10 Years Since The Shield's Implosion in WWE: How The Group Changed the Wrestling Landscape
Seth Rollins turned on his Shield brothers 10 years ago today.
Sierra. Hotel. India. Echo. Lima. Delta. Shield.
It's been over a decade since WWE debuted a faction of three misfits that would become known as The Shield. Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose (AEW's Jon Moxley) quickly took the wrestling world by storm with their controversial appearance at Survivor Series in November 2012. Decked out in black tactical gear and slicked back wet hair, they'd go on to become one of the most dominating stables in recent WWE history (and perhaps of all time if you'd like to debate it). When the ragtag group of young wrestlers burst onto the scene in WWE they disrupted the status quo, defeating some of the company's giants at the time -- Randy Orton, John Cena, CM Punk, Batista, Triple H -- they quickly cemented themselves as a viable threat not just with their in-ring work, but their moody backstage promos.
On June 2, 2014 all of that changed. "The Hounds of Justice" who fans had come to know and love were no longer a group of brothers. Instead, they would turn into bitter enemies for years. Everybody remembers where they were when Rollins' chair shot on WWE Raw cracked and echoed off of Reigns' back, sending him to the mat on his knees. Ambrose, with wild eyes, staring at his fellow Shield member's betrayal in shock, quickly getting clobbered with it himself. And then there's Rollins, standing tall over his former Shield mates alongside Triple H and Orton. After that moment Rollins was a made man, catapulting to the top as the company's shiny new toy.
I'll admit that as a 14 year old, I was torn up about The Shield breakup as a self-proclaimed "Shield girlie." There was nothing that anybody could have told me at that point in my angsty teenage years that would make it better, I was in mourning. I thought that was it for me and wrestling. But that's when wrestling is at its best -- when it makes you feel something. It's hard to quantify just how much of a ripple effect that heel turn had on their careers and the wrestling industry as a whole, but 10 years later one thing remains -- Reigns, Rollins and Moxley are still on top of the professional wrestling world.
That statement is crazy in itself because of all the peaks and valleys each man has gone through in their careers. Prior to Reigns solidifying himself as one of the greatest to ever step between the ropes, he wasn't the best talker and his moveset was fairly limited, but WWE was determined to make him a big deal. This was much to the dismay of the audiences who would oftentimes boo him into silence and chant about how much he sucks. Ambrose often got the rotten end of the stick post-Shield, but even then he still won his first and only World Championship in WWE back in 2016 and held several other championships during his tenure.
Assessing the Wrestling Landscape 10 Years After The Shield's Breakup
I don't think it's wrong to say The Shield is one of the best things WWE has produced in the last decade given how heavily they relied on WWE legends and blink-and-you'll-miss-it women's matches in an often troubled era of Vince McMahon. If it wasn't for the breakup, they wouldn't be three of the most respected and decorated wrestlers that are still active. Reigns just finished up the run of his career as one of the longest-reigning champions ever and how he's transitioning to Hollywood. 10 years ago, that wouldn't even sound possible give where he was in his career at the time. His legacy as "The Tribal Chief" not only brought a whole new set of fans to WWE, but during the pandemic, he continued to level up each week and eventually became wrestling's largest attraction.
After one final reunion with his Shield mates, Ambrose departed WWE in 2019 to join a new start-up wrestling promotion that promised to be an alternative to the sports-giant that has had a grasp on wrestling for over seven decades. Known as AEW, they had the biggest independent wrestlers on the scene at the time in the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega behind them but they really started picking up steam when just weeks after leaving WWE, Ambrose debuted in AEW as Jon Moxley at Double or Nothing, setting the wrestling world ablaze.
Moxley has since become AEW's Ace -- whenever they are in trouble, he's there to pick up the pieces and steer the ship back on course. When he left WWE he barely even scratched the surface of what he can do, but now five years into his AEW career and 20 years of wrestling total, he's just reaching his peak as a performer. As a three-time AEW World Champion, he now sits on top of the mountain in New Japan Pro Wrestling as the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. His success outside of the WWE bubble has proven to all that came after him that it is possible to thrive without the corporate machine behind you -- all you have to do is bet on yourself.
Rollins has consistently given all of himself to wrestling. Despite the earliest depictions of his WWE character being "selfish" the man behind the persona is everything but. In every match he's in, he helps his opponents shine as one of the most selfless acts in wrestling today. Since 2015 when he won his first World Championship in what has become known as "The Heist of the Century," he's been a team player doing what's expected of him no matter what.
With Reigns taking more and more time away from the ring over the last year, WWE needed a new champion, one that reflects the current ethos of WWE. Rollins once again stepped up to the plate to win the World Heavyweight Championship, carrying WWE for nearly an entire year. He elevated a brand new title that was consistently looked down upon as the "second-rate" championship by fans and his peers in their promos. By the end of his reign, he had not only made an entire title mean something, he passed the torch to the new face of WWE in Cody Rhodes (on one leg, mind you).
The more things change, the more they truly stay the same. The fact that these three men have had the odds stacked against them throughout their careers but have still risen to the occasion every time proves just why, 10 years on, The Shield dismantling isn't what broke them -- it's what made them.
