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WWE WrestleMania 32: When Will We Finally Get the Shield Triple Threat?

By DJ Hostettler

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An all-Shield three-way for the WWE World Heavyweight Title has yet to make it onto a major WWE event. When will it finally happen?

For all the teeth-gnashing this year’s WrestleMania main event has generated, note that Triple H vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Title wasn’t the company’s first choice. While it’s never been confirmed by anyone in Stamford, one of the leading candidates for the headliner at this year’s Showcase of the Immortals was rumored to be a triple threat for the WWE Championship: World Champion Seth Rollins defending his title against his former Shield brothers, Dean Ambrose and Reigns (yes, Rollins vs. Triple H was another hot rumor as a semi-main event, but for the purposes of this post, let’s assume that was going to happen at, oh, I don’t know, let’s say Royal Rumble or something).

Unfortunately, as we all know, injuries derailed either plan back in Nov., and a depleted roster resulted in the marquee match we were handed starting back at the Royal Rumble. (A near-chronic inability or unwillingness of WWE to build a new top tier of wrestlers not named Reigns had something to do with this too, but we digress).

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It’s a straight-up bummer to think about what might have been. WrestleMania is set to break North American attendance records for a pro wrestling show, and closing that historic event with a title match consisting of the three hottest young stars in the company would have been an equally historic statement about the future of the company. This is especially if stars like John Cena and Randy Orton been healthy enough to work and be relegated to the undercard.

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Still, there’s no point in dwelling on the past: the Shield triple-threat is still guaranteed to be crazy pants bonkerstown when it finally does happen. WWE will make a billion dollars and Vince McMahon will swim in a room full of coins like Scrooge McDuck. But when?

The obvious smart money points to saving the match for next year’s WrestleMania in Orlando. WWE seems to understand that this match isn’t something to give away on a lower-tier Pay-Per-View; no, this match has the potential to be one of the most entertaining main events in WrestleMania history, and with over four years of build, it would certainly draw huge money. But is it a good idea to push the match back an entire year? As we learned from Seth Rollins’ knee this past year, a lot can happen to derail the best-laid plans of Vince and Haitch in the span of twelve months.

Here’s where we’re at heading into Dallas: Reigns is almost certainly winning the WWE World Title at WrestleMania. Ambrose is hotter than ever and has been elevated to his highest point in the WWE pecking order (so says Stone Cold, and who are we to argue?). No matter the result of his street fight against Brock Lesnar, Ambrose will be emerging from that war as one of, if not the top active babyface in the company (unless the result is Lesnar in a four-minute squash, and let’s be serious–that’s not happening). With Reigns as WWE champ and Ambrose as the people’s champ, it’s going to be hard to avoid the inevitable Reigns/Ambrose feud for long.

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And Rollins? If his rehabilitation is going as well as has been reported, the Architect of the Shield should be back in the ring by early Summer–a return that would certainly pop the crowd at any arena where it took place, immediately vaulting “The Man” back into contention for the championship he never lost. How the hell could WWE expect to keep these three men separated all the way until next April?

No, perhaps we need to look a mere five months down the road to WWE’s second-largest show, SummerSlam–to be held once again in smark-saturated Brooklyn, a crowd that would certainly deafen the three participants with dueling chants and eardrum-shattering electricity So Thick You Could Cut it With a KnifeTM.

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Perhaps we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves, since we still have to get past WrestleMania, but think of the possibilities. World Champion Reigns–whether a polarizing babyface or freshly-turned heel–can’t be kept away from a showdown with Ambrose forever. Sure, he may spend Payback, Extreme Rules, and Battleground fending off a rematch challenge from Triple H and various combinations of Brock Lesnar and Bray Wyatt, but once he’s through with them, Rollins will be back from injury, red-hot with the audience, and driven to reclaim the title he never lost. And after his elevating match with Triple H and what will certainly be a star-making performance opposite Lesnar, it will be nearly impossible to resist the temptation to throw Ambrose into the mix.

Granted, some other returning superstars could throw a wrench into these plans. Perhaps SummerSlam will be the night that John Cena officially passes the torch by laying down for Reigns. Maybe Orton makes nice with the Authority (assuming they’re still in power) and is placed opposite the champ (which, ugh).

But the heck with all that. Let’s hope that this Spring and Summer we get a nice slow build to the Big Money Match. Come on, WWE, let’s do this already. Pull the trigger on the Shield at SummerSlam.

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