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5-Year Anniversary of The Shield's Debut: Hottest, Coldest Takes on WWE Stable

Published by Bleacher Report on Sat, 18 Nov 2017


Crystal balls crackled when The Shield made its sudden and violent WWE debut, some of which were clear, and some of which were cloudy.Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns tore through the stands atSurvivor Series 2012 on Nov. 18 to disrupt a WWE Championship match between CM Punk, John Cena and Ryback. They swarmed around Ryback, battering him and sending him crashing through a table with no explanation.And in that moment, three wrestlers from WWE's developmental system had dug their claws into the main roster.Soon after, The Shield trounced Team Hell No and Ryback in an eye-catching debut match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2012.Some saw neon-bright futures for Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns. Others weren't as convinced. Five years on from The Hounds of Justice's first appearance, we look back at what fans, writers and one Hall of Famer thought about it as it was happening. The Hounds of Justice DebutThe group had no name. It made no effort to introduce itself. The black-clad trio of Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns simply blitzed Ryback, a three-headed monster devouring The Big Guy.As Survivor Series went off the air, the audience and analysts tried to make sense of what they had seen. And for many, that meant comparing the trio to another group of invaders from NXT:The Nexus.Scott Keith of Inside Pulsehad his doubtsaboutwhetherchannelingthatstablewas the right move, writing:"It's about time they did something with Rollins and Ambrose, although I don't know if Nexus v2 is what's going to get them over."Will Pruett of ProWrestling.net saw the parallels too, but projected the crew soon to be known as The Shield would be bigger than Nexus:It was a crew that featured two big indy names in Rollins and Ambrose. Reigns, a product of the WWE developmental system, was an unknown. Wrestlezone columnist Mike Killam nailed it when he said bringing him up alongside his Shield brethren was wise booking.In his Survivor Series 2012 review,Killam wrote: "Let's be real, even I didn't know who Roman Reigns was until I looked him up. So having them come in together and make an immediate impact on the product was a fantastic idea."Some believed this trio would expand. That was not the case.The folks from theAnswer the Ten Count podcast projected that additional memberswould join Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns:The Shield's lineup remained the same until its recent reunion tour, during which both Kurt Angle and Triple H filled in for The Big Dog as honorary members.Match No. 1The Shield's first match is arguably the greatest debut bout in WWE history.The trio collided with Kane, Daniel Bryan and Ryback in a whirlwind TLC match. Broken tables, bent ladders and a drained, mesmerized crowd stood in The Hounds of Justice's wake afterward.Just about everybody bought in immediately.WrestleView.com writer Jason Namako saw this matchup as an example of showcasing young talent paying off:Miami Herald columnist Scott Fishman notedthe match made believers out of fans.Former WWE Creative memberSeth Mates tweetedthat The Shield emerged from the event as stars.Erik Beaston of Bleacher Report saw big potential in all three men:But not everyone was impressed with Reigns. The hate for the powerhouse was already getting started.A fan named Chris said he'd rather watch Luther Reigns wrestle. The Bloodtype Online Twitter account wasn't blown away, writing that Reigns was "not half bad really."Fan James Stevenson dismissed The Big Dog as the weak link of the group:It's one thing to think this in the early going, but Reigns' critics have continued to have this type of sentiment despite how much he has grown and despite how clear it is he's a big deal. It's a case of sticking to an idea no matter how much contrary evidence one is presented with.Ambrose, Rollinsand ReignsWhen they arrived as a unit, it wasn't clear who would emerge the biggest name from The Hounds of Justice.Ambrose had the indy street cred. Rollins had the advantage athletically. Reigns had them all beat in terms of size and look.Some saw Ambrose as the likeliest candidate to have the best career of the bunch. Count WrassleRap founder and Bleacher Report's Kazeem Famuyide among that group:The Lunatic Fringe hasn't been that. Even as well as he's done in WWE, Ambrose is arguably the least successful of that trio.Famuyide balanced that out with a prophetic take, though, foreseeing that Reigns would be world champ.CWF Mid-Atlantic commentator Brad Stutts remarked that he first thought Ambrose should play AJ Lee's bodyguard:Who knows how that would haveplayed out. But it's hard to imagine that pairing having anywherenear the impact The Shield has.As for Rollins, Iundersold the hell out of The Kingslayer's potential,projecting himto be a better version of Justin Gabriel. Yikes.Sean Radicanof PWTorch noted that Rollins needed to improve his vocal work (which he has), but saw big things ahead for the high-flyer:"Rollins' long-term potential as a top-tier player in WWE will likely rest on his ability to improve on his promos. He never showed the potential to be the type of babyface that will connect with the younger WWE demographic during his time on the independents, but he could become a big force as top-tier heel in the future."Reigns, who looks poised to take over John Cena's spot as the face of the company, had his share of doubters.Brandon Stroud of Uproxx called him the Manu of the group, recalling Legacy's least memorable member:Andrew Goldstein, formerly of WWE Creative, took issue with what he called Reigns' "awful, made-up name." He added: "I mean, is he related to Luther Reigns' SMH."The moniker hasn't hurt Reigns in the least.And even though Ambrose and Rollins had the edge in experience and fame, Cageside Seats'Geno Mroskopredicted The Big Dog would push past them. "Reigns, meanwhile, might surpass them both because not only does he have the look, we now know he's got the chops to hang with the big boys," he wrote after TLC.Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross' eye for talent is well-known. So it's not surprising he knew what lied ahead for The Shield.Ross wrote in his blog shortly after their Survivor Series debut: "Each must improve in all phases of the game, but I'm of the belief the each can be [a] 'significant player' aka [a] main eventerin time."That couldn't be truer.Each man has been WWE champ. Reigns has headlined three WrestleManias, Rollins main-evented SummerSlam and Ambrose has been at the top of the card for events like TLC 2014 and Roadblock in 2016. And it's only been five years.The Shield is sure to dig its name deeper into WWE history as time rolls on.
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