7 Ups And 10 Downs From WWE Fastlane 2019

2. Shield, Reigns, Ride Again

Sunday night was an emotional one for Roman Reigns, as he returned to action for the first time in several months after battling leukemia. To be able to beat back cancer and wrestle at a high level so quickly – if at all – is incredible.

The return was made even more emotional because of Dean Ambrose’s pending departure, which meant that this really was the last chance to have The Shield together on PPV in a match. So we got a six-man tag match where Reigns, Ambrose and Seth Rollins hit all their trademark spots en route to a victory over Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley and Baron Corbin.

All that said, the match itself was more of a greatest hits album than anything different or special. It was a farewell performance, not a reunion tour. It was perfectly enjoyable and fun, but consider: four weeks out from WrestleMania, your Royal Rumble match winner was playing second fiddle in a six-man tag match instead of prepping for Brock Lesnar.

So while this was fun and entertaining, it ultimately was just a farewell rather than a new beginning for the Shield, a distraction for one night before we go in a different direction. It does dampen things just a bit.