of a turn, no peep for a breakup, no one said anything. We wiped the floor with Evolution, it was a clean sweep in the elimination match. They pull us into the office and say, 'tonight is the night.'"

The group wrestled together for one last time at The Shield's Final Chapter, which aired exclusively on the WWE Network. The one-hour special emanated from the TaxSlayer Center (now known as Vibrant Arena) in Moline, Illinois on April 21, 2019. In the main event, the trio defeated Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, and Baron Corbin.

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Seth Rollins brings back The Shield’s entrance at Royal Rumble 2022

Seth Rollins never shies away from playing mind games, and he did the same during the Royal Rumble Premium Live Event on January 29, 2022. The Monday Night Messiah shocked everyone, including Roman Reigns, by bringing back the classic Shield entrance at the PPV event. The match outcome, however, did him no favors.

WWE is celebrating The Shield’s 10th anniversary this month. It remains to be seen if Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose (now known as Jox Moxley in AEW) will ever share the same ring again.