The Shield has been running roughshod over WWE since the day they walked into the promotion 16 months ago. They have taken out Hall of Famers, terrorized world champions, and beaten all-star three-man teams of multiple combinations. Everyone knows when their music hits, the Hounds of Justice will be bringing the goods to the ring. Recently, the Shield's targets have transitioned away from fan favorites to the villains that they once sided with. A particular incident on Raw when Kane demanded they beat up Jerry Lawler crystalized the turn. The Shield instead attacked Kane and are now heading toward their second consecutive WrestleMania six-man tag match, this time with the crowd's backing. Even though it might seem strange, the timing of this turn and it doesn't necessarily have to be a full face turn is right for several reasons and opens the door for new directions for the team. But this being WWE, it almost seems inevitable that they will somehow screw it all up. Obviously, no one wants that to happen, but consider any of the examples in the second half of this list as warning signs that WWE is messing up the best stable they have created in ages.
4. They've Already Reached The Pinnacle As Heels
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqdDQTqmqTQ In their first 16 months, the Shield has taken out John Cena, Ryback, Kane, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, Big Show, Randy Orton and the Undertaker, among others. They were undefeated in six-man tag action for much of their first year and held the Tag Team titles for five months (not to mention Dean Ambrose holding the U.S. championship for nearly 11 months). They have been at the top of the company since beginning. But truthfully, there really wasn't much left for them to do as villains. Who else were they going to beat? Cena and Daniel Bryan again? At this point, they only place for them to go was down the card. Heels just don't stay at the very top of the card forever (unless they're married to the boss). Just look historically at top heels in WWE: they've either left for a time, gotten injured or turned face. It keeps them at their position on the card while keeping them fresh. The other thing this does for the Shield...
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.
