For months, fans of the WWE have assumed what will likely become reality over the next couple of weeks -- one of the most dominant factions in pro wrestling history, The Shield, is going to break up, likely culminating in a match at WrestleMania. But it doesn't have to be this way.
The Shield first burst onto the scene at Survivor Series 2012, helping CM Punk retain the WWE Championship against John Cena and Ryback. We knew the group consisted of a good promo guy in Dean Ambrose, an excellent worker in Seth Rollins and a muscle-bound hoss in Roman Reigns. But I don't think anyone could have anticipated how terrific this trio would perform as a unit, night in and night out.
In recent weeks, we've seen some members of the group compete individually, as if they are testing out how things would go if the group were to split. Obviously, I'm primarily speaking of Roman Reigns. He's been tabbed by the brass as the breakout star of the group. But in two specific situations where he's been put one-on-one with talented workers across the ring from him -- CM Punk at Old School Raw and Bray Wyatt two weeks ago -- the matches haven't delivered the way one might expect.
Meanwhile, the group continues to tear the house down in six-man matches -- notably at Elimination Chamber and again last week on Raw. As a unit, their shortcomings are masked. While Rollins especially and Reigns in short bursts have shown they can hang on the microphone with Ambrose, he's still clearly the star talker of the group. Rollins can work like few others on the roster and Reigns' big spots -- the Superman punch and the Spear -- are as over as any moveset in the business right now.
So, I ask, what's the rush to break them up when the whole is clearly greater than the sum of its parts?
The only possible argument I can fathom is to strike while the iron is hot, and WWE brass is worried that by continuing on, the Shield will become stale. There's a simple solution to freshen them up: Turn them babyface.
Honestly, the Shield is practically there. Reigns has been getting a positive reaction since the Survivor Series, and Rollins has really shown his chops lately during this feud with the Wyatts, taking center stage when he walked out last week to get Ambrose and Reigns back on the same page. Ambrose, to a certain degree, even worked as the "face in peril" in the tag match last week. And the crowd has been vocally more supportive of the Shield in this feud.
All they need is a key shift in motivation to get the fans fully behind them. And WWE has already planted the seeds for such an instance.
When the Shield and Wyatts were just starting to feud, you may recall Triple H tried to talk the Shield out of it. Later, in Wyatt Family promos, both Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper alluded to the Shield being Triple H's pawns. "He's always been your king," Harper told The Shield of the King of Kings. Before the rematch last week, on Smackdown, Triple H told the Shield to "stand down," and Wyatt referred to the Game at the Shield's "Daddy."
Recall that when the Shield debuted, they talked about how their job was to protect the WWE from injustices. At some point, shouldn't it become clear to them that the Authority is the most unjust members of the WWE Universe? That, and being treated like Triple H's children, should be enough of a catalyst to become anti-Authority and, therefore, babyfaces in the eyes of the fans, many of whom are already cheering them.
A WrestleMania six-man tag, perhaps against three others associated with the Authority in Kane and the New Age Outlaws, would be a good starting point.
If it gets us another six months of the Shield as a team until say, SummerSlam, then by all means, let's do it.
