The Shield broke up 11 years ago
June 2nd is an important day in WWE history, as it marks the anniversary of The Shield's breakup. The faction imploded after Seth Rollins betrayed his stablemates Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose.
The trio of Ambrose, Reigns, and Rollins debuted on November 18 at the 2012 Survivor Series Premium Live Event. They interfered in the WWE Championship match, helping CM Punk retain the title against John Cena and Ryback in a Triple Threat Match.
At Payback 2014, The Shield defeated Evolution in a six-man No Holds Barred elimination match. The following night on RAW, Triple H revealed his "Plan B" by revealing Rollins as the newest member of The Authority. The Architect attacked Reigns and Ambrose with a steel chair, marking the end of an iconic WWE faction.
Roman Reigns didn't want to break up The Shield
Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins went their separate ways after The Shield broke up in 2014. All three superstars became highly successful, winning championships in WWE and outside the company, with Ambrose, now known as Jon Moxley, eventually signing with AEW.
However, Reigns wanted to do things quite differently. The OTC didn't want the faction to break up 11 years ago. Speaking on his Biography: WWE Legends documentary, he said:
"I didn't want to break up The Shield. And I definitely didn't want to be a good guy and that's exactly what was happening. I was so young on the rise and it's not like I had a nest built up. It's not like I had a whole bunch of options that I could just say, 'No, I'm not feeling this. This doesn't feel good to me or I wouldn't say this.' It was so hard to do that. When you don't have that backup when you don't have that f**k you money and you can't just stand on your heart and your family is depending on you. Your livelihood is depending on you so you have to just be a good soldier and do what you're told."
Reigns and Rollins are still feuding in WWE. At WrestleMania 41, Rollins aligned with Paul Heyman after the Hall of Famer betrayed Reigns and CM Punk.
