One MIND-BLOWING Secret From Every Year Of WWE History

12. 2013 - WWE Cooled On The Shield

The Shield WrestleMania XXX
WWE.com

It’s wild enough that WWE purportedly cooled on John Cena in 2004. Something more incredible apparently happened nearly a decade later. 

Vince McMahon saw so much in Roman Reigns that he relinquished his total monopoly over the United States as a consequence of a push that was as unwanted as it was unrelenting. Roman was rejected on virtually every WWE show. He was actually a great, explosive working babyface, but it didn’t matter. The fans resented Reigns on a deep, almost philosophical level. Vince didn’t care. He would not be told, even if for nearly half a decade WWE fans never got tired of telling him. From day one, as soon as Roman Reigns put on that tactical vest, he was positioned as the next face of WWE. 

Or was he? 

Per the August 19 WON, Dave Meltzer reported that the Wyatt Family was a huge Triple H “project” that was destined to usurp the Shield as WWE’s biggest heel unit. While Triple H was high on the act to begin with, this was compounded by the fact that the Shield had hurt the Undertaker and Randy Orton earlier that year and were being “moved down” consequently. 

This actually did happen, but it’s still stunning to learn why: that Roman once had something adjacent to heat within the office.

 
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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!