20 Shocking WWE Plans You Won’t Believe
14. Kassius Ohno In The Shield
Roman Reign’s ongoing push as WWE’s “top babyface” remains one of the New Era’s biggest bugbears. WWE have tried almost everything to get Reigns over, but even aligning him with the uber-popular Sasha Banks and pushing him against the loathed Rusev haven’t worked. Try as they may, WWE have continually failed in their quest to make Reigns “The Guy,” and there’s little suggestion that they’ll stop swimming against the tide any time soon.
He might not be in this position had WWE gone with CM Punk’s idea for The Shield, however. The group made a tremendous impact in WWE, and helped sow the early seeds for Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose as main event stars. Reigns was the group’s burly enforcer, but his limitations were greatly exposed when forced into a bigger role as a singles star, and he wasn’t even the group’s first choice.
Punk had originally pushed for Kassius Ohno (better known as Chris Hero) to fill Reigns’ spot in The Shield, but WWE decided otherwise. It remains one of the biggest “what if” moments in recent WWE history: Ohno was released from WWE for failing to control his weight, but he’s an excellent professional wrestler who’s as adept on the mic as he is in the ring. Would he have succeeded where the clumsy, awkward Reigns has failed? We’ll never find out.