On November 18th 2012, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns - decked out in nothing but black swat outfits- came out through the crowd and cost John Cena & Ryback a chance to be WWE Champion at Survivor Series 2012.
Hard-core fans lost their lunch. FINALLY Dean Ambrose - the guy who had that amazing rivalry with William Regal back in FCW- , Seth Rollins - The former ROH World Champion - and Roman Reigns were FINALY getting their comeuppance on the big stage in WWE.
Casual fans groaned and expected the worst. To them, it was three geeks from NXT being rushed up to not only the main roster, but the MAIN EVENT roster no less. Most fans at the time had lived through the rise and meteoric fall of Nexus in 2010 and had learnt better than to trust unknown factions. As a result most of them sighed and said "we'll wait and see what happens".
Despite all this, they called themselves The Shield and they would quickly become one of WWE's biggest assets since the rise of John Cena in 2003.
How did they get here i hear you ask? By going back and dusting off the "Old School" Pro Wrestling magic book!
Let me explain....
2012 brought with it a wave of change to WWE. Raw went from two hours to three hours. Strenuous talking segments took a backseat to longer television matches. Big stars came back and were used sparingly. Main Event veterans (Orton/Cena/Rock/Lesner) shared their spotlight with ring generals that had paid their dues long before entering WWE (Daniel Bryan/CM Punk). In short, while some changes were questionable, most were welcoming. Call it Triple H having more say behind the scenes or Vince going through one of his "phases", but it was evident that WWE unofficially declared 2012 the year of returning to Old School wrestling.
In many people's eyes, CM Punk lead this wind of change. His 300 + days of being "The Man" rebuffed the WWE Championship to being the "workers" Title as he continually had 4-Star classics with Cena and Bryan on free-to-air TV and PPV. Combine this with his stellar promos and his eventual association with Paul Heyman and you had a bonafide World Champion that CARED about losing and would do ANYTHING to keep winning. Meanwhile on Smackdown, Daniel Bryan came out of his shell with an alluring charisma never seen before. As a slimy, yet technical World Champion on the B-Show, Bryan encapsulated the same philosophy as Punk: win anyway you can so you can remian the best.
This caring about wins and losses would eventually trickle down into the embryos of The Shield.
As stated in the beginning, most fans initially saw a failed concept in The Shield due to bad experiences with faction storylines of the past. Everyone remembers The Nexus. Some even remember the re-boot of the NWO and WCW/ECW from 2001-2002. The fundamental problem with all these groups is that they were never given COMPLETE credibility between those ring ropes. That is, they were never given enough big time wins on big time stages.
Look at Nexus. Everyone can recall the cataclysmic loss the faction faced at Summerslam 2010. You remember? The one where Cena went "Superman", beat Nexus on a 2-on-1 disadvantage and made Wade Barret - the only potential main eventer in the group- TAP OUT? Considering the storylines that would follow this match, there was no way in HELL Nexus should of lost that match. Post-Summerslam, it was all downhill from there. Nexus wins were covered in contrived finishes and fans NEVER saw them as the threat they could of been.
Fast-forward to Survivor Series 2012. The Shield have just performed their first ever triple power-bomb on Ryback and, much like in the Nexus storyline, we are wondering two things: WHO are these people and is this another Nexus we are about to endure?
Fortunately, The Shield arrived during a time where WWE had their creative facilities in order. Like Nexus, they were given a solid reason for existing: "We are Shield of injustice for WWE...we right wrongs". Sure, "Righting Wrongs' via run-ins and sneak attacks are one thing (although very important). However, such actions are pointless if, when it comes to match time, this faction can’t get the job done.
Thankfully, The Shield was seemingly given Carte Blanc on who they wanted to beat up and who they wanted to defeat in the ring. In simple terms, they won. And they won ALOT. So much so that it wasn't until June 14th of the FOLLOWING YEAR that they received their first loss as a unit. Before then, their victories were a who's who of World Wrestling Entertainment including: Cena, Orton, Undertaker, CM Punk, Bryan, Big Show, Jericho, Sheamus, Kane etc. The Shield ran through the complete main event roster. However they didn't just do this at a PPV here and there. They did it over and over again, every single week.
Pro-wrestling legends have always talked about "The Rub" main eventers can give to lesser-built guys whilst in-ring. If the match is structured appropriately, a mid-card geek can take the main eventer "to the limit" and thus come out looking better than he did coming in. Ric Flair made his career off following this exact process every night. Also, it goes without saying that having ring generals as your opponents most weeks means you'll get better at understanding in-ring phycology and general in-ring mechanics. Thankfully, WWE committed to The Shield by giving them that "rub" every single week. Whether it was Daniel Bryan (currently the man with the most matches against The Shield) giving all three a master class in squared circle technics or Ambrose fighting the Undertaker on the main event of Smackdown in April 2013, The Shield were given all the credibility in the world from their opponents.
Unlike the BS finishes that plagued Nexus' final months together, The Shield ended their matches with ELECTRIC finishes where there was no question who the victor was. Roman Reigns can thank- in part- his current success to WWE agents making his signature spear The Shield's curtain call for The Shield over the year and a half the unit remained undefeated. This continual focus on making The Shield an effective unit that used tremendous tag team wrestling to outsmart and outplay their opponents made them immediate fan favourites. Why? Because they were dominant. Because they could not be stopped. Because they ALWAYS WON IN BIG MATCH SITUATIONS.
This continual build of wins lead to WWE having a no-brainer money match in their pocket for whenever they wanted. Once you have an individual who is on a roll, fans begin to wonder every match “will tonight be the night they lose?". It’s a fact that has rung true throughout the industry's history. The Shield had that added aura at every RAW and Smackdown they participated post-January 2013. While WWE eventually dropped the ball on The Shield's first loss (having Bryan/Kane/Orton defeating the faction on a RANDOM EPISODE OF SMACKDOWN!!!!), no one can deny the excitement that was attached to every Shield match due to their many wins.
Thus, as we near the end of The Shield's life cycle on the road to Wrestlemania 30, it is important to reflect on what made The Shield so great. The answer lies in admitting a truth that many pro-wrestling fans refuse to accept: WWE can still book great factions and great characters. That is, they can go "old school" and ultimately get results. The bread and butter of the situation is that WWE took three complete unknowns, gave them a gimmick, made sure they never lost and gave them credible opponents with credible finishes. As a result, the fans immediately gravitated towards the act. This is not meant to be a hard concept to grasp and it definitely makes us wonder why WWE succeeded with The Shield and failed with factions like The Nexus. However, WWE was lucky to have three incredibly talented men find amazing chemistry as a unit. Stuff like chemistry is something you can defiantly not teach.
Like the proverbial "changing of the guard" at Elimination Chamber 2014, fans were given a new act to follow in The Wyatts. Will they be as successful as The Shield? Only time will tell. But, in this situation, if the history of The Shield has anything to say about it, Factions and superstars of the future might be ok after all.
Believe in The Shield and Believe in Simple Booking!
Thanks for reading folks!
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Email: obrien_joel@hotmail.com
Email: obrien_joel@hotmail.com
