Daily DDT EOY Series: Was it the Right Move to Breakup The Shield?

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From December 23 through January 2, Daily DDT will be bringing you our “End of the Year” series of posts, which will highlight the biggest topics in professional wrestling from 2014.

In each post, some of our writers will be giving their reaction to these subjects.

In this post, we will revisit the breakup of The Shield. Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins formed one of WWE’s greatest factions that lasted for about 18 months. When they broke up, many thought that it was too soon for the trio to split from each other. Is that still the case? Leave your comments below after reading.

Becca’s Take

It has now been six months since the split of the Shield: the most formidable WWE stable in recent years. During their 19 month run as a team, they overcame the likes of Evolution, the Wyatt Family and the New Age Outlaws. When Seth Rollins betrayed his teammates and caused the disbanding of the Shield halfway through this year, fans of the trio were both disappointed and worried. Was it really time for the split of such a consistently successful team? Would all three flourish as single competitors as much as they did as a stable?

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The imminent split of The Shield was hinted at before WrestleMania, with conflict arising between Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. Rollins was the peacekeeper during this period, and because of this, it was widely believed that it would be Ambrose or Reigns who would cause the split of the faction. This led to one of the most shocking moments of the year when it was actually Rollins who turned on them.

After betraying his teammates to join the Authority, the second half of the year has been exceptional for Seth Rollins. He won the Money in the Bank briefcase in July and has become one of the biggest heels in the company. Six months after turning his back on the most popular stable in years, fans still chant “You sold out.” during his promos. His matches and storylines have been consistently great, particularly his newest partnership with J&J Security – which is adding some much needed comedy to typical feuds.

With the break-up of the team, we got what was one of the most anticipated feuds in today’s WWE roster: Rollins vs Ambrose. Their rivalry was brutal and culminated in the main event of the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view in October. It also allowed the character of Dean Ambrose to truly develop. The Lunatic Fringe is has taken a similar gimmick to the one which got him so over in the Indies – he is crazy and will not stop at anything for revenge on those who hurt him. The future is definitely bright for Ambrose. He currently plays a face who is over with every category of fan, from kids to smarky adults – which is very rare in wrestling nowadays. 2014 was the year that he proved that he is part of the future of the company, and if his popularity continues he will have a very successful future as a solo competitor.

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Surprisingly, the member of The Shield who has achieved the least since their split is Roman Reigns. Due to injury in September, he was absent from television for three months. Even before this, he had an unmemorable feud with Randy Orton and a loss in a fatal four way title match. However, where the latter of 2014 was weak for Reigns, 2015 and beyond will not be. It is no secret that he is Vince McMahon’s pick to be built up as the new face of the company, and is set to win January’s Royal Rumble match and earn a match against the WWE World Heavyweight Champion – who will likely be the big name of either John Cena or Brock Lesnar by WrestleMania. Whether he is ready for such a major push or not is subjective, but the next number of months will be tremendous for Reigns.

Perhaps there were plenty more feuds that The Shield could have had as a team. Perhaps at the time people were highly disappointed that they split. In hindsight, the timing was absolutely perfect for the team to break apart. We were given incredible memories of them as a team, a completely shocking end to their run and all three members are now solidifying their positions as the future stars of WWE.