The Story of the Shield is now happening outside WWE
The Shield disbanded in 2019, but its story is still continuing in the world of pro wrestling.
The Hounds of Justice first appeared at WWE Survivor Series in 2012 during the triple-threat match between CM Punk, John Cena, and Ryback as Punk's alleged allies. The group rolled together and fought everyone in the WWE locker room until Rollins' betrayal in 2014.
The members reunited a few times in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Their last appearance as a faction was at The Shield's Final Chapter event, which took place on April 21, 2019, at TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Illinois. The trio faced Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin, & Bobby Lashley. The Shield defeated their opponents at the event.
Although the faction is no longer in WWE and all the members have gone on their different paths, their legacy is still alive and the story of The Shield is persisting outside WWE.
Jon Moxley wins the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Since 2020, at least one of the three former Shield members has maintained the record of holding a World Title in major pro wrestling promotions. Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins had been maintaining the record for four years, but they recently lost their respective titles at Wrestlemania XL.
Five days after this year's Mania event, Jon Moxley defeated Tetsuya Naito and won the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at NJPW's Windy City Riot, thus continuing Shield members' championship record.
Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns give their spotlight to Jon Moxley
The Visionary and The Tribal Chief have been maintaining The Shield's championship record for four years. But it looks like the time has come for them to take a break.
Rollins has been dealing with back injuries for a while, and Reigns has been upholding the burden of being the face of WWE for almost four years. The two WWE Superstars have been biding their time for a much-needed break after carrying WWE on their shoulders.
It seems as if they are ready to take some time off and, therefore, hand over the spotlight and responsibility to continue The Sheild's legacy to someone else (i.e., Jon Moxley).
Jon Moxley bringing glory to The Shield name
If Rollins and Reigns did hand over the responsibility to Mox, then it wouldn't be wrong to say that he didn't disappoint. With his recent championship win, The Purveyor of Violence has not only continued the Shield record but brought more glory to the faction's legacy.
NJPW released a video a few days ago titled Moxley's Road to Naito. In the video, former Dean Ambrose admitted that the pro wrestling world had disrespected him and that he has felt overlooked and forgotten.
"Shots at the IWGP Championship don't come around every day. Even if I win, it's not going to matter. I'll be the most overlooked, disrespected, forgotten about, and taken-for-granted wrestler in the history of this business. It's not gonna matter. But it means something to me!" Mox said.
By winning the IWGP Title Mox proved his worth and on top of that, he also proved that The Shield members will always be on the top of the mountain in his generation.
In conclusion, though Shield is not active, their story is very much still alive.