As I sit down to write this piece, I want to say that I am a fan of all the former members of the Shield. I even like Roman. Yes, some of the reason is because he's pretty. But I just want to point out that I'm all for this feud lasting a long time. There is something special about Reigns, Rollins, and Ambrose. The chemistry with the three of them was electric. Even when they were heels, they were the best heels. You hated to hear their music. You knew that shit was going to get bad and it was going to get bad very, very fast. And when they were the good guys, they were the Hounds of Justice. These three guys had great chemistry in and out of the ring. And while their careers have all take different paths (Roman straight to the top, Rollins straight to the top, and Ambrose with some peeks at the top and then valleys, peaks and valleys- his trajectory is all over the place) they're still, I feel, your top three stars in the company with the exception of John Cena.
But since we're heading into Money in the Bank with Reigns vs. Rollins, I thought I would break down why I'm so looking forward to this match/series of matches, and the eventual addition of Ambrose. The truth is, I don't think this feud really reaches its peak until Ambrose is involved and we get the triple threat we all want. I feel like that's going to happen at Wrestlemania. They'll give us a taste of what to expect in the long run, but I think you'll see Roman retain and hopefully, we can see a match with Rollins and Styles, maybe Dean wins Money in the Bank...the possibilities are really endless.
So, let's talk about the face aspect of both Reigns and Rollins. Reigns works as a face for outside the WWE. Look at him. He's a beautiful, strong, Samoan man, "related to the Rock", and mostly unobjectionable. No big scandals involving him, nothing to make people from the outside question the direction of WWE. He has a hard hitting style, he's strong, and most importantly, you don't see others getting hurt by him in their matches. The stuff that happens in his matches, tables and barricades, could cause someone to get seriously hurt. However, you haven't heard of anyone getting hurt in the ring with Roman. He's easily marketable to kids. He's clearly liked by management and they see the money to be made with him.
Then there is Rollins who's a very different face than Roman. Seth has a high flying ability that makes watching him dazzling! He can do things in the ring that make you love watching him perform. He's stellar on the mic. He's good looking as well (especially since he got all thick on his time off), and fans generally want to cheer for him. His return Sunday night proved that. (although, how much of that was because of Rollins return and the hatred the WWE universe has for Roman remains to be seen). The fact is that Rollins' style lends itself to being a face. The fans will make him whatever they want him to be with or without the help of the WWE. But there is money to be made in a face Rollins.
And as for the heel aspects of both, I'll start with Reigns again. The fans loathe him. They just do. Whether it's real or fabricated by the internet fans, they don't like the push he's been given and they don't like that the WWE did it seemingly against their will. But Roman would be a different heel than Rollins. You could make him ultra violent. And he really doesn't even have to cut a promo to be a bad guy. Just have him come out and interrupt others while laying them out with a "Superman Punch" and fans will naturally boo him. He also has the added benefit of having reinforcements if they ever want to really make a Roman Empire stable. When he shows that vicious side of him, like with HHH and the chair shots the fans went nuts for the Roman that seemed to annihilate someone. But since, he's been booed out of the building. Let him be the natural heel that he can be. Let the fans boo him and you might find that they end up liking him. I think a heel Roman as champ could be fucking fantastic if they simply take their heads out of their asses.
With Rollins as a heel, he's completely different than Roman. Roman puts off an air that he doesn't really need help, most times. However, part of the charm of Rollins as heel was that he was always surrounded by people to help him take care of any problems. Whether it was J&J, Orton, Kane, Big Show, or even the Authority, but in the end he always managed to win, sometimes in spite of the help he received. He was pinned, a little too often on Raw in non-title matches, but when it came to the big time, and the chips were down and he had to perform to keep his championship, Rollins came through.
This dynamic is going to be fun to watch. And I really feel like our Shield triple threat will main event Mania. There is no doubt in my mind that this can be strung along and milked for that amount of time. Once Ambrose is thrown into the mix, it makes it even more compelling to watch. He's also willing to align himself with Reigns over Rollins, as Rollins turned on them, but wouldn't hesitate to put Roman into the mat if it meant he could potentially win the title. And it's never seen as a betrayal by Reigns or by Ambrose. They know the ambition. They probably would have understood it from Seth, but he stabbed them in the back to align himself with the Authority.
Now, my hope for Money in the Bank is that Reigns retains, Ambrose wins Money in the Bank, and Rollins ambushes both after their wins. If you want Rollins to be a different heel than he was before, and he's right people called him weak and afraid and he was, then he needs to stand and fight. A Rollins that runs in and ruins their matches builds heat. And Ambrose teasing the possibility of cashing in whenever he wants, and Rollins threatening him, much the way that Ambrose did Rollins, to ruin any opportunity to cash in works. No one is going to win the title off of Reigns but Rollins. And it should be made clear. Maybe Reigns even wins with a low blow or something "heel" like to get him more heat. Not that he needs it. At this point, he's a bonfire. But people naturally want to cheer for Rollins. You don't have to have a declared face or a declared heel. Allow this to just come together organically. The fans will dictate who is what. Ambrose will, probably, come out of the whole thing the true face as his wacky hijinks and manic style lead towards people loving him.
So, my expectation is that next year we will see the Shield Triple Threat at Mania. I would love to see the Shield reunite to take on the Club, but people love AJ Styles and Finn Balor, so I'm not sure how that would work.
But since we're heading into Money in the Bank with Reigns vs. Rollins, I thought I would break down why I'm so looking forward to this match/series of matches, and the eventual addition of Ambrose. The truth is, I don't think this feud really reaches its peak until Ambrose is involved and we get the triple threat we all want. I feel like that's going to happen at Wrestlemania. They'll give us a taste of what to expect in the long run, but I think you'll see Roman retain and hopefully, we can see a match with Rollins and Styles, maybe Dean wins Money in the Bank...the possibilities are really endless.
So, let's talk about the face aspect of both Reigns and Rollins. Reigns works as a face for outside the WWE. Look at him. He's a beautiful, strong, Samoan man, "related to the Rock", and mostly unobjectionable. No big scandals involving him, nothing to make people from the outside question the direction of WWE. He has a hard hitting style, he's strong, and most importantly, you don't see others getting hurt by him in their matches. The stuff that happens in his matches, tables and barricades, could cause someone to get seriously hurt. However, you haven't heard of anyone getting hurt in the ring with Roman. He's easily marketable to kids. He's clearly liked by management and they see the money to be made with him.
Then there is Rollins who's a very different face than Roman. Seth has a high flying ability that makes watching him dazzling! He can do things in the ring that make you love watching him perform. He's stellar on the mic. He's good looking as well (especially since he got all thick on his time off), and fans generally want to cheer for him. His return Sunday night proved that. (although, how much of that was because of Rollins return and the hatred the WWE universe has for Roman remains to be seen). The fact is that Rollins' style lends itself to being a face. The fans will make him whatever they want him to be with or without the help of the WWE. But there is money to be made in a face Rollins.
And as for the heel aspects of both, I'll start with Reigns again. The fans loathe him. They just do. Whether it's real or fabricated by the internet fans, they don't like the push he's been given and they don't like that the WWE did it seemingly against their will. But Roman would be a different heel than Rollins. You could make him ultra violent. And he really doesn't even have to cut a promo to be a bad guy. Just have him come out and interrupt others while laying them out with a "Superman Punch" and fans will naturally boo him. He also has the added benefit of having reinforcements if they ever want to really make a Roman Empire stable. When he shows that vicious side of him, like with HHH and the chair shots the fans went nuts for the Roman that seemed to annihilate someone. But since, he's been booed out of the building. Let him be the natural heel that he can be. Let the fans boo him and you might find that they end up liking him. I think a heel Roman as champ could be fucking fantastic if they simply take their heads out of their asses.
With Rollins as a heel, he's completely different than Roman. Roman puts off an air that he doesn't really need help, most times. However, part of the charm of Rollins as heel was that he was always surrounded by people to help him take care of any problems. Whether it was J&J, Orton, Kane, Big Show, or even the Authority, but in the end he always managed to win, sometimes in spite of the help he received. He was pinned, a little too often on Raw in non-title matches, but when it came to the big time, and the chips were down and he had to perform to keep his championship, Rollins came through.
This dynamic is going to be fun to watch. And I really feel like our Shield triple threat will main event Mania. There is no doubt in my mind that this can be strung along and milked for that amount of time. Once Ambrose is thrown into the mix, it makes it even more compelling to watch. He's also willing to align himself with Reigns over Rollins, as Rollins turned on them, but wouldn't hesitate to put Roman into the mat if it meant he could potentially win the title. And it's never seen as a betrayal by Reigns or by Ambrose. They know the ambition. They probably would have understood it from Seth, but he stabbed them in the back to align himself with the Authority.
Now, my hope for Money in the Bank is that Reigns retains, Ambrose wins Money in the Bank, and Rollins ambushes both after their wins. If you want Rollins to be a different heel than he was before, and he's right people called him weak and afraid and he was, then he needs to stand and fight. A Rollins that runs in and ruins their matches builds heat. And Ambrose teasing the possibility of cashing in whenever he wants, and Rollins threatening him, much the way that Ambrose did Rollins, to ruin any opportunity to cash in works. No one is going to win the title off of Reigns but Rollins. And it should be made clear. Maybe Reigns even wins with a low blow or something "heel" like to get him more heat. Not that he needs it. At this point, he's a bonfire. But people naturally want to cheer for Rollins. You don't have to have a declared face or a declared heel. Allow this to just come together organically. The fans will dictate who is what. Ambrose will, probably, come out of the whole thing the true face as his wacky hijinks and manic style lead towards people loving him.
So, my expectation is that next year we will see the Shield Triple Threat at Mania. I would love to see the Shield reunite to take on the Club, but people love AJ Styles and Finn Balor, so I'm not sure how that would work.
