The Shield's Split Must Be Teased at the Royal Rumble

The Shield dominates every time it steps into the ring. Since the 2012 edition of Survivor Series, it has become a force to be reckoned with. Its dominance has risen to this conquering level from one wrestler: Roman Reigns.

The young Samoan has been on fire since this past Survivor Series, defeating former world champions Rey Mysterio and CM Punk. He’s exactly what the WWE wants in a WWE Superstar. Reigns has the size (6’3” and 265 pounds), stamina and athletic ability to succeed.

However, this makes an intriguing dilemma for the unit. Let’s face it; Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose are no pushovers.

Ambrose still holds the United States championship, which he won on May 19 last year at Extreme Rules. Rollins won the tag team titles with Reigns later that night. Yet, both men have been pushed to the backburner. Reigns is emerging as the main man of The Shield, which isn’t a bad thing for Reigns but could spell an inevitable end to the trio as a wrestling faction.

The Shield’s split must be teased at the Royal Rumble.

It needs merely to be teased, giving a glimpse of things to come. And the Royal Rumble is just the right venue and the right time.

For starters, the majority of the WWE Universe wouldn’t expect it, though they might hope for it to happen. But frankly, how the imminent split should happen is another story.

The seeds have already been planted, with Reigns winning the majority of his matches while Ambrose and Rollins have been on the losing end.

All three men will enter the Royal Rumble come January 26. It’s every man for himself, but nonetheless, we can expect all of them to be in the same ring at the same time.

What might probably happen is a short-term alliance. They’ll do what they’ve always done: dominate the ring and make a few eliminations—that is, until a mistake happens.

Last month’s TLC pay-per-view saw CM Punk defeat The Shield in a handicap match because Reigns speared Ambrose. Punk took advantage and pinned Ambrose for the three-count.

Let’s flip the script here. Reigns eliminating either of his partners would make no sense, considering no tension has been remotely detected or implied by this group.

Instead, why not have Rollins eliminate Reigns by accident. It would be too obvious if Ambrose did it, as he’s depicted as the lunatic of the bunch. Rollins taking out Reigns at the Rumble would provide extra-needed intrigue to the group’s eventual separation.

Let the breakup happen at WrestleMania 30. It would be more iconic happening there instead of the Rumble because of how they’ve reinvigorated the six-man tag match. It was dead before they stormed onto the scene. The Shield has main evented as a unit in these type of matches ever since.

We don’t need a complete break—not yet. All we need is the buildup toward the road to The Shield’s dissolution, and what better venue than at the Royal Rumble.