The Shield are one of the most important factions in recent WWE history. Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Jon Moxley were dominant in WWE while together, and have since gone on to reign supreme over professional wrestling since they split in mid 2014.
For the next eight years Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins have remained at the forefront of WWE, while Moxley has found success elsewhere and is currently the only three-time AEW World Champion in history. However, before Moxley left WWE there were a number of Shield reunions most notably in 2017. After Rollins and Moxley (Known as Dean Ambrose) came together in August, Reigns reunited with the pair in October as his feud with The Miz rumbled on.
Seth Rollins Admits Some Shield Reunions Could Have Been Better
As the two storylines merged into one, a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match was set between The Shield trio and Braun Strowman, The Miz, Cesaro, Kane and Sheamus. However, at late notice Reigns was forced to miss the event through illness, leading to the addition of a late replacement, WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle.
The match was Angle’s first in a WWE ring since August 2006, and first of any kind for seven months. Despite the ring rust, the match was a hit with fans as the thrown together trio scored the win.
Speaking in a new interview with Bleacher Report looking back at The Shield’s impact on WWE Rollins, revealed that he wishes some of the reunions could have been handled better. The current United States Champion said that the situation involving Angle “wasn’t ideal,” but desperate times called for desperate measures.
“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,” he said. “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.”
Reflecting on his role in the match back in January, Kurt Angle admitted that he was “marking out like a fanboy.”
“Yeah, I was marking out I was a fanboy. I was with The Shield up in the crowd and I’m like, ‘Holy sh*t. This is great. I’m actually part of The Shield tonight.’ I was all smiles even all the way in the ring. It’s just so much fun. You know, those guys, I’ve had a lot of respect for them over the years and the success they had was unparalleled. They’re one of the best factions in the history of wrestling, and to be a part of that one night was just a huge honour.”
After enjoying a victorious return to the ring, Kurt Angle’s career continued until WrestleMania 35 in 2019 where he was retired by Baron Corbin in a match he later described as “filler.”