2 reasons Roman Reigns was better in The Shield and 2 he is better in The Bloodline
Roman Reigns is one of the few WWE Superstars who can say he has been part of two elite factions. He has wrestled at the highest level as part of The Shield and of The Bloodline, and has excelled with both teams.
The Roman Reigns story began in 2012 when he made his debut at Survivor Series as part of The Shield. The team disbanded and reunited several times until 2019, when they split for good following Dean Ambrose's departure from WWE. Fast-forward to 2020, and he forced The Usos and Paul Heyman to his side to form The Bloodline, a faction he currently presides over as its Tribal Chief.
Both The Shield and The Bloodline have been critically acclaimed, with Reigns' character work as a member of both drawing praise. He has been excellent to the point where you can make a case for either version to be the better one. We decided to have a crack at it, and it was extremely difficult to split the two options.
On that note, here are two reasons why Roman Reigns was better in The Shield, and two reasons why he works better as a member of The Bloodline.
#4. Why Roman Reigns was better in The Shield: He became a breakout star with the team
Among the three members of The Shield, it was Roman Reigns who fans saw and knew had what it took to be the next big thing in the business. He had the looks, the charisma, the badass persona and plenty of power moves that screamed main-eventer.
With The Shield, Reigns became tag team champion and a finalist in the 2014 Royal Rumble match. WWE also suggested that he was the best member of the faction, and rarely had him take pins or defeats.
While The Bloodline is superb, The Head of the Table was already established as a megastar before he founded it. The Shield version of him, on the other hand, was a relative unknown until he forced everyone to sit up and take notice.
#3. Why Reigns is better in The Bloodline: He is the leader of the team and has been more successful with them
The Shield were all about three individuals looking to take WWE by storm and become the faces of the company. The Bloodline, on the other hand, has a leader set in stone, with the rest acknowledging and working for him.
No one can deny that while The Shield were extremely successful, The Bloodline is on a different level. They collect gold for fun and have, in Reigns' words, SMASHED everyone in their path. The Head of the Table has been doing the best work of his career and has achieved the most success with his current team.
#2. Why Reigns was better in The Shield: He pulled off the babyface role convincingly
WWE's experiment to turn Roman Reigns into the next John Cena flopped badly multiple times. Fans have universally rejected the company's attempts in this regard, which is also why he is now the top star in the heel camp.
However, bar the brief period he returned from leukemia, there was only one time during which Reigns was a babyface and was treated as such by the WWE Universe. That was when The Shield turned face and became fan-favorites, allowing The Big Dog to get over with fans as a good guy.
Since The Shield split, the current Undisputed WWE Universal Champion has never managed to become a beloved babyface. It's safe to say that the popularity The Hounds of Justice enjoyed rubbed off on him as well.
#1. Why Reigns is better in The Bloodline: As a faction, they are poised to make more history
The Shield is one of the most iconic factions in wrestling history. They dominated WWE, beat everybody in their way and developed each other into three of the biggest stars in the business.
However, one must tip their hat to WWE for making The Bloodline an elite stable in such a short period of time. The faction has Roman Reigns reigning (sorry) as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, The Usos as the longest-reigning SmackDown Tag Team Champions, and Paul Heyman as their special counsel. The lineup is magnificent, as is their chemistry and dynamic every week.
The Bloodline is all about making history as well. Reigns rules over both shows as the top champion, while The Usos are set to compete in a tag team title unification match. Add to that the sheer number of wins they rack up, and The Shield comparisons are justified.
When it comes to The Tribal Chief, however, there is no doubt that he is more influential, dominant and better booked in The Bloodline. That makes God Mode Roman Reigns better than The Shield's resident powerhouse.