10 Best WWE Storylines Of The Past 5 Years
2. Believe In The Shield
Perhaps the single greatest creative triumph for the company this decade, The Shield's birth, push, break-up and reunification all benefitted from the company reverting to the most traditional methods of star creation and storytelling.
Built quite simplistically as being better and badder than their baseless co-workers, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns were united in a believable common cause upon arrival that morphed quickly from protecting CM Punk's interests to protecting their own. Unstoppable and virtually unbeatable, the three quickly scooped United States and Tag Titles before serving as Authority hitmen from summer 2013 onwards.
Babyfaced organically during a spectacular rivalry with The Wyatt Family in early 2014, their anointment as the company's lead heroes during a riotous programme with Evolution was shattered by Seth Rollins' vicious turn on Ambrose and Reigns 24 hours after Triple H's trio had been finally vanquished.
Dead but still dearly beloved, the gimmick was protected in such a way that their official 2017 reunion took almost a year of careful construction from the three. Seth Rollins' aforementioned redemptive arc hadn't washed with Dean Ambrose, leading to much unease between the two before they finally came together to dethrone Tag Champions The Bar at SummerSlam. Yet again storytelling that didn't pander or patronise, their official reunion with Reigns to cement an official Shield return drew one of the loudest pops of the year. Fans were all-in on the angle - they'd never allowed themselves to abandon hope.