Since their debut, it was obvious that The Shield represented the future of the WWE. As singles performers, it’s a race to the top for Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. 411’s Greg DeMarco explores the group’s journey to the world championship.

June 2, 2014 was the night Seth Rollins blasted Roman Reigns in the back with a chair, ending the most dominant group in the WWE since Evolution—The Shield. Dean Ambrose was made a victim moments later, and all three members of The Shield set sail towards individual stardom in the WWE.

From that show closing moment of Raw on, it’s been a veritable race to the top of the WWE. Each man has made strides and suffered setbacks, but it almost appears to be a dead heat as we approach The Road To WrestleMania.

Dean Ambrose

As a member of The Shield, Dean Ambrose was always a little…different. Sometimes it was overt like the way he delivered his portion of a Shield promo or the fact that he wore a white shirt under his vest while the others wore black. Other times it was more subtle like the way he cocked his head when someone else was talking or the leap he took at an opponent on the outside before attempting to pound his face in.

Those qualities earned Ambrose the “Lunatic Fringe” moniker, one that quite accurately describes his singles run as of late. Ambrose has been treated like CM Punk, Steve Austin, Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero before him, allowed to have outlandish moments that are both memorable and over-the-top. He’s gotten the better of John Cena in the way no one not named Brock Lesnar has since SummerSlam 2013 (when Cena lost clean to Daniel Bryan). He was allowed to make mention of the defunct cruiserweight division when poking fun at the “New Stooges” Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury. He was even allowed to point out that the company uses independent wrestlers as cops and Rosebuds.

The company is obviously behind their resident antihero, but that’s a theme you’ll see with all three former Shield members. Given his Hell In A Cell match with Seth Rollins and recent win over John Cena, could Dean Ambrose eventually be the first Shield member to be WWE World Heavyweight Champion?

Seth Rollins

One early mystery of The Shield was just how they got to the WWE. They were immediately identified as NXT roster members—the first such mention since the letters “NXT” were given to the WWE’s developmental division. They were initially associated with CM Punk—but an actual association with Punk was never established. Paul Heyman seemed to be leading their charge when they took out Brad Maddox at his request. But an actual origin wasn’t established until later in their run, and it wasn’t fully confirmed until after their break up.

The man credited with The Shield’s creation is Seth Rollins, termed “The Architect of The Shield” during the second half of the trio’s run as a group. That term was given more definition after Rollins turned, with the revelation that he brought them together to do exactly what they’re doing now—taking their rightful place amongst the WWE’s elite.

Ask any member of the roster who is at the upper-mid-card or below if they’d like to be “The Golden Boy Of The Authority” and they’ll tell you yes. It’s a prime position that gets lots of television time and is heavily protected. Then ask any member of the roster who is at the upper-mid-card or below if they’d like to be “Mr. Money In The Bank” and you’ll get that exact same positive response. Despite recent success (or lack thereof) that briefcase usually leads to something special.

Two coveted position, and Seth Rollins…is both.

Rollins has rarely lost since his association with The Authority and his Money In The Bank Briefcase win. The last clean loss that comes to mind is at the hands of Roman Reigns (and you know he’s next in this article) during the Raw before Night Of Champions. Now he’s positioned at the top of the card, main eventing house shows and traveling the world with his gold briefcase in tow.

Much like the aforementioned Dean Ambrose, the WWE is proven to be behind the former Ring of Honor World Champion for the long haul. Given his golden ticket that has led to a world title run all but twice, could Seth Rollins eventually be the first Shield member to be WWE World Heavyweight Champion?

Roman Reigns

As Tyler Black and Jon Moxley, respectively, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose came into the WWE with a strong independent following, making them easy pickins’ as the Internet Wrestling Community poster boys. Roman Reigns came to the WWE as a former Florida high school Defensive Player of the Year, Georgia Tech defensive All-ACC player and team captain, and was signed by the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2007, also playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars. His football career ended in the CFL with the Edmonton Eskimos in 2008.

Two years later he’d sign with the WWE, completing a path that has proven successful for some talents but not accepted by many hardcore fans, despite his lineage as a member of the famed Anoa’I family that has given us The Rock, Umaga, Yokozuna, Rikishi and his sons Jimmy & Jey Uso.

With Ambrose and Rollins entering the main roster with a following, Reigns was able to establish himself as the Shield’s bad ass, often looked upon as “the baddest mother f*cker in the room.” Halfway through the Shield’s run (which you’ll notice, as a trend, is when the members started to show more individuality) it became popular for fans to join in with the primal scream that preceded his powerbomb. His seated dropkick to the apron also stood out as both a unique and visually impressive move.

At 6’3” and 265 pounds, Roman Reigns offers the size and look that is commonly associated with a talent the WWE would push to the moon. And even before the break-up of The Shield, it was apparent that Reigns was primed for just that. He was the runner-up in the 2014 Royal Rumble after breaking Kane’s record for most eliminations in a single Rumble—an honor that realistically could have gone to any of the three super group members.

Since the break-up, Reigns has been just as protected as his Shield brethren. He was positioned as a main eventer at both Money In The Bank and Battleground, and secured a clean victory over 11-time world champion Randy Orton in the semi-main event of SummerSlam 2014.

Since the moment Brock Lesnar ended The Undertaker’s WrestleMania Streak, Roman Reigns has been rumored to be the man to defeat the former UFC World Heavyweight Champion for the WWE’s top belt at WrestleMania 31. Given his lineage, size, look and booking, could Roman Reigns eventually be the first Shield member to be WWE World Heavyweight Champion?

Prediction

If you’ve been reading my work here at 411Mania over the past four years, you know that I hate when a columnist (or even myself) asks a question and doesn’t give their own definitive answer. And you know you’ve been thinking it as you’ve been reading—out of all three Shield members, just who will end up being the first one to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship?

The future is obviously bright for all three, and I firmly believe that all three members of The Shield will hold wrestling’s most prestigious prize during their careers—even multiple times. But to figure out who will do it first isn’t as easy as determining who is the best.

Roman Reigns has the look and the pedigree that the WWE loves, and is reportedly penciled in as the man to end Brock Lesnar’s reign of terror over the championship at WrestleMania 31. Dean Ambrose has seen a surge in popularity over the past few months, giving fans hope that the WWE will insert him into the WrestleMania title picture, either alongside or at the expense of Roman Reigns, much like they did with Daniel Bryan this year. Seth Rollins has the Money In The Bank briefcase and can cash in whenever he chooses, provided the champion is around for him to cash in on.

So who gets there first?

Roman Reigns will win the 2015 Royal Rumble, defeat Brock Lesnar to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania 31, becoming the first member of The Shield to be a world champ in the WWE.

But he won’t be that for long.

Over the past 18 months, Triple H’s influence has changed the product in many ways, including the increase in importance of NXT, stability added to the secondary championships, and the unification of the two world titles. Short of bringing back the King Of The Ring, one of the remaining “big ticket” changes is seeing the Money In The Bank briefcase cash-in happen at WrestleMania. Once Roman Reigns defeats Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins will cash in and cement himself, much like Authority leader Triple H, as one of the most cerebral and devious heels in WWE history—robbing his former partner of his WrestleMania glory.

And before the end of 2015, Dean Ambrose will hold that belt as well.

Greg DeMarco is a wrestling fan of over 30 years and has also worked on the independent circuit as a promoter, announcer, character and booker. Greg a weekly contributor at 411Mania.com, applying his opinionated style to the world of pro wrestling on Sundays and Thursdays.

He began writing for 411Mania in October 2010 and has been pissing readers off ever since!

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