25 biggest pro wrestling ‘what ifs’ of the past 25 years
By Luke Norris
24. What if Roman Reigns doesn’t join The Shield?
It’s hard to picture anyone else in The Shield that isn’t Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose or the new face of WWE, Roman Reigns. However, that’s the scenario which nearly played out when the trio debuted on the main roster at Survivor Series in 2012. They were brought in essentially as mercenaries for CM Punk, who was one of the hottest things in wrestling at the time, and they made an immediate impact, taking out anyone whom Punk was involved with in a storyline, most notably Ryback and The Rock to start.
It was easy to see the chemistry between the three men and they became must-see television but the trio of Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns almost wasn’t as Punk had recommended to creative that it be Kassius Ohno (Chris Hero to my indie fans out there) and not Roman Reigns to join Ambrose and Rollins on the main roster. Creative didn’t like the choice, vetoed it and the rest is history. The Shield dynamic in itself is amazing. Dean Ambrose was always thought to be the one that would make the most impact as a singles competitor but it was Rollins who was first chosen to really break away and he did a great job. It’s not that Ambrose isn’t a good performer but in the grand sense of things, he’s pretty much the weak link of the three. Reigns, on the other hand, has now been in the main event of WrestleMania three years in a row and counting and it’s all due to the fact that he was the menacing third member of “The Hounds of Justice.”
Where would Roman Reigns be right now if he hadn’t been the third member of The Shield? He’s always had a good look and outside of a maneuver or two (that Superman punch has to go), he can go in the ring in big-match spots. Would he have become the star that he is without Ambrose and Rollins? Doubtful. The faction made the careers of every single one of those guys and it’s because it was specifically the three of them. No disrespect to Ohno but he’s just not at that level. There’s a reason that he was released a short time later and is now a mid-card player in NXT while Reigns is the guy (pun intended) that’s expected to lead WWE into the next generation.