10 Most Shocking Wrestling Betrayals
7. The Architect Drafts The Blueprints For The Demise Of The Shield
On the June 2, 2014 main event segment of RAW, Triple H sauntered to the ring, microphone in hand (and, naturally, a sledgehammer in the other).
"What I do better than anybody is adapt," he said, mispronouncing bury. "Last night was plan A," he continued, referring to Evolution's utter failure to vanquish the Shield faction. "Tonight: plan B. There's always a plan B." As Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose took a step forwards in the ring, Seth Rollins stayed in position - before cracking Reigns across the back with a steel chair. It was such an unthinkable transgression that you could hear somebody scream "Nooo!" in the background as he revved up.
Nobody saw it coming - because at the time, many felt it did not make a lick of sense. The Shield were at the peak of what was one of the best runs in WWE history, and had only recently turned face. There was still money in the Batista heel character, and he had been used to bolster a stable that was no more twenty-four hours later.
That said, to borrow Neil Young's famous saying, it is better to burn out than to fade away - and that latter scenario was a very real possibility, given that there were few (read: no) viable teams to oppose them.