It was announced this past week on WWE’s television that the Shield (Dean Ambrose, the returning Roman Reigns, and #1 contender for the Universal Championship Seth Rollins) would reunite for “one last run” at Fastlane this Sunday night. The live crowd and predictably the fans watching at home were excited to see Dean Ambrose become the last piece the this reunion puzzle, but was this what’s best for the product in 2019?
November 18, 2012 was the day it all began when young upstart Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins debuted in WWE helping then-WWE Champion CM Punk retain the title in Survivor Series’ main event. That night began 3 skyrocketing careers that have all led to World Heavyweight Championships. The original formation of this team was unexpected and entertaining.
After an exceptional rookie year in the WWE, the Shield would go on to defeat Randy Orton, Sheamus, and the Big Show at Wrestlemania 29, defeat the New Age Outlaws and Kane at Wrestlemania 30, become ultra popular with the fans, defeat Evolution in back to back pay-per-views and win United States and tag team gold along the way. This group looked unstoppable, that is until the man who would be the first to become World Champion from this group decided it was time for a change.
After Seth Rollins turned his back on his brothers, he would go on to win Money in the Bank and cash in successfully at Wrestlemania 31 (at the expense of Roman Reigns along with WWE World Champion Brock Lesnar). Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose would both go on to become world champions also, however it wasn’t until 3 years later that WWE fans would get what they were clamoring for seemingly since the night Seth joined the authority.
Not long after the much anticipated reunion of the ‘hounds of justice’, Dean Ambrose would suffer an injury that would keep him out of action until the following summer. This cut short the run of the Shield “2.0”, but it wouldn’t be long until they would get back together again for their 3rd installment, helping ‘The Big Dog’ avoid the charge of the ‘Monster in the Bank’s cash in attempt for the Universal title on the August 10th, 2018 edition of WWE RAW.
For the most part, the WWE fans expressed happiness with The Shield “3.0”, but there was a smattering of boos possibly showing that a 3rd run may have been slightly less exciting than the previous two. Nonetheless, the Shield was still popular and on a roll once again with Seth as Intercontinental Champion, Dean as the unsettled yet loyal enforcer, and Roman as Universal Champion. This however, would not last long as sadly Roman would announce he was battling leukemia, would be relinquishing the title, and leaving WWE for a while (thank God for healing, as he is now back in WWE healthy and in remission. Welcome back Roman!).
With the return of ‘the big dog’ came a great deal of excitement, for more than just him being back in the ring, but more importantly, that he was in remission and feeling good health-wise. It was truly a blessing to watch as this man thanked everyone for their support and announced his return to action on February 25th, 2019. One week later on RAW, Roman made an strong push to ‘the king slayer’ and ‘lunatic fringe’ to reunite the Shield for a 4th time. Surely, Seth would not forgive Dean for turning his back on him the night Roman left WWE with an illness? Surely Dean wouldn’t forget the reasons why he said he did what he did in the first place? Or would they?
So here we go… A 4th reunion for the ‘hounds of justice’, and yes, this writer is happy to see them back together once again, but is it truly what is best for the WWE fans and product? That of course remains to be seen, but if it lasts longer than Fastlane, I don’t know how impactful it will be considering we’ve seen it now for the 4th time. In 2014 Seth made a choice. In 2018 Dean made a choice. In 2019 what choice will be made? Only time will tell.
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