The Shield’s reunion is in full swing as they are set to take on Braun Strowman, Cesasro, Sheamus, Kane and the Intercontinental Champion, The Miz in a three on five handicap match. We haven’t seen The Shield in action as a unit since Payback 2017, making it over three and a half years since we’ve seen three of the top in this industry working alongside each other, making this a dose of nostalgia in the hearts of all wrestling fans. With their match this Sunday in mind, I wanted to go back to what made them so special, and with that said, here are their top five matches together as a unit.
5. Elimination Chamber 2013 vs. John Cena, Sheamus and Ryback
This was The Shield’s first traditional three on three tag team match as the young hounds looked to make names for themselves by attacking former world champion Sheamus, Ryback, who was a pretty big deal at the time, and the winner of the 2013 Royal Rumble and then 13 time WWE Champion, John Cena. The trio thrived on surrounding their opponents and attacking them ruthlessly, leaving them helpless, and in the weeks leading up to Elimination Chamber, they delivered a dose of justice to Cena, Ryback and Sheamus which were being dubbed as a super team.
The Shield had already faced off in a TLC match, but now it was time to see how they would do in a traditional sense, and they excelled massively. Each man was certainly inexperienced, but you already got the sense of how special these guys were. Roman Reigns had a particularly limited moveset, but was able to hit basic power moves and got a signature spear through the barricade on Sheamus. Seth Rollins was able to showcase his high-flying acumen and Dean Ambrose’s unorthodox style of fighting was able to isolate Cena for an extended period of time. The finish came when John Cena delivered an AA to Dean Ambrose and Ryback was ready to deliver Shell-Shocked to Seth Rollins when Roman Reigns came from out of nowhere and speared Ryback, with Seth landing on top of him for the pinfall victory. It was just one of many creative ways that The Shield utilized teamwork to their advantage, and it got them a victory over three of WWE’s top stars at the time.
4. RAW 4/22/13 – vs. Undertaker, Kane and Daniel Bryan
Undertaker doesn’t wrestle on RAW and Smackdown, and he didn’t do that in 2013. However, after defeating CM Punk at WrestleMania, Undertaker was interrupted by The Shield, who was then interrupted by Team Hell No. If The Undertaker takes time to get his hands dirty on RAW and Smackdown, it should serve as a ringing endorsement of just how far these NXT upstarts had come. The Shield once again had managed to isolate their opponents and worked as a well-oiled machine. I believe this match was also a good chance to showcase how far they came in terms of story-telling as well because this would be a prelude to The Shield winning the US and Tag Team titles.
Daniel Bryan was going for a headbutt and missed, and Dean Ambrose came and stole the pinfall and the victory for The Shield. It was an amazing match that the RAW crowd was treated too, and this proved to be one of the highlights in their history as a faction. The onslaught continued the next night when Dean Ambrose faced off against The Undertaker one on one and The Shield would proceed to take him out.
3. Extreme Rules 2014 vs. Evolution
There probably wasn’t a more symbolic passing of the torch than in 2014 when The Shield have to face three icons in Randy Orton, Batista and Triple H. The Shield completed their face turn shortly before WrestleMania 30 and The Shield foiling the plans of Triple H wanting to take the WWE Title off of Daniel Bryan led to this dream match. What I loved about this match was the pace and the overall chaotic nature of it. Each man complimented each other’s styles in a unique fashion. Seth Rollins was able to use his ingenuity and the arena in a fashion where he seemed like a daredevil. Rollins diving onto Randy Orton and Triple H from the stands remains one of the more impressive things I’ve seen in a match to date. Roman Reigns getting the pinfall on Batista, who were the final two members of the 2014 Royal Rumble was very appropriate.
The Shield would have a less impressive, but still impressive showing against Evolution at Payback, but everything here just clicked. The six men went all over the place, they brawled to their heart’s content and the right team went over as The Shield got one of the biggest victories in their respective careers.
2. Elimination Chamber 2014 vs. The Wyatt Family
This was something so many fans anticipated for the longest time. Two young factions with fresh talent excited to show the world what they were capable of doing, and boy did they ever impress. The Shield were facing off against John Cena, Sheamus and Daniel Bryan in a six-man tag that would determine who would be in an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Title. The Wyatt Family interfered when they attacked Cena, Bryan and Sheamus, costing The Shield. This would lead to the brutal war that would ensue at the Elimination Chamber.
The Wyatt Family were relative novices in six-man tag action while The Shield had basically become veterans. The story here was who would be able to endure more pain and last towards the end. They weren’t in the Elimination Chamber but it felt like an Elimination match. Seth Rollins flung himself all over the place left and right. Ambrose looked to brawl with Bray Wyatt at every turn. But little by little the Wyatt Family would be able to dismantle The Shield, first by taking out Dean Ambrose and then Seth Rollins, leaving Roman to fend for himself. He fought valiantly and a part of me actully thought he’d be able to pull it off, but the numbers game proved to be too much as The Shield would leave in defeat. However, they wouldn’t leave without gaining the respect of the WWE universe, as they knew they were something special.
1. TLC 2012 vs. Kane, Daniel Bryan and Ryback
This was the true start of something special. I tried so very hard to not put this as number 1, but I couldn’t help myself. If we’re being truly candid, this is probably one of the best matches of the 21st century, but since this match wasn’t the main event of a B show, it doesn’t hold as much significance to many fans’ mind. However, this was just awesome. The Shield was literally incapable of doing anything wrong in this match. Never before in the history of tables, ladders, and chairs matches have I seen such ingenuity and such creativity. The Shield were known for their three on one assault and were being critiqued for not being able to face people three on three like true men. However, The Shield would be able to prove people wrong by absolutely dismantling Team Hell No and Ryback by using some of the best teamwork you’ll ever see in a tag team match.
The way The Shield managed to isolate their opponents with such ease to give them the advantage was incredible to see. JBL made note of this to Cole during the match. This wasn’t a three on three mugging. The Shield were able to make this a handicap match for them, as they got themselves in frequent two on one situations that pitted the match in their favor. Couple that with some of the notable spots, like Rollins taking a dive through tables, Roman spearing Kane through the barricade and burying him, powerboming Ryback, and the powerbomb from the top rope, and you have one of the most well-orchestrated matches in WWE history. The Shield made an impact in such a dominant manner. They weren’t to be trifled with, and as we can see five years later, they weren’t.
