Triple H a Hound of Justice: Is WWE Devaluing The Shield with Guest Stars?

In the most surreal of scenes, blood rivals joined forces as Triple H donned black riot gear and fought alongside The Shield.

Roman Reigns is out of action thanks to a viral infection, leaving WWE with quite the gap to fill. The company had hyped up The Hounds of Justice's return only now to be unable to deliver two-thirds of the group.

And while some will argue that The Shield feels less special because it's swapping out members, the name power of the men stepping into Reigns' role has the opposite effect. WWE is emphasizing just how big a deal this trio is.

Kurt Angle served as the first Reigns replacement at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view on Oct. 22.

The PPV was set to feature The Shield's first match together in three years. Instead, fans got to see Angle in a WWE ring after an 11-year absence.

During WWE's current tour of the United Kingdom, Reigns was still not available. This time around, Triple H stepped in.

The Game teamed with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins at a live event in Glasgow, Scotland. 

Never mind that Triple H was instrumental in tearing the group apart in 2014. Never mind that The Game was Reigns' archrival leading up to WrestleMania 32 and Rollins' bitter foe en route to WrestleMania 33.

WWE shunned storyline logic here.

Some fans are sure to pick this apart. Others will claim that this move is an insult to The Shield. At the very least, a good chunk of the audience is going to not know how to process the whole thing.

The folks at Daily DDT are confused about Triple H's character alignment:

But it's best to keep in mind The Cerebral Assassin's Shield cosplay happened at a house show. These events aren't canon. These are places for experimentation, for results that don't affect what goes on during Raw and SmackDown.

And in this case, WWE clearly wanted to give the fans who thought they were getting The Shield something worth the price of admission. A future Hall of Famer pinch-hitting for Reigns qualifies.

John Canton was spot-on when he wrote for Uproxx: "This was just a fun moment for the fans at a live event in Glasgow and we're guessing it was a moment they won't forget."

Plus, WWE isn't replacing Reigns with Curt Hawkins or R-Truth. Angle and Triple H are icons. Both are marquee attractions who don't often wrestle at this point in their careers.

The fact that WWE called on these two men to fill out The Shield is a sign of how highly the company regards it.

Angle wouldn't have leaped out of his general manager spot to help out The Miztourage. Triple H wouldn't have swooped into Scotland if Sami Zayn needed replacing. 

During the wait for Reigns to get healthy again, WWE is going all-out, keeping The Shield in the news and creating lasting images along the way. This route is surprising and entertaining. And if The Big Dog needs more time to recover, it would be great to see this roll on.

What if Chris Jericho stepped in for a surprise match alongside Rollins and Ambrose? Could we see Sting in a Shield uniform? 

This is a chance to get weird and wonderful, to celebrate The Hounds of Justice and create buzz ahead of the group's delayed reunion tour.