This past Monday Night RAW saw the return of the Shield as Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose made their way down to the ring in the familiar black riot gear as Roman Reigns was facing down a cash in opportunity by Braun Strowman on the Universal championship. The trio beat down Strowman, a man who last year was seen flipping over 18 wheelers and surviving being crushed in dumpsters, and triple powerbombed him onto an announce table.
I was a bit conflicted over how RAW ended on this fashion. On the one hand, I wanted to see a Strowman cash in, and I think the majority of us expected it in the post-Summerslam RAW…but on the other hand it was the Shield. The last run of the Hounds of Justice in late 2017 was somewhat aborted by Roman’s sidelining by an infection and Ambrose’s arm injury, so fans didn’t really get the full on reunion they were expecting (although they squeezed out one 6 man tag team match at Survivor Series against the New Day).
But it’s quite apparent what this latest instalment of the Shield is designed to do: prolong Roman Reigns’ run as Universal Champion. Which is strange, because it kind of goes against the grain of what a ‘babyface’ Shield is supposed to be about: upholding justice. The three on one team up on one man certainly does not rub off like an act of justice, and Roman looks like he set Braun up knowing the Monster Among Men was lurking around waiting for his opportunity to cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase.
Likewise, Strowman’s promise to ‘not cash in like a coward’ was sort of kept? He still waited until Roman got back up to deliver that vicious boot, but it still feel within the same format of coming in after the champion has had a match. The last time a Money in the Bank briefcase was cashed in ‘honorably’ as they say, it was John Cena vs. CM Punk in 2012. Even Lucha Underground’s “Gift of the Gods” title stipulation to give one week’s notice was mostly kept by those who held that title whether they were hero or villain.
There is still time for the third run of the Shield to impress, but more likely it is leading up to an explosive falling out culminating in a triple threat match for the Universal title at Wrestlemania between the Big Dog, the Architect and the Lunatic Fringe. As the only current member without a championship, Ambrose has more reason to turn heel than the others this time, and his new badass look and revised in-ring style helps bolster the threat that he poses to Rollins and Reigns.
The last time the Shield faced each other for a heavyweight title was Batttlground 2016. In the rematch, wouldn’t it be epic to see a looming monster cash in while that chaos is happening?
An average professional doing the 9-5 grind who really loves wrestling across all platforms. Here's hoping wrestlers finally get some basic workers rights in 2021.
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