Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns: Who has come the farthest?
The SHIELD were arguably the most dominant faction in a long time, wreaking havoc since their debut at Survivor Series 2012, where they interrupted the WWE Championship Triple Threat and aided CM Punk to victory. What made The SHIELD special was that they looked more of a team than anyone else; it seemed like the three of them were made to be together, and the way they gelled as a team was excellent.
Although it is claimed that Seth Rollins created The SHIELD, what was apparent was that Ambrose was their leader, at least in the initial stages. He had been the one who had been given a singles championship during The SHIELD’s reign, which was the United States Championship, and he went on to hold it for a full year. Rollins and Reigns would also hold the Tag Team Championships, but only for five months, when they lost to The Rhodes Brothers.
While The SHIELD spent the majority of their time together as heels, it was their babyface run that truly took them to stardom. This was because it played around the story against Evolution, in which they came out on top each time, including in the main event of Payback. It was on the Raw after Payback, however, that things went wrong, and Rollins joined The Authority, turning on his partners, and laid out the foundation for a great phase in the WWE.
While Reigns would momentarily go after the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and other members of The Authority, Ambrose would immediately direct his attention to Rollins, a feud which culminated at Hell In A Cell 2014, where the two main evented the show. After that, however, the three went their separate ways, only to be brought together again.
This article analyses the paths of each SHIELD member, and sees how far they’ve come since they all went solo last year.