You stick your middle finger up high, and you match forward, and you tell em “The Shield said so.”
Today’s wrestlers typically don’t have whole shows dedicated in their names- those are reserved for the legends, for tribute shows. But three years ago today., The Shield stormed their SWAT-like entrance, invaded the ring, and fought alongside each other for the last time- at their very own event.
So how did we get here?
Well, it all started in November 2012.
Seth Rollins.
Roman Reigns.
Dean Ambrose.
A debut like no other.
Three hungry, up and coming wrestlers determined to come up and make some noise. It would later be revealed through interviews that all three of them felt this was make or break, but the tough, rugged, sure way they carried themselves let on to no doubts or insecurities. The Shield was here for good.
Welcome to the Shield of Justice..
In their first two years on the scene they decimated the locker room, demanded respect, and worked with a God-complexion so high there has yet to be anyone to top it. They dominated triple-tag-team action and remain undefeated for the majority of those first initial years. They were indeed making names for themselves. The SWAT-team-esque ring gear, the entrance through the crowd, the intimidating promos shot from the depths of whatever arena they were taking over that day, steel chairs… all of these things became iconic symbolisms of justice and brotherhood, things fans today still yearn for.
It wasn’t just the trio’s action that made the team so special. It was the things they did in singles competition that further solidified their statuses as top stars.
You sold out! You sold out!
It was June 2, 2014 when The Shield first came crashing down. Seth Rollins’ heel turn will go down as one of the best turns in the last decade, maybe even of all time. It was shocking, unexpected. Ambrose and Reigns were out for blood, and so was the WWE Universe.
For the months that followed Ambrose would stop at nothing to get his revenge, the sound of steel hitting flesh echoing in his mind. He and Rollins would go on to have a feud of mass proportions… wrestling soulmates is what they called them. The animosity and the history, so much could be said about their feud, but that’s a whole other article. It was violent, it was personal… and it went on for three years.
Rumors? Who said anything about rumors?
October 2017. It had been building for months. Over the summer prior, Rollins and Ambrose reunited and took over the tag-team division once again. Rumors ran wild, and it became and inevitable that The Hounds of Justice would come together once more. It was October 2017 when Rollins, Reigns, and Ambrose stood as brothers in arm once again, the iconic fist bump in the middle of the ring filled with nostalgia and excitement. The highly anticipated reunion, which became the hottest attraction in WWE at the time, unfortunately got cut short. Sickness and injury plagued the trio, and with Ambrose on the shelf, Rollins and Reigns eventually drifted apart.
But they weren’t done yet…
Dean Ambrose returned from injury in August or 2018, and thus our second Shield reunion was born. This one was… weird to put it lightly, but again that’s a whole other article. This reunion would come to close with Reigns going to battle leukemia, and Ambrose mirroring Rollins’ 2014 turn by driving a steel chair into the former’s back.
And again I say, they weren’t done yet…
The beginning of 2019 came with the shocking news of Ambrose’s impending departure from the WWE, and when Reigns returned The Shield would reunite again, but this time, for the last time.
One last time Cleveland, one last mother-fucking time
The spring of 2019 brought more last-time-evers and more farewell matches than anyone knew what to do with. But for the fans it was more than WWE’s last attempt to squeeze out every ounce of publicity and money they could. For fans, The Shield’s farewell tour was a time of celebration, nostalgia, and recognition.
The Shield’s Final Chapter was on April 21, 2019. After weeks of stepping into the ring together for “the last time,” the time had come for them to fight one last time for real. The whole show felt special. One other match took place, but the entire night was centered around The Shield’s last showing. They won of course. The match wasn’t anything different than what they had been doing in the weeks prior, but this one was soundtracked with personal stories from the commentators (a rare occurrence) and felt less about keeping storyline and more about the actual legacy of The Shield. The three superstars shared one last moment in the ring together and chants of “Please don’t go,” swarmed the departing Ambrose. It was a perfect wrap to an insane run on top. The closing image of the iconic first bump continues to live in fans’ minds and three years later The Shield still garners believers.
I don’t think there’s one specific reason for The Shield’s success, and I truly don’t know why they were so special. But they were, and it was. Maybe it was their passion, drive, and need to succeed. Maybe it was just luck. All of three of them have gone on to have singles careers most wrestlers can only dream of, but one thing remains certain: The Shield is forever.
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