10 Backstage Stories About The Faction That We Can't Believe

Posted by Arica Deslauriers on Monday, May 20, 2024

There's no denying that The Shield will go down as one of WWE's top stable of all time. Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose had amazing chemistry. The men showed their bond was just as strong off-screen as it was on television. Whether fans loved them or hated them, they tuned in every week to see what the group's next move would be.

RELATED: The Shield's 5 Most Treacherous Acts (& Their 5 Most Heroic)

As The Shield's popularity continued to grow, they became the talk of the wrestling community, especially with reports of stuff that happened behind the scenes. Today, we'll take a look at some backstage stories about The Shield.

10 Original Attire

The Shield's ring gear had them in black tactical gear. Dressed in pants, boots, and vests; the men were ready to fight as they made their way through the crowd. But one prop that almost got used as part of their attire were actual shields. The group was supposed to use plastic shields like the ones police used. However, upon seeing the men with the shield props, Vince nixed the idea of using them. During The Shield's Final Chapter, the group found the old props and posed for photos with the shields.

9 CM Punk Came Up With The Idea

If there's one person to thank for bringing the creation of The Shield, it's CM Punk. Both Punk and members of The Shield have confirmed he came up with the idea. Punk's plan consisted of bringing up NXT guys to serve as his bodyguards. The Shield's debut came at Survivor Series when Punk was defending the WWE Championship against John Cena and Ryback. The stable attacked Punk's opponents and continue to show up during Punk's matches. The storyline eventually revealed that The Shield wasn't working for Punk, but his manager Paul Heyman.

8 Reigns Wasn't Supposed To Be Part Of The Group

It's hard to imagine The Shield without Roman Reigns, but that's what almost happened. Punk had originally picked Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Kassius Ohno to be in the stable. However, WWE had their eye on Reigns and thought he'd be a better fit for the group.

RELATED: 5 Reasons The Shield Were Better Together (& 5 Reasons They're Better Apart)

While Punk may not have liked the idea, fans couldn't deny that Reigns had great chemistry with his Shield brothers. Although, one has to wonder how things would have played out if Ohno was part of the faction instead of Reigns.

7 Backstage Heat With Randy Orton

Every so often reports surface that superstars have backstage heat. Just months after their debut, The Shield landed themselves in hot water with officials. Reports surfaced in the summer of 2013 that the group had backstage heat. The reports said that Reigns got into an argument with Randy Orton after a botched spot during a match. Higher-ups were upset with Reigns arguing with Orton and called him into the office. Despite the incident, Reigns nor The Shield suffered any backlash and WWE continued on with the group's main roster push.

6 Refused To Lose To John Cena

At the 2013 Elimination Chamber PPV, The Shield faced off against John Cena, Ryback, and Sheamus. Original plans called for Cena to score a win over the heelish trio. However, the group didn't like the idea and feared it'd hurt their career being buried by Cena. According to Ambrose; he, Rollins, and Reigns went into the office and told Vince they refused to be jobbed out to Cena. Vince must have been impressed with their actions because the outcome of the match was changed to having The Shield go over Cena and his team.

5 Ambrose Was Supposed To Turn On The Group

The Shield was WWE's biggest stable from 2012 to 2014. Even though their momentum continued to be red-hot, fans knew it was only matter of time before the group split up. When the time finally did come, everyone was shocked that Rollins was the one to turn.

RELATED: 10 Failed Shield Stories That Should've Worked Out

If anyone was going to break up the brotherhood, everyone assumed it'd be Dean Ambrose. In fact, in the months leading up to the split, reports said that WWE was planning to have Ambrose turn heel. But Vince changed his mind and decided to make Rollins the bad guy.

4 Was Supposed To Break Up Sooner

June 2, 2014 is an infamous day that will forever be remembered in WWE history. Fans watched in shock as Rollins attacked Ambrose and Reigns with a chair. then joined The Authority. However, if WWE had it their way the stable would've split up much sooner. In an interview on Edge and Christian's podcast, Rollins revealed WWE toyed with the idea of splitting up the group following the 2013 TLC PPV. But the guys thought it was too soon and explained to their boss they weren't ready to go their separate ways just yet.

3 Post SummerSlam Reunion

Even though the group split in 2014, they would go on to reunite numerous times. On the RAW following SummerSlam 2018, Ambrose and Rollins attacked Braun Strowman just as he was about to cash in his MITB briefcase on Universal Champion Roman Reigns. While it was a huge moment for RAW, their reunion almost took place the day before. According to Ambrose, the segment with The Shield reuniting and attacking Braun was supposed to happen at the end of SummerSlam. However, Brock Lesnar didn't like the idea and WWE changed their plans.

2 Ambrose Hated His Infamous Heel Turn

On October 22, 2018, Roman Reigns stunned the WWE Universe when he announced he was battling leukemia. It was an emotional night for Reigns and his Shield brothers, who embraced him after the announcement. Later in the evening, Ambrose and Rollins won the RAW tag titles, then fans watched in shock as Ambrose delivered a vicious attack on Rollins. Ambrose has been very vocal about his infamous heel turn. He's said he didn't want to turn heel that night and that he disliked the ideas Vince came up with for his character.

1 Ambrose Was Emotional Over Roman's Return

Four months after announcing that he had leukemia, Roman Reigns returned to RAW on February 25, 2019 to announce he was in remission. Rollins came out to embrace his friend, but Ambrose was nowhere to be seen. Reports said Ambrose was overcome with emotion due to Roman's return and opted not to go out with Rollins. The next week the trio officially reunited as they began a feud with Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre, Elias, and Bobby Lashley. This reunion would be the final one for The Shield due to Ambrose leaving WWE in April.

NEXT: The 5 Best Matches Involving The Shield (& The 5 Worst)

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErKeoqqSowaa%2BjZympmenp7K0wMuipaBno522prjDZpmam5uowaKzxGaqraeinrK0ew%3D%3D