10 Things WWE Fans Need To Know About Chris Hero
3. He Almost Joined The Shield
One of the more interesting nuggets of information to come-out in CM Punk’s post-WWE appearance on Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast surrounded The Shield. Punk claimed that the seminal stable was his idea all along, and that he was the one who initially proposed the idea to Vince McMahon and Triple H.
According to Punk, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins were always part of his original vision, but Roman Reigns was not. Instead, Punk originally proposed the idea of Hero (then working as Kassius Ohno) taking the final spot in the group, but he was overruled by management, and the rest in history. Hero remained in NXT before eventually being released, and Reigns has since become a multi-time WWE Champion.
Things could have been oh so different had WWE gone with Punk’s original idea. There’s no guarantee that Hero would’ve been thrust into the same kind of spotlight that Reigns has experienced since The Shield’s demise, but it’s worth thinking about. Rollins & Ambrose have absolutely thrived as singles wrestlers, and as one of the best wrestlers on the planet and an excellent talker, Kassius Ohno would surely have become a permanent upper-midcard fixture.
Reigns, meanwhile, may never have become the divisive company posterboy he is today. He’d have found his way to the main roster regardless, but without The Shield’s momentum, there’s a strong chance he’s never pushed down our throats, and finds his natural footing instead.