What’s the story?
Ever since Seth Rollins turns against his fellow Shield members – Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns – in 2014, all three men have gone on to win world championships and other forms of success on their own.
Now that all three men are on the same brand once again – and have even had the occasional one-off mini-reunion – speculation is that it’s just a matter of time before the dominant faction reunites officially again. In fact, just recently, Rollins has spoken on just that very topic and even discussion who he would like to see the former Hounds of Justice feud against if they do.
In case you didn’t know...
All three members of The Shield were prominent competitors in WWE’s developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), and its eventual successor, NXT, at the beginning of the decade. Rollins was even crowned the very first NXT Champion, after winning a tournament final against now-WWE Champion Jinder Mahal.
The three debuted as a group at the end of the 2012 Survivor Series and were the company’s most dominant force for two years. The group was disbanded in dramatic fashion following the Raw after Payback 2014.
The heart of the matter
Now that all three members are not only firmly on the Raw brand, but also babyfaces, could we be seeing an eventual full-time Shield reunion? Rollins says it isn’t out of the question. In fact, in an interview he did with the Sun, Rollins said that it was just a question of aligning goals.
“We're all on our own page and have one goal in mind, like we did before. We've all got our individual goals now. It would take something very special to get all three of us back together with a singular goal... Now we're on our own, with our own individual goals, so who knows, never say never, but the good thing is I see all of us being around for a long time. There will always be the possibility of us coming back together and slapping on a tac vest.”
What’s next?
At the moment, Rollins is in a feud with Bray Wyatt, while Ambrose and Reigns are gunning for the Intercontinental and Universal Championships, respectively, (with Reigns also handling some brutal business with Braun Strowman).
However, Rollins did mention that if the group were to get back together, a scuffle with a reformed (Bullet) Club could be in the works. Rollins stated, “A Club versus Shield rivalry interests me, for sure. Those are guys who have made a lot of success over the years in there own world.”
Author’s take
A Sheild reunion sooner than later would essentially give WWE a licence to print money, as it’s a faction recent enough to be fresh in the minds of fans while also striking that nostalgia cord. After all, The Sheild’s last feud was against a reformed Evolution, and that drew a lot of interest.
So, again, I think it’s a matter of when, and not if.
