Newer WWE fans might not know this, but there was a time when locker room leaders, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Jon Moxley, all wreaked havoc on the WWE under one banner. For years, the trio were collectively known as The Shield and established themselves as one of the most dominant groups in WWE history.
After making its debut in 2012, The Shield enjoyed a spectacular run and reunited a bunch of times after “breaking up” as well. But, while WWE fans have fond memories of each The Shield reunion, Seth Rollins didn’t like it when The Shield returned with Kurt Angle as part of the group.
The Shield “reunited” in 2017 with Kurt Angle joining the group in place of Roman Reigns, who had taken some time off. This led to a 5-on-3 handicap match in a pay-per-view event that pitted The Shield against Kane, The Miz, Cesaro, Bran Strowman, and Sheamus.
Although The Shield won the match, Rollins wasn’t a fan at all, revealing his thoughts to Graham “GSM” Matthews of Bleacher Report:
I guess one regret would’ve been managing some of the reunions a little bit better and some of that was out of our control and there was nothing we could do. It’s not ideal to have Kurt Angle in a Shield costume, but desperate times call for desperate measures, so we made the best of it and there’s something to be said for putting people in that role and being able to have the equity to do that.
At the end of the day, Rollins is entitled to his opinion. If he feels that the WWE mishandled the situation, that’s OK. For what it’s worth, Kurt Angle loved his time with The Shield, as he said on his podcast it was a “huge honor” to get a chance to join “one of the best factions in history.”
Despite going their separate ways years ago, each The Shield member has had individual success. Rollins, in particular, is the reigning United States Champion and has been one of the most prominent stars on Monday Night Raw.
Rollins is also one of the names that fans come up with when talking about who will put an end to Roman Reigns’ current run.
