The most dominant faction in the WWE in many years was The Shield, a group that consisted of three brand new additions to the main roster. Dean Ambrose was a former hardcore wrestler from CZW and Dragon Gate USA. Seth Rollins was a former Ring of Honor Wrestling world champion. Roman Reigns was a second generation star, the son of Sika of the Wild Samoans and a member of The Rock’s extended family. Together, they were NXT superstars who wanted to stake their claim to a spot on the main roster.
Something amazing happened. The Shield appeared for the first time at The Survivor Series in 2012 when they attacked Ryback and helped CM Punk win a triple threat match to retain his WWE title. Soon, they started destroying everyone in their path, from John Cena and The Undertaker to Kane, Daniel Bryan, Big Show and more. No one could stop The Shield. They eventually faced a former superstar faction in Evolution, and beat Triple H, Randy Orton and Batista in back-to-back PPV matches.
The Shield was the best, and most popular, faction of all time. Then, Seth Rollins betrayed his teammates and joined Triple H and The Authority, while Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose remained good guys, all three remaining main event players. It was one of the best instant success stories in years.
When the WWE announced that they were releasing a DVD called “Destruction of The Shield,” I assumed this was going to tell that story. I was pleasantly surprised, because this DVD made that story seem shallow in comparison. This DVD told the story of how The Shield rose – in real life. They show the three men as they get their starts in Florida in the developmental territory that would become NXT.
Not only that, but they talked to people about Ambrose and Rollins’ past in the indies before coming to the WWE, almost unheard of for a WWE DVD release. They gained footage from CZW and Ring of Honor and talked to Gabe Sapolsky, the booker for Ring of Honor with Rollins and Dragon Gate USA with Ambrose. It was a perfect look at how these guys went from indie darlings to WWE superstars.
This was about their rise to the WWE and not so much about the story of The Shield. This DVD is as real as it gets, but also added in some touches of how they developed their eventual breakup. There might not be a better DVD for a true wrestling fan than “Destruction of The Shield.” I can’t recommend this release enough.
Special Features
There are three DVDs and there are a ton of matches. If you are fans of The Shield, or the three wrestlers in general, this is something you need to own. There are matches from FCW, including the feud between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose in that territory. This moves into the rivalry between William Regal and Dean Ambrose in FCW, Seth Rollins reign as the first ever NXT champion, Roman Reigns pro wrestling debut in NXT, and then just about every big moment that The Shield had in the WWE, including the breakup and aftermath.
There is over seven hours of stuff on this DVD and it is worth every penny.
