Sierra. Hotel. Echo. Lima. Delta.
Five words that none of us expected to hear blare through the speakers of an arena anytime soon. And yet, this week on Monday Night Raw, that’s exactly what we heard to a roaring ovation when The Shield made their mark.
Just as Braun Strowman was prepping to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase on a defenseless Universal Champion, Roman Reigns’s buddies Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins arrived to stop an injustice from taking place.
Anyone who has seen The Shield’s work before know what followed from there. A staredown against Braun, the Hounds of Justice circling him like a pack of hyenas, pummeling him, and slamming him through an announce table with a Triple Powerbomb.
Every single one of us were shocked at the pleasant surprise, but we’re all still scratching our heads trying to figure out exactly what a Shield comeback in 2018 could mean for the WWE for the year to come.
Source: WWE.com
One thing that we know for sure is that despite what some fans may think, this is not a Shield heel turn. This was two babyfaces helping their babyface friend avoid a heel style cash-in. Typical of their mission statement, The Shield were fighting against injustice.
The bigger question is how far does this fight against injustice extend? In the future, the trio could consider Roman Reigns without a Universal Championship as an injustice. Going forward, The Shield could work hard on keeping that title on Roman’s shoulder.
Especially against a juggernaut like Braun Strowman, who should make a formidable adversary to The Shield and vice versa. Few members of the Raw roster pose a serious threat to Braun Strowman, but The Shield as a unit could believably topple the giant any day of the week. As a challenger to Roman’s title, it should make for a compelling chase for the Monster Among Men.
Speaking of titles, who says this olive branch was made solely to protect Roman Reigns’s championship? The Shield could just as easily do the same for Seth Rollins in his hopes of keeping the Intercontinental Championship.
The return of The Shield certainly has plenty of storyline potential, but the bigger picture here is that the return of The Shield means that each member will reign supreme in the main event picture of Monday Night Raw.
Many fans were worried that Rollins and Ambrose would take a back seat in the midcard while Roman flourished in the main event scene, but as long as The Shield are together, we should expect all three men to close out Raw regularly for the foreseeable future.