We were first introduced to the combined force of Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley), Seth Rollins (Tyler Black), and Roman Reigns at Survivor Series, delivering a double team powerbomb on Ryback, sending him through the announcer's table for the second time in that title defense.
During the chaos, CM Punk was able to weasle his way into keeping the WWE title for a bit long. Honestly, I rather him walk into WM as champion but that's a different topic altogether.
The Members of The Shield
Anyone who has been following NXT are no strangers to the current NXT champion,
Seth Rollins, who has been quickly rising up the ranks and it's a breath of fresh air to see him finally make it onto the main WWE roster. I personally remember him as Tyler Black in ROH and WSX, frequently teaming with Jimmy Jacobs and the other various members of the Age of the Fall stable. This man can fit roughly any role in the ring - high-flyer, technical/submission artist, powerhouse, etc. He's a talented athlete in his own right. When the Shield start competing regularly on WWE programming, I'm positive the team will center around his talents.
Dean Ambrose, or better known as Jon Moxley to most, is an exceptional man on the microphone. His early work reminds me of Mr. Kennedy during the run on OVW mixed with the intensity of Raven and Chris Jericho, with some Brian Pillman on top. There's no doubt that he will be the core voice of this team.
Last but not least,
Roman Reigns. From his few matches that I have seen on NXT (Mind you, I haven't been keeping up with NXT as much as I should be lately, with the exception of an occasional Paige match here or there...), this man will be the power at the core of this group. His mere presence demands power and authority. Good to see that WWE has another member of Rikishi's family on the roster as well. I definitely see him being an asset to the company for the years to come.
The Movitation?
It was revealed on Monday Night Raw (11/26/12) during an exclusive interview with Michael Cole that these three men were unaffiliated with WWE Champion CM Punk and describe themselves as a "shield" to the "wrongs" in WWE, thus dubbing their faction as The Shield.
They attacked Kane during the main event later that night when he faced CM Punk. Daniel Bryan came to his partner's aid to receive similar treatment, while Ryback answered the demands of the crowd and laid waste to the Shield and sought to deal a dose of pain to CM Punk when this happened...
After that devastating spear/Gore from Reigns, the Shield laid waste to Ryback once more as CM Punk watched with glee.
My Thoughts?
Like every other indy wrestling fan, I marked the fuck out when these guys stormed the arena at Survivor Series. Much like CM Punk and Bryan Danielson's WWE debuts, I knew this was going to be BIG.
Fast forward to a few weeks later, the initial buzz has passed and I'm honestly hoping and praying that they don't attach these guys as Punk's henchmen. Plus, I wished they picked a better name than the Shield and a better wrestler to steal clothing from. The Big Bossman look isn't doing it at all for me.
Sure, when JBL had his year long title reign where he defied the odds on multiple occasions, he surrounded himself with the Cabinet (Orlando Jordon, Amy Webber, Jillian Hall, Doug & Danny Basham, Mark Jindark, Luther Reigns, Kurt Angle, Viscera, and Gangrel), but let's get this straight. CM Punk has deemed himself a credible athlete before going heel, and much like the high of Stone Cold Steve Austin, people are still loving him as champion, regardless of how negative/vulgar his acts - physical/verbal - could be. CM Punk is the last guy who needs 'back-up'.
Let's look at what having New Nexus being led by CM Punk did:
- All eyes were on CM Punk 24/7. As a result, this only catapulted his own career forward, much like how the Straight Edge Society did months prior.
- The remaining members of the New Nexus were ALL entirely forgettable. Again, look at the former SES members.
- After the faction dissolved, all of those guys failed to gain momentum without association to CM Punk.
This is why I'm against the Shield being his personal bodyguards. In WWE, when you get that label as someone's goon/henchman, it's hard to bounce back from that unless you're The Big Show or Sheamus in this day and age. Otherwise, you're going back to development to be repackaged as a Funkasaurus when working as Alberto Del Rio's bodyguard didn't work out. Each of these individuals have the potential to get over on their own merits. WWE just have to provide them the proper platform.
A dream scenario, for me anyway, would be that the Shield are acting like they are supporting CM Punk, but in reality they are 'protecting' him until one of them earns a title shot - notably Seth Rollins, as he declares a champion vs. champion match, where winner takes all. Win-Lose-Draw, that should be a spectacle to behold, with the aftermath opening the floodgates on NXT, allowing some of those rising stars to compete on the RAW Supershow in hopes for an opportunity to get the lost title back or vice versa, midcarders (who haven't had a big break) or more main eventers visiting NXT and putting those guys over more regularly. Either way, this would benefit WWE in the long run and breathe in a much needed breath of fresh air to the championship scenes for both RAW and Smackdown.
As it currently stands, I don't have any high hopes for WWE delivering big on this angle, but I'm going to stay optimistic about the future of these three Superstars' careers. Danielson and Punk both had it rough starting off and look where they are now, so I'm going to treat this as another speed bump in the road until these guys have the chance to truly shine in this company.
I have a crazy idea on how this is going to work. One thing TNA manages to do MUCH better than WWE is their angles and storylines are commonly NOT easy to figure out. Perfect example being the whole Immortal angle and Jeff Hardy's heel turn. Much like with this Aces of Eights thing, whereas the members are shuffled with random roster members to hide their identities at live events, I think there is a bigger plot at play here. Bully Ray got shafted out of the Heavyweight title, thanks to TNA trying to please Druggie -- err Jeff Hardy -- since his contract expires in February and they want him to stay instead of returning to WWE, I think TNA are crafting a counter babyface stable to stop Aces of Eights, with Bully Ray as it's general on the frontlines- much like Devon is doing for Aces of Eights.
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