Comparing the Breakups of the Wyatt Family and the Shield

WWE created a blueprint of how and when to pull apart a faction with The Shield but veered from that plan with the underwhelming end of The Wyatt Family.

Every wrestler who collided in the six-man tag match at Elimination Chamber is now on his own. The groups have since dissolved, and WWE hit a home run in its handling of The Shield's last moments but a trickle of a ground ball with The Wyatt Family's demise.

The company freed Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns at just the right time.

They are all benefiting from the momentum their breakup created. Reigns was set for marquee status before he had to undergo emergency hernia surgery. His old partners are a month removed from main eventing Hell in a Cell.

Should Bray Wyatt, the man who decided how that match ended, reach that same level, he will have to do so in spite of an anticlimactic end to his bearded cult.

The Timing

The Shield weren't around that much longer than The Wyatt Family, but it sure felt like it. 

Fans can now debate the black-clad trio's place among WWE's greatest factions. There's an argument that it was the best three-man team in company history. Few would place that label on The Wyatt Family.

The two team's tenures were similar in length but not in impact. 

Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns debuted together at Survivor Series 2012 and held together until June 2, 2014. The Wyatt Family debuted on Raw on July 8, 2013, and toward the end of September, WWE began airing vignettes hinting at a split.

In its time as an alliance, The Shield simply left more destruction in its wake.

The Shield's members won and lost the United States Championship and held the tag titles for eight months. They twice wrestled at WrestleMania and added two wins over Evolution at pay-per-views to their resume. The group had done its job through all of that, showcasing all three men and prepping them for individual stardom.

Meanwhile, The Wyatt Family split before they left real claw marks on WWE.

No members won a championship until after the breakup. Only The Eater of Worlds fought at WrestleMania, going 0-1 as opposed to The Shield's 2-0 mark at the event. Daniel Bryan outsmarted Wyatt, and John Cena later overcame him. 

The Shield's list of victims is longer and more impressive.

Rollins and Company left The Rock convulsing on the mat. They put Undertaker through a table. Dragging Kane out of the arena is not on the level of either of those moments.

That had The Wyatt Family's end feeling premature. They were monsters who had only done a handful of monstrous acts. It felt as if they were giving up too soon, whereas The Shield went out while still teeming with momentum.

The Moment

When fans look back at 2014, they are going to remember Brock Lesnar defeating The Undertaker, Sting making his WWE debut and The Shield's violent breakup. Rollins revelation as Triple H's backup plan shocked fans, left them raw emotionally and catapulted each man involved going forward.

Fans had long assumed Ambrose was going to be the reason The Shield ended. He seemed most likely to turn heel.

Instead, it was Rollins, who has since become one of WWE's best villains, who plunged the knife into his brothers' backs.

The clang of the steel chair across Reigns' spine and Ambrose's stunned face created lasting images. The moment will go into Rollins' career highlight package and any future list remembering the biggest betrayals in WWE history.

The Wyatt Family's last moment wasn't a moment at all.

Vignettes revealed that the three men would each go their own way over time. Wyatt spoke of setting Rowan and Harper free, claiming that he fixed them.

It made perfect sense in terms of Wyatt's gimmick but didn't have the power that The Shield's implosion did. As well-produced as those clips were, they were no replacement for watching a troop crumble into separate parts live on stage.

The Aftermath

The end of The Shield immediately paid off. Ambrose and Rollins engaged in a feud that has been 2014's best so far.

The Lunatic Fringe's hunger for vengeance powered that story and elevated both men. It led to an excellent Lumberjack match at SummerSlam, one of the best Hell in a Cell bouts in recent memory and a Falls Count Anywhere match that will contend for Match of the Year.

Reigns has a feud waiting for him against Rollins when he gets back, and WWE can turn to Rollins vs. Ambrose again and again in the future.

For The Wyatt Family, it was Wyatt who had the clearest direction following the group's split. He went after Ambrose, giving The Eater of Worlds a high-profile rivalry that has already led to a TLC match at the pay-per-view of the same name.

Harper fought for Team Authority at Survivor Series. Rowan joined Team Cena, a surprising shift that has yet to be explained from a storyline standpoint. 

Those men have a shot to get some real traction in their careers. Harper already wears the intercontinental belt thanks to The Authority. The lackluster breakup didn't help them, though. 

The best part of WWE's handling of The Wyatt Family breakup is that it allows them to reform at any time. Wyatt has no ill will against his former followers. A reunion can happen at any moment. 

Rollins and Ambrose, meanwhile, now look to be enemies for life. 

The Shield doesn't need to get back together. Each man is closing in on marquee status. Wyatt, Harper and Rowan may eventually get there too, but their breakup will still be remembered as a missed opportunity, a lit fuse that went out too soon.