Pros and Cons of Potential Shield vs. Bullet Club WWE Feud

Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows have made an impact on WWE's main roster. The two bruisers, who have called Japan home in recent years, are now in Vince McMahon's company, and they're looking for a fight. But just what exactly is the fight they're looking for?

Many fans believe this is the arrival of The Bullet Club, perhaps the most influential stable that has ever come out of New Japan Wrestling. The Bullet Club combines the athleticism of today's generation with the swagger of yesterday's New World Order, making for a popular faction respected throughout the business.

So does this mean the first shots have been fired?

While Anderson and Gallows have not made their intentions clear regarding a Bullet Club invasion of WWE, the evidence does seem to be mounting for fans. That evidence is also bringing speculation among many that perhaps this will not be an invasion; it will be a war.

Who better to fight a war in WWE than The Shield?

Maybe it's all a coincidence that WWE's top champion is also the former Shield muscle, and maybe it's also a coincidence that his top challenger is a former Bullet Club leader. But in the world of WWE, coincidences are usually orchestrated. 

This could become the hottest storyline WWE has seen in years. But should it even happen?

The Pros

The best part about this potential war is that it's new. 

Fans have seen The nWo vs. WCW. They've seen D-Generation X vs. the establishment. They've also seen The Four Horsemen vs. Dusty Rhodes and friends. But this is something different because this war would have a different purpose with different players.

AJ Styles is still new to WWE, and though he's respected in the business, he's still working to establish himself with a new universe of fans. Anderson and Gallows are a credible tag team with an old-school vibe, but they are an unknown commodity in WWE. 

Fans do not see these guys on TV every week. The possibility of their reformation is made all the more exciting because it's the unknown for WWE. In a company that has struggled with stale storylines and bland characters over the years, anything different is good.

There's also the fact that everyone involved can get it done in the ring.

This is not a situation where aging veterans are being brought back to squash younger talents. All three Bullet Club members are capable of putting on great matches and leaving fans wanting more. But, of course, they're not the only trio involved here.

The Shield was arguably the best faction to ever work in WWE. They were not bent on world domination like The Nexus, and they were not comedians like DX. Rather, they were powerful and entertaining as a unit.

Roman Reigns is the unofficial top guy now, and Dean Ambrose is regarded by many fans as the most likely to take his spot. Seth Rollins is still on the shelf right now, but he was perhaps the best worker in the locker room and could become that guy again. 

They're good individually, but together, they were unstoppable.

Fast-paced action, intense matches and crazy brawls would all be the order of the day in a Shield vs. Bullet Club rivalry.

Perhaps the most important element at work here is Reigns himself.

He continues to work to get over, and while fans likely feel it's impossible, WWE doesn't seem to agree. So maybe a Shield reunion is just what he needs to turn the tide of popular opinion back in his direction.

Reigns could very well come out on the other side of this war in the spot WWE has wanted him in all along.

The Cons

This is too easy.

Could it be that a feud with this much potential was created for the sake of getting Roman Reigns over as a babyface? Is it that important to WWE? The truth is that there has never been a better time to turn Reigns heel than right now.

Everyone expects Styles to be with Anderson and Gallows. But what if the opposite was true? What if Anderson and Gallows cost their friend the win at Payback and aligned themselves with Reigns? What if there is no Bullet Club invasion, only Reigns getting some hired muscle to help secure him as the company's top heel?

The alternative of Reigns yet again emerging as the conquering hero no one wants cannot be the answer here.

How would this help Styles? Even if The Bullet Club gets a pop for jumping on Reigns, they will still be portrayed as heels, and they will still exist only to get the champ over. Doesn't Styles deserve to get over himself, to get an opportunity at the top? How can he do that if he's working to help the status quo remain the status quo?

Styles has worked his entire career for a moment in the sun; why should he have to share that moment now that he's finally in WWE?

What about Seth Rollins? He's such a good heel, and right now, WWE doesn't even have a top heel. Why should he turn face, and why would Reigns or Ambrose ever trust him again? There is no logic in that at all. Perhaps Rollins could be the mastermind behind Anderson and Gallows, as he was the architect behind The Shield.

It would be a different matchup in terms of the players, but it would be an exciting one nonetheless.

Some fans believe that Finn Balor is headed for the main roster now that he is no longer the NXT champion. Balor was the founder of The Bullet Club, so maybe he will be the man giving Anderson and Gallows their marching orders. Judging from a recent interview with WWE.com's Anthony Benigno, he seems to be open to the idea of working with them again.

But this puts Balor in the same spot as Styles, in which he's only there to make the champ look good. This would help him make a main event splash, but he would fall to Reigns every time—and so would his faction.

Balor has the potential to become a unique attraction in WWE. The Demon gimmick is perhaps the most captivating one since The Undertaker, and Balor could be a character that sells tickets. Why jeopardize all of that by bringing him in as a heel right now, especially when he would be doomed to fall at the feet of Roman Reigns?

WWE seems committed to keeping Reigns in the babyface role, and until that changes, any feud that involves him is just another effort to convince fans he should be loved. The Bullet Club deserves better than that—and so do Rollins and Ambrose.

Tom Clark can regularly be found on Bleacher Report. His podcast, Tom Clark's Main Event, is available on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Android, Windows Phone and online here