Predicting When WWE Finally Unleashes a Shield Reunion on Raw

Fans won't have to wait much longer to see The Shield converge once more on WWE Raw. All signs point to Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose reuniting in the coming weeks.

It will happen to combat a surprising foe. It will happen just in time for the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view Oct. 22. And it will happen over three years after the dominant faction's violent breakup.

Rollins ended The Shield's run with a series of chair shots to his brothers-in-arms' backs. He feuded with both Ambrose and Reigns, battling in a number of grudge matches. But now, full reconciliation is on the way.

Ambrose and Rollins joined forces ahead of SummerSlam once The Lunatic Fringe felt he could trust his former ally again. 

Reigns, meanwhile, remained a lone wolf. He didn't interact with either man during that storyline, instead going after John Cena and Brock Lesnar. It didn't seem as if The Shield was even on his radar.

That will change now.

On Monday's Raw, The Miz needled the 2015 Royal Rumble winner in an in-ring interview. He made several references to Reigns' "buddies" and talked about how The Miztourage would have handled business against The Shield.

The Miz and The Miztourage later overwhelmed Reigns with a three-on-one attack. After leaving The Big Dog unmoving and face down, the heels stood over him, mimicking The Shield's signature fist bump.

That was no tease—it was a seed planted.

The company was getting the reunion conversation started. WWE.com later posted a poll asking whether The Miz and his crew could have defeated The Shield to further that talk.

Rolling Stone columnist Aaron Oster was among those who read Monday's events as a sign of a trio-against-trio bout at TLC:

Whether WWE goes with a chairs stipulation or not, it sure feels like that match is happening. Why would the company tease something as big as The Shield getting back together only to move in another direction now?

James McKenna of Pro Wrestling Sheet provided insight into WWE's thinking even before The Miz's crew laid waste to Reigns:

The financial motive makes sense. There's a clear need for more spark for the PPV.

Cena made it clear he's stepping away for the moment after No Mercy. Jeff Hardy won't be around as he's undergoing surgery. Brock Lesnar is likely going to be absent for a spell as he tends to be between major events.

So, if the idea is to sell tickets for TLC, WWE won't wait until the last minute to announce The Shield's presence at the event. It will want to make room for fans to anticipate The Hounds of Justice's first match together since 2014.

With only three editions of Raw between now and TLC, there's little time to waste.

Credit: WWE.com

Next Monday will offer up an entry point to a Shield reunion. As Joseph Currier noted on Figure Four Online, "Reigns will be getting a shot at The Miz's Intercontinental Championship on next week's episode of Raw." Should The Miztourage gang up on Reigns again during or after this bout, the audience will be watching the entrance ramp, waiting to see Ambrose and Rollins run down to the rescue.

Perhaps we get another tease before WWE pulls the trigger, but the company can't push it back past that if it wants to create maximum buzz for TLC. The Shield will be back in business on the Oct. 2 edition of Raw or the Oct. 9 show at the latest. 

The Miz and The Miztourage aren't the rivals one would have dreamed up for The Shield storming back into WWE. One could argue WWE should have delayed this moment even longer, creating a bigger gap between implosion and resurrection.

But even amid second-guessing, Reigns, Ambrose and Rollins appear to be closing in on a homecoming en route to TLC.