WWE: Examining the Shield's Rise from Internet Darlings to Fan Favorites
Hounding, swarming and pouncing on their opponents, The Shield has become one of WWE's most compelling elements in less than a year.
Holding the tag team titles and the United States Championship, The Shield is more than a Nexus rehash, it is proof of NXT's power to prepare prospects and of this triad's teeming potential.
By way of college football, Ring of Honor, Combat Zone Wrestling and NXT, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns have gone from a trio appreciated only by the savvy fan to the bad guys most fans love to see in action. Each member took a different route, but they have since merged into a single, powerful entity.
Seth Rollins
The most diehard of fans might have known of Rollins' work with Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Absolute Intense Wrestling or Full Impact Pro, but his biggest exposure on the independent circuit was during his Ring of Honor run.
Rollins debuted for that company much the way he did for WWE, overpowering an opponent in a surprise attack.
Known then as Tyler Black, Rollins joined Necro Butcher and Jimmy Jacobs to form The Age of the Fall and attacked the Briscoe Brothers at the Man Up event. It was a moment marked by controversy, as Rollins and his crew hung Jay Briscoe over the ring as he bled onto the mat.
The buzz around that incident gave Rollins a kick-start and fans soon saw him battle the Briscoes in tag team bouts and take on men like Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan) and Nigel McGuinness. Rollins' high-energy style caught fans' attention right away.
(Note: The following video contains brief profanity, thanks to some rowdy fans.)
There's a certain artistry and magnetism about how Rollins dives and rolls in the ring.
Like Bryan and CM Punk before him, Rollins became the ROH world champ, making him the top guy in a company that many diehard fans admire. Fans of Rollins' from those days must have waited impatiently for The Shield's high-flyer to make his way to the main roster.
Roman Reigns
The Shield's human sledgehammer didn't create the kind of buzz in the indies that his partners did. The former football player caught fan's interest by way of his famous lineage.
Umaga, Rikishi, The Usos and Yokozuna are among the members of the well-known Anoa'i family. Reigns' father and brother were both pro wrestlers and while more casual fans may not have known about that connection, more intense fans must have salivated knowing that a man with such impressive ancestry was awaiting a call-up to the main roster.
Reigns had shown great athleticism and power during his time as defensive lineman for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. He later played for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League, but didn't make the final roster cuts for the Minnesota Vikings or the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It was in WWE's developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling, that Reigns thrived, grew and built momentum.
As Leakee, Reigns buzzed on-screen. He was among the most powerful prospects on the roster, but moved like a much smaller man. In his matches, he showed off explosiveness and fluidity that impressed.
Some fans saw Reigns for the first time when he and his crew sent Ryback through a table at Survivor Series 2012. For those familiar with his work at Florida Championship Wrestling, that was a day of celebration, the beginning of a new era.
That feeling was likely doubled for Ambrose.
Dean Ambrose
Scrolling through comments on Ambrose's indy promos or reading wrestling message boards, one could find constant talk of Ambrose being the future of wrestling when he was known as Jon Moxley.
His bloody battles in Combat Zone Wrestling certainly got him attention as did his more technically-centered bouts against Bryan, McGuinness and B.J. Whitmer. As good as his William Regal-inspired offense is, for many folks it was his performances on the microphone that were most enthralling.
The darkness he exuded wasn't put-on or from a script; it felt like Ambrose was reaching into the black of his own innards and pulling out all the sinister poetry he could find.
Had Ambrose performed in a different era, promos like this one wouldn't have spread across the web by way of YouTube. Fans nowhere near the promotions he wrestled for got acquainted with the maniacal, unsettling energy that Ambrose creates with words.
Ambrose made the rounds on the independent circuit, creating buzz in promotions like Dragon Gate USA and Full Impact Pro, Insanity Pro Wrestling and Heartland Wrestling Association, which is based in his hometown of Cincinnati. Long before Ambrose suited up in Shield garb he was an underground star.
WWE did well to forge an entertaining team from these three parts. Their previously built hype made the transition from NXT to WWE easier.
The Shield
The Hounds of Justice may remind us of Nexus and the nWo, but what made Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose stand out right away was their ability to produce great matches at an impressive rate.
How many performers' first televised match was as magnificent as The Shield vs. Team Hell No and Ryback at Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2012?
The group then made sure we knew that this first bout was no fluke. Each time out, The Shield delivered one of the best matches of the show. The group's matches at Elimination Chamber 2013, WrestleMania 29, WWE Raw and most recently their pre-show classic against The Usos have been fast-paced, exciting and memorable.
That's how you win over a fanbase in a hurry.
No one needed to talk about how good The Shield could be. Their greatness was apparent from the get-go. Add to that an aura that was equal parts mystery, intimidation and nonchalance, and the group easily sucked in fans unfamiliar with each man's previous work.
Now that Ambrose has ventured into singles action, the trio's journey could either be headed into eventual dissension or domination that will last for months to come.
Who can pry the tag titles from Reigns and Rollins? Who can take out Ambrose? How good can each individual, and the group as a whole, be?
Whether fans have been following these men from their beginnings or are late to jump on the bandwagon, watching as each of those questions gets answered is going to be an electric experience.
