10 Best WWE Debuts Of The 2010s

2. The Shield

Paige Debut
WWE.com

It's Survivor Series 2012 and CM Punk is in his now-infamous 434-day reign as WWE Champion. He's defending the championship in a triple threat match against John Cena and Ryback. This was back when Ryback was actually taken seriously.

Ryback is in unstoppable form. He looks like he's about to win the biggest title in sports entertainment when he hits Cena with a Shell Shocked. He goes for the pin, but he doesn't make it to three.

Ryback doesn't score the pin because he is attacked by three men dressed head-to-toe in black. The three men are all talent from NXT - Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and then-NXT Champion Seth Rollins.

The trio beat Ryback senseless and hit what would become their signature move - the triple powerbomb. Ryback is dropped through the announce table, which provides enough of a distraction for Punk to pin Cena in the ring and retain his title.

The Shield, as they would come to be known, would go onto become one of the most popular acts of the last decade. This was a masterstroke in getting over a new act and probably the last time WWE truly created new main eventers.

Just a shame that one of them now works for AEW.

In this post: 
Paige
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Jacob Simmons has a great many passions, including rock music, giving acclaimed films three-and-a-half stars, watching random clips from The Simpsons on YouTube at 3am, and writing about himself in the third person.