Report: The Shield Dissolved?

[Jack-Hammer]

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it appears as though The Shield, consisting of Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns, are in the process of quietly dissolving. The report alleges that there probably won't be a formal split, but Ambrose & Reigns are essentially going their own ways as evidenced with both of them now having their own individual entrance themes.

If this is accurate, then The Shield is pretty much done for as a unit. Kinda bittersweet really when you consider the fact that they were an awesome three man faction that managed to stay fresh and interesting MUCH longer than just about anybody expected. At the same time, it might be better that the group is quietly coming to an end instead of having it dragged out or, much worse, dragged down by attempting to add a new third to the group who may not click with Ambrose & Reigns and/or simply not be able to bring as much to the table as Rollins did.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Plus, at some point down the line, you KNOW the WWE is going to have them in a Triple Threat match.

It's always better to leave before you overstayed your welcome. We got a shocking end to the group, and so far both Ambrose and Reigns have looked strong as singles competitors going forward.

 

[Ace Amoeba]

That kind of happened Monday Night and even before that. Both Reigns and Ambrose did their own thing and they seem to work well on their own but many will be sad to see them broken up. The positive in all this is that they are all getting their own storylines and no one is being "demoted" as far as getting tv time goes.

The Shield had such a great run as a group, and it doesn't seem like any of the three are going to get released unless they do something stupid, so you can be sure their will be a reunion ala DX, Evolution and New Age Outlaws in the future.

Just be glad that they are not going forward with adding a new member. We certainly don't need Shield 2.0. Leave the memories alone.

 

[Tyrant25]

I sort of wish it had been a formal split.

I have no problem with The Shield separating. It had to end at some point and time. But the way they split was very confusing and even a bit sloppy, to me at least. First, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns address Seth Rollins together, then the next week they're going after different people. It's also pretty confusing how Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins still share the same attire, yet Ambrose's attire is different.

 

[That N Word]

Well it is bittersweet but WWE is handling it well so far.Roman is focusing on Randy and the world title.While Dean and Seth focus on each other and the briefcase.The Shield IMO is the greatest stable outside of the now.It is great that Roman is in the top storyline while Dean and Seth is in the second main storyline and none are getting buried.

 

[Pedigree1]

It is bittersweet for the Shield to quietly dissolve. It is being handled with class so far,and eventually it was going to happen.. I guess if true,then goes the rumors of the Shield,getting a third member to their group.. WWE probably figured,if the new third member just or wouldn't quite work out,then there is no point in reorganizing the shield!

Roman,Seth,and Dean have all their own separate entrances anyway,so this split had to happen.

 

[bioshock]

Some where down the line I see us scratch our head when we get no payoff in the split of the Shield or the payoff for Rollins turning on the Shield. Reigns just going into a feud with only Triple H and not after Rollins doesn't make all that much sense then to only have Dean feud with Rollins. Mean while Orton is left to do what? Hence why they need a new Shield member if only so we can have a payoff for the sudden breakup. They only get one chance to do it right, if not times going to pass and we'll just wonder.

 

[InaneAffliction]

I'm glad this was posted because I was saying to myself after Monday night: I guess we're breaking up The Shield (Ambrose/Reigns) with no real explanation...?

On one hand, its disappointing. The Shield was probably WWE's best faction in years and while all of them seems to have futures as singles wrestlers, I still feel like they deserved some kind of better send off.

On the other hand, they did need a way to break up the group that didn't seem random - even though the Rollins turn was pretty random IMO. Plus, if they're going to do it, do it right. Don't have Rollins in Shield gear, random themes that are apparently to be changed, etc.

I guess as one poster said, we sit back and wait for the reunion. I'm not sure if the group ran its course but its too late to turn back now.

 

[Softcore Holly]

Seems like a waste. I was expecting some big explosion but I guess this is a easy way to keep both Reigns and Ambrose face while still leaving the door open to reunite them with ease if they need to.
It is strange that a mere month ago no one wondered how Rollins would do as a solo heel, or Ambrose as a solo face. Of course Reigns has the biggest expectations of all but there were/are those that wonder how well can he do on his own. This is a pretty huge moment in 3 men's careers where the sky seems to be the limit, so maybe it was unrealistic but I was hoping for a rocket-sized takeoff instead of a whisper.

 

[JWGunslinger]

Initially I was upset that Reigns and Ambrose didnt have a formal split and that they kind of just stopped showing up together, but the more I think about it the happier I am with it. The breaking up of the whole unit was inevitable and we weren't sure how or when they'd deal with Dean and Roman, but it's kind of nice that it happened like this. It seems like nowadays any time people team up the only way they can go their own direction is with the typical backstabbing, feud and then life after the group. Here it leaves more of a door open for an alliance in a match such as the Elimination Chamber or a Royal Rumble, and hell maybe in 5 years we'll see them formally reunite as Evolution has recently. Well played WWE, well played.

 

[GeneralKarim]

I think in a way this is the best decision. The Shield were fucking awesome and as said stayed fresh for such a long time and never got boring. They carried Raw and Smackdown in my opinion for a long while. They put on great matches every single night and never dissapointed.

I was never really into this whole "lets add another member and create unnecessary drama" angle that people seemed to want. The Shield were the Shield, they were these 3 guys giving 110% every single night and they all had their character traits and we got to know them in the ring and character-wise. Adding another member would ve just, imo, shit on the Shield's legacy. Ambrose, Rollins, Reigns, they were the Shield and that's the end of it.

This to me is one of the, if not THE, best booked stables ever in wrestling. They were strong for the entirety of their run, they didnt add unnecessary members and they werent comprised of mega stars that were already known.

Another good thing is they were equals. At the beginning it seemed like Ambrose was the leader because of his mic time, but then Rollins started getting a lot of mic time and was showcased a lot more and constantly been referred to as the architekt and all that and then Roman Reigns seemd like the one. That just proves that they booked everyone strong and gave them time.

I think this going down quietly is good and I don't mind it at all. It was weird at first seeing it like that out of nowhere but its fine. Maybe it would've been better to have Ambrose and Reigns call it a day with the Shield in a backstage segment for some more emotion for the crowd but this is fine as well.

Ambrose is already morphing into his natural Moxley persona and that's perfect and his ring attire fits him perfectly and he makes it look bad ass. Rollins has his dark power ranger thing going on which is very cool, way better than tights. He wont look like a jobber I'll tell you that much. It appears Reigns is the one to hold on to a little remix of the shield theme and attire which is fine cause I think it suits him the best atm.

Can't wait for the next Raw and MITB just because of my desire to see these guys. Here's to all of the making it big cause they sure got the tools.

 

[L@RISANO]

Initially I was upset that Reigns and Ambrose didnt have a formal split and that they kind of just stopped showing up together, but the more I think about it the happier I am with it. The breaking up of the whole unit was inevitable and we weren't sure how or when they'd deal with Dean and Roman, but it's kind of nice that it happened like this. It seems like nowadays any time people team up the only way they can go their own direction is with the typical backstabbing, feud and then life after the group. Here it leaves more of a door open for an alliance in a match such as the Elimination Chamber or a Royal Rumble, and hell maybe in 5 years we'll see them formally reunite as Evolution has recently. Well played WWE, well played.

This.

It leaves Dean and Roman as a loose Alliance that can be used at some point in the future if required, as said by WGS above, in a RR match or an EC match.

Also, if one were to turn Heel at some point, they could use this loose Alliance during such a turn in the future which would surely generate some interest.

 

[lenguy]

I don't mind the Shield splitting up, it had to happen at some point, right? My issue is, if this report is true and seeing as how things played out on Monday, It could very well be. If, however this is all true, my grip with this is that there is no closure to the story. Rollins turned on his Shield brethren and you mean to tell me that after a few weeks, Roman Reigns all of sudden just doesn't give a damn? Why is it that Ambrose is the only one who seems greatly offended by Rollins action? Yet Reigns just quietly just shuffles off in a different direction without first dealing with Rollins.

I don't mind if the split up the Shield. But before everybody just randomly just forgets about what happen. Perhaps they could resolve the story first? Perhaps its just too early to tell.

 

[J.D Lethal]

Meh i don't why but this reminds me of like a Batman comic....Reigns as nightwing fighting the villian of HHH and the injustice of the authority just as the shield(batman) would do. Dean as the rebel Red Hood hunting down a crooked Seth (tim drake)...Each man has a nice future...Dean will be the man to knock of BnB and feud with Seth who will be a guy that will eventually turn on orton/hhh and be on his own ala Rhodes/DiBase...then Regins Summerslam he will beat the Game....Win the Rumble...and get a fued in with D-Bry for face of the company and then headline WM31

 

[Reflection]

When Seth Rollins first broke up from The Shield, I was heartbroken... to the extent that I didn't care if the remaining two members were gonna stay together or split up as well. But now I see the point of all this. Rather than taking it forward until you reach a dead end, its better to cut it short with a chance of future revival. I'm optimist that The Hounds of Justice will come back together again in the future... and I quote (from The Avengers), Because we'll need them to.

 

[WarroBODFan]

Call me sentimental, but something that was so amazing as The Shield was, I feel deserves at least some sort of promo signifying the end. Why do they have Ambrose and Reigns stand side-by-side in Shield gear on last week's Raw cutting a good promo together, and then just one week later are off doing their own thing with no explanation? All we needed was a brief promo, could've just been a one minute backstage segment where Ambrose and Reigns agree to do their own thing. As a Shield mark, I need some closure on this.

 

[Viola Moonlight]

Call me sentimental, but something that was so amazing as The Shield was, I feel deserves at least some sort of promo signifying the end. Why do they have Ambrose and Reigns stand side-by-side in Shield gear on last week's Raw cutting a good promo together, and then just one week later are off doing their own thing with no explanation? All we needed was a brief promo, could've just been a one minute backstage segment where Ambrose and Reigns agree to do their own thing. As a Shield mark, I need some closure on this.

This.

Even if it is as little as a 10 second promo backstage where Ambrose & Reigns shake hands before they officially part ways. It would be a nice little bow to wrap up the entire SHIELD stable storyline with Ambrose/Rollins being the final nail in the coffin. It would also mean that Ambrose & Reigns will now no longer be expected to help the other should a situation become extremely dicey.

It is better to end an epic journey with one final hurrah rather than leave on a cliffhanger that confuses people: it's simple story-telling.

 

[sanefan_har]

My grip with this is that there is no closure to the story. Rollins turned on his Shield brethren and you mean to tell me that after a few weeks, Roman Reigns all of sudden just doesn't give a damn? Why is it that Ambrose is the only one who seems greatly offended by Rollins action? Yet Reigns just quietly just shuffles off in a different direction without first dealing with Rollins.

This comes back to the promo that Ambrose and Rollins had on Raw (the one with the Game of Thrones). While Ambrose is "greatly offended by Rollins' action" as you put it, the fact that it was Triple H who convinced Rollins to turn his back on the Shield is what ticks Reigns off. So, Reigns, goes after the WWE-WHC belt and tries to become the face of the WWE and get in the way of HHH getting things done the way he (Hunter) wants to. Put 1 and 1 and you get 2.

 

[tehblogger]

they don't want to officially split Ambrose and Reigns up because they might still want to use them together - not just on house shows but also in tag-team RAW main events, even in some storyline at some point down the road. If they want to turn Ambrose heel at some point him turning on Reigns would be an easy way to go. The way they've booked it makes storyline sense - Ambrose goes after Rollins, Reigns after Triple H - and allows them to focus on all 3 guys as singles wrestlers whilst still keeping their options open down the road, which is good.

You might even say it's...best for business.

 

[Gavschenko]

yeah as we seen on raw they were both doing their own thing ambrose has his own theme song now and reigns has the old shield music except it doesnt say sierra hotel india echo lima delta shield at the start so im guessing by that there finished.

 

[ddn2488]

I actually like that they didn't have a formal split. I mean it lets them go there separate ways while keeping the door open for them to tag again. Plus they are both faces right now and now they can move on to bigger and better things

 

[WrestlingFanatic27]

I mean, I loved the Shield but yes, they would've come to an end sooner or later.

 

[maldonac]

Yeah, better that they split, now they can all focus on singles matches and careers, they all have the potential and the look to be World Champion, Seth Rollins has held the ROH belt for a long time, he was known as Tyler Black back then. Roman is straight up intense, i see him feuding with Rusev after that battle royal between the two. Dean is straight up crazy, he reminds me of a newer version of Sabu