My first article in a long time...

The Shield - Best Before End - 28/06/2013. This is the date The Shield lost to The Uso's and Christian on Smackdown, a decision which confirms my belief that the group is in need of a new direction. They are now past their sell by date in their current state.

The Shield are brilliant. We on the board have run out of superlatives to describe this trio. Since their debut at Survivor Series they haven't looked back and have gone from strength to strength until now where I believe, and it pains me to say it, are beginning to get a bit stale. Don't get me wrong it's certainly not over for The Shield and they all still have huge futures in the business but right now, for me, they need new impetus.

1 - A new member. At first I was against the idea of a 4th member but right now I wouldn't mind it. It would freshen the group up, create seeds of doubt amongst the group about whether they can trust the new member, and eventually cause cracks which will lead to Rollins quitting and turning face. Who? Randy Orton, that's who. Orton has been screaming out for a heel turn for over a year now and I believe he's the perfect fit for The Shield. I can see him and Rollins engage in a HHH/Orton Evolution-esque fued further down the line. Either way and whoever you'd prefer to add to the group, a 4th member is an option to freshen them up.

2 - Jealousy. Dean Ambrose wins the WHC Briefcase at MITB. His gloating and power lead to Reigns & Rollins growing jealous of his stature. A slow burning face turn for Ambrose progresses over the next few months and big cracks appear when Reigns and Rollins 'inadvertently' cost Ambrose the US Title. Maybe have Reigns win the WHC from Ziggler in the fall and to confirm the face turn Ambrose cashes in on Reigns after an assist from Ziggler. Now I realise Ambrose is a natural heel, but he has a loooong future in the WWE and I'd prefer him to be a heel at the peak of his career, which is not right now. As good as he is he is still slightly green but he's money. He knows it, the WWE knows it. However I feel it would benefit him to turn face and then heel again when his stature is more prominent. He can then enjoy a long heel run at the top of the card.

3 - Push. Keep them as they are but push them even harder. Not quite sure how practical this is given they already hold midcard gold between them, but i'm thinking along the lines of getting them involved in the McMahon family fued. I'd have them repeatedly attack Triple H declaring it an injustice that he is trying to undermine the chairman of the board. Eventually Vince admits to being the one who instigated it all, leading to a Triple H vs Dean Ambrose match at a PPV down the line. It would atleast give them a big storyline to be part of.

Anyway, what do you guys reckon? Are you happy with the direction of The Shield? Do you feel they are in need of something new? Or are you happy with how they are currently being presented?

Cheers for reading.

Would have Punk leave Heyman, join forces with the Sheild, who would help with the fallout and feud with Lesner. After that finnished, have them set out to do what Punk said during that speech and try and change the face of WWE with a feud against HHH & Cena & McMahons etc. Leading to jealousy between Punk and Ambrose, and there feud splitting the Sheild (in about 2 years).

Not sure i'd want Punk being part of ANOTHER faction tigerrobins. After the SES and New Nexus he's proven he's a lone wolf now. Besides he's on the cusp of a full babyface turn and I cant see him turning heel again straight away to join The Shield. Nice idea though.

They should have been hired by Heyman to protect Punk when he was champion.
Their gimmick would have made sence then.

BELIEVE IN THE SHIELD  

Mr H wrote: 2 - Jealousy. Dean Ambrose wins the WHC Briefcase at MITB. His gloating and power lead to Reigns & Rollins growing jealous of his stature. A slow burning face turn for Ambrose progresses over the next few months and big cracks appear when Reigns and Rollins 'inadvertently' cost Ambrose the US Title. Maybe have Reigns win the WHC from Ziggler in the fall and to confirm the face turn Ambrose cashes in on Reigns after an assist from Ziggler. Now I realise Ambrose is a natural heel, but he has a loooong future in the WWE and I'd prefer him to be a heel at the peak of his career, which is not right now. As good as he is he is still slightly green but he's money. He knows it, the WWE knows it. However I feel it would benefit him to turn face and then heel again when his stature is more prominent. He can then enjoy a long heel run at the top of the card.

Or as another twist to that have him become paranoid (not in the Eric Young Sense) that they are jealous of him, and that they delibrately keep having him nearly lose matches but only through his own cunning and greatness did he overcome the odds. This can be almost evolve into a cocky heel with slight paranoia.

Mr H wrote:Not sure i'd want Punk being part of ANOTHER faction tigerrobins. After the SES and New Nexus he's proven he's a lone wolf now. Besides he's on the cusp of a full babyface turn and I cant see him turning heel again straight away to join The Shield. Nice idea though.

I see your point about Punk, and would agree that he tends to lose something when he's in a group/stable. I just couldn't think of another top star that would benefit the Sheilds style while keeping them relevant (plus it helped with the rest of the idea).
And that's the major problem I have, I just can't see enough good storylines to keep them relevant for till next year unless they align themselves with someone. And unless it's Punk (or maybe Taker who was impressed with what they did to him, so offers guidance), anyone else I feel would just take over, which would be a mistake in my opinion.

I reckon Randy Orton would be a great shout as a 4th member of the Shield. I think if WWE feels that the best way to inject some fresh impetus into the group would be to add a new member then it would need to be a 'name'. I don't think there would be any point adding a Kassius Ohno, Corey Graves or Sami Zayn (not that these guys aren't talented).


As for the second option, I wouldn't turn Ambrose face to eventually cause the split of the Shield. If they're going to turn it should be as a collective to take on the Wyatt Family (although the rumours suggest it will be the Family turning face in the long run). From there I would push them as singles wrestlers who still look out for each other from time to time and this is where the split occurs. I'd let Rollins and Reigns have moderate success as singles (maybe give one of them a US or IC title run) but I'd move Ambrose up the card where he wins major matches, but always with the Shield watching his back or even running interference. The further up the card Ambrose goes, the more desperate he is for the Shield to stick together, because he can see them helping him to win the WWE or World title. At this juncture, Rollins would be trying to convince Reigns that the Shield should disband and do their own thing, because Dean is just using them whilst Ambrose would be doing everything in his power to make them stick together. Eventually, you could have a Triple H / Batista style split, where Reigns hears Ambrose mouthing off to someone that he used the Shield for his own personal gain. Sorry, that got a bit long-winded there


The only problem with them entering the McMahon feud is the fact they'd get overshadowed every week by Vince, HHH and Steph. Fair enough, WWE might have high hopes for the Shield but that's not to say that they wouldn't completely balls everything up by having them involved with the McMahons.