The Shield is back together, but they must retain their individuality


On the Monday 9th October edition of Raw, we the what many people had been dreaming of. One of the most adored stables in wrestling history reuniting, 1225 days after they shockingly split. The Shield were back, but maybe not as you remember them. 

And that’s the most important thing.

This is not The Shield you remember

This is no longer The Shield from 2012-14. No longer is it a band of young, hungry stars that will exact their own sick brand of ‘justice’ whenever—or wherever—they so feel. They no longer have the world at their mercy. 

They are now established top guys in the company, with each of the trio having held world titles and either the United States or Intercontinental Championship during their time apart. They even all held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on the same night, at Money in the Bank 2016. 

They became the opposite of what The Shield stood for. No more loyalty. No more fighting injustice as a band of brothers. They had become blood hungry, title hunting, locker room giants.

 And that’s how they must stay.

They are too established to just drop everything and rush back into their swat gear with Reigns as the enforcer, Rollins the architect and Ambrose the wildcard. They can’t just seamlessly transform back into what they were 3 years ago, too much has changed. And to suggest they’d be willing to just drop everything and revert to their old Shield ways is damn right insulting.

The inevitable end everyone sees coming

To be the pessimist in this situation, we all know the unfortunate truth about the reunion.

We all know that it will not last long. At all.

It’ll be a miracle if the trio last longer than WrestleMania. Which, yes, is sad. For two reasons.

  1. The Shield is really cool and could dominate while we reminisce over the ‘good ol’ days’ of wrestling.
  2. They’re using three major talents for the most important season in the WWE Calendar.

Once people get sick of The Shield—and they will, the WWE fans are fickle—then the guys are going to have to split up all over again.

We can’t have Seth Rollins turn heel on the group again—it’ll make Roman reigns and Dean Ambrose look utterly stupid and will throw away essentially two years of character building for both men.

Dean Ambrose won’t turn on the two—loyalty is deeply ingrained in who he is and his anger expressed towards Seth over the last two years as well as keeping close to Reigns shows that he is a part of this family and won’t tear it down. Plus, Dean’s always been a bit of tweener along the line of good and bad, so it wouldn’t make sense to commit him too far either way.

And Roman turning is now a pipe dream, it’s beyond the point of actually happening. We’ve seen so many chances to see him turn be squandered and know he’s finally back in a place that’ll stop him getting booed—a place where he feels valued and is appreciated.

That’s where the individuality of each man is key.

They must remain themselves

Each man already is established outside of The Shield, so when they do decide to split again it can easily be amicable and go off without a hitch, much like the old off/on relationship Triple H and Shawn Michaels had inside of DX.

It allows the guys to come into The Shield when the time calls, when each of them are at a crossroads and need to take some time way from singles wrestling to rediscover themselves or find out what is best for them next.

The Shield isn’t just a wrestling faction—it’s an alter ego for each of the men involved. The Shield, when united, are unstoppable and brutal, but taken apart, they are all human.

And that is why they must keep their individuality, they need to keep their human touch.

What do you think about The Shield's reunion so far? How do you want to see it end when the time comes? Let us know in the comments below!

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