The Main Event Hangover #2
Column by: Clinton Bowman of Wrestleview.com
Issue 2: The Shield
Welcome back to Sunday Night Bowmania…I mean the 2nd edition of the Main Event Hangover.
Coming off a hype Grand Finals of the Northeast Championship for Tekken Tag 2, I proceeded to sit down and finally type out my thoughts on this new group of Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns, otherwise known as “The Shield.” No, I don’t mean the Michael Chiklis show that was on FX.
Since Survivor Series last November 18th, this group of renegades (because, let’s face it, they are acting on their own, or at least they say so) have been wreaking havoc on The Ryback, and anyone else that has been clearly involved with CM Punk in an antagonistic way. All of this under the guise of being “a shield against injustice,” and “harbingers of honor.”
The logical CASUAL (and there is a reason I accentuate this) wrestling fan would attribute this as the biggest piece of bullsh*t that has ever been perpetuated, considering all the circumstances in which the Shield has made their presences known. They have attacked Ryback 3 separate times in approximately 2 weeks, as well as taken Team Hell No for a ride after Kane’s match with CM Punk this past Monday as Raw was going off the air.
There are two questions that I will try to answer, that should effectively close up discussion with a definitive proposal as to what may happen. Quite the ambitious task in itself.
Question #1: If they are a “shield against injustice,” why haven’t they attacked John Cena or Sheamus as of this point?
Question #2: Why is this angle so effective, and who will benefit the most from this?
You probably want to ask: Why would they attack Sheamus or Cena if they are a shield against injustice? Simple answer: The Shield are the bad guys. Complex answer: It’s not like Dolph Ziggler and The Big Show truly matter in the grand scheme of things.
For lack of better, and more complex analogies, I’m going to present it in from a Marvel Comics perspective: Do you remember the Norman Osborn takeover of S.H.I.E.L.D.? For those who don’t know, The Skrull broke Tony Stark’s security protocol, effectively ending S.H.I.E.L.D., and allowing Norman Osborn to manipulate the US Government into allowing the formation of H.A.M.M.E.R.
Anyways, this is EXACTLY what is going on. Based on this analogy, it looks like this is an effective manipulation ploy by Paul Heyman…yet no one truly realizes it yet. This is NOT a bad thing, as it may lead to either a brilliant ploy by Vickie Guerrero to get things back in order, or for Paul Heyman to take over Raw.
In light of that, the reason this is so effective, is simply because, this makes Vince look BAD. But it also would end up benefitting the person who eventually reforms S.H.I.E.L.D. That person may end up being Ryback come Wrestle Mania time. But this also benefits the three guys that are part of the The Shield themselves, albeit for different reasons.
It benefits Dean Ambrose on the microphone, because this is the perfect opportunity to learn how to be his loose cannon self, albeit with restrictions. Dean Ambrose is one of the most charismatic guys on the stick these days, and if he can learn how to restrain himself, his future looks really good. He also has a strong personality indicative of being a leader of men, which plays into his favor of being a big time player in the next few years. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s pretty good working the World Wrestling Entertainment formula.
As bad as Seth Rollins is, (I saw him live at Ring of Honor’s Final Battle 2010, and his match made me want to throw up just a little,) this is beneficial to him in two ways. One, mic work. Let’s face it, he needs some work on the microphone. He didn’t sound as authoritative as Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns did, and in my mind, it made me kind of forget him. If we continue the S.H.I.E.L.D/Avengers analogy, Dean Ambrose is Tony Stark/Iron Man, Roman Reigns is Hulk, and Seth Rollins is Falcon (you know, the other black guy that isn’t Black Panther.) Secondly, it gives him a chance to make himself a stooge-like heel, as I presume that he’ll be taking the majority of the big bumps as a part of this group. He’s proven himself to bump exceptionally well in Florida Championship/NXT Wrestling, even though his in-ring work left a bit to be desired, but that’s just this columnist’s opinion.
Roman Reigns benefits the most. A former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket, and member of the Samoan wrestling family, the Anoa’i family, having him play the silent bruiser plays more to his benefit than anything else. It adds a dimension to the Shield that no one else in that group can deliver. Let’s go back to when I likened Reigns to the Hulk. More accurately, he is the Grey Hulk of this group. He’s intelligent and hits HARD. A combination like that serves to the Shield more than anything else.
With all of this in mind, do you remember when Vince McMahon was mentioned a little earlier in this column, when it was said that this whole scenario would make him look bad? In a little bit of fantasy booking, let’s just say that after TLC, Paul Heyman reveals himself to be behind the acts of The Shield. Vince virtually endorsed Ryback to take Punk down. Vince, through the Board of Directors, placed Vickie Guerrero in charge of Raw. Two BIG mistakes. Vickie is currently obsessed with AJ and John Cena, thus her grip on Raw is slipping out of her hands, and The Shield have started to make a mockery of Vickie’s administration.
I’ll end with an open ended question for all of you to answer on Twitter or below in the comments. Based on my premise, tell me how this can play out. Can this end in Heyman’s favor, or can Ryback help Vince and Vickie save face? Make sure to use the hashtag #MEHangover to provide me with your Twitter feedback.
That’s it for the Main Event Hangover for this week! Have a question? Want me to discuss something in a future column? Talk about it on Twitter! Tweet me: @ClintonBowmanWV, using #MEHangover to tag your questions and comments, and they will be featured in the next edition!
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