Seth Rollins: 9 Ways How He Meteorically Rose to Become the Face of WWE

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Evolution vs. The Shield

Once upon a time, Randy Orton and Dave Bautista were young, up-and-coming prospects. Orton was the son of a WWE Hall of Famer, while Batista was built on a video game and had the potential to become one of the most dominant stars in the business.

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It didn’t take Triple H and “Nature Boy” Ric Flair long to realize this, as they took the two young stars under their wings, and formed “Evolution”. Throughout 2003, 2004, and into the early part of 2005, Evolution ran Monday Night Raw with an iron fist. Sound familiar?

After The Shield made their move and “stood for justice” before WrestleMania XXX and attacked Corporate Kane, Triple H made the trio a target as the WWE’s COO. The Shield would decimate Kane and The New Age Outlaws in New Orleans, which lead to Ambrose defending his U.S. gold the next night on Raw with no backup from Rollins and Reigns. Ambrose would lose the gold to Sheamus in a 20-man battle royal, a beat down from the newly reformed Evolution, and The Shield wanted retribution.

The Shield’s payback (no pun intended) would come in the form of back-to-back victories at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view and the Payback pay-per-view; their last match together.

Next: 'The Turn'