5 things you didn't know about The Shield
The Shield was one of the greatest WWE factions of all time. Everyone knew what was about to happen when 'Sierra, Hotel, India, Echo, Lima, Delta, SHIELD' blared over the speakers, and that was a beatdown for whoever stood in the ring opposing them.
Making their debut as The Shield, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins marched into Survivor Series 2012 and made a statement by destroying everything in sight. This would come to define the faction over the years, as The Hounds of Justice became synonymous with aggressive success and invincibility in the ring.
With Ambrose departing for All Elite Wrestling in 2019, a reunion looks unlikely. Nevertheless, the fact remains that in its seven-year lifespan, The Shield wrote their names into the history books and became an all-time great faction in wrestling history.
Despite being a very popular team, there are some bits about them that fans may not be aware of. On that note, here are five things you probably didn't know about The Shield.
#5. Michael Cole was told to excessively hype all three superstars
One of the biggest reasons Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins became instant successes on the main roster was their portrayal as legitimate main-event stars right from the beginning. The commentary team deserves credit for it, especially Michael Cole on the night the faction debuted.
Cole was told by those backstage to hype each individual up as they destroyed everything in sight. Each of the debutants was named by Cole, who left no stone unturned in letting fans know that they were some of the best prospects from NXT. The enthusiastic introduction got The Shield off to a flying start, and there was no looking back from there.
#4. They were performing on NXT even after their main roster debut
@WWENXT @FullSail The Shield in the driver seat! http://t.co/yH0rz4KvED
We all remember Kevin Owens showing up on the main roster to challenge John Cena while being NXT Champion. However, not many are aware that The Shield continued to appear on NXT despite making their main roster debuts.
When The Hounds of Justice debuted, Seth Rollins was still NXT Champion. However, this detail was not mentioned on the main roster shows at all. They refused to acknowledge Rollins being champion on the developmental brand despite him and his teammates pulling double duty.
#3. Battleground 2016 was not the first Shield Triple Threat
It's SO CLOSE between @WWERollins, @TheDeanAmbrose and @WWERomanReigns!! Who will win at #WWEBattleground? snpy.tv/2aEJv7x
At Battleground 2016, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and then-WWE Champion Dean Ambrose met in a mega triple threat match for the title. WWE marketed it as the first time all three members of The Shield were battling each other, but that was not the entire truth.
They previously locked horns in a triple threat at FCW. Back in 2012, the three men did battle for an opportunity to challenge FCW Champion Adam Rose, and Reigns picked up the win by pinning Ambrose. Perhaps it wasn't a coincidence that nearly five years later, the reverse happened at Battleground.
#2. The Shield were initially told to carry shields to the ring
Talk about taking things literally. Back when The Shield first debuted, the plan was for them to carry shields to the ring. We are talking the kind of shields cops carry when facing a riot, which would have been a sight to see had it actually happened.
However, Vince McMahon took a look at the trio backstage with the props and questioned whether they really needed the shields. As a result, the idea was nixed. One can only imagine how the gimmick would have gone had they debuted carrying the accessories to the ring.
#1. Big E nearly joined the group
This could have been a very different three-man group.
Everybody is aware that Kassius Ohno was considered to be in The Shield instead of Roman Reigns. However, not many know that even Big E was regarded for the role of team powerhouse ahead of The Big Dog.
E's New Day teammate Kofi Kingston told Sportskeeda Wrestling that WWE was looking at him as the man to join Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. He then praised Reigns for his work and stated that both superstars eventually had massive career growths:
"Big E will tell the story a lot better, but long-story-short, he was actually supposed to be in The Shield a long time ago, way way back when they were trying to pick people from FCW to come up." Kingston continued, "So, Roman gets the call, Roman goes off, builds himself and does all these incredible things and has an incredible run with The Shield. Roman is Roman, and also Big E has done some incredible things and [shown] some incredible growth . . . Now, everyone loves Big E, so there's a big journey there too." [3:00-3:42]
All things considered, we are glad that Big E had tremendous success on his own as part of another three-person team in The New Day.