Seth Rollins Comments On A Possible Reunion Of The Shield

The Shield is one of the most iconic factions in modern wrestling history. The group helped to create three genuine leading event players: Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Jon Moxley (f.k.a Dean Ambrose), but will fans ever see The Hounds Of Justice back together?

The trio burst onto the scene back in 2012 at WWE Survivor Series by attacking Ryback and John Cena to help C.M. Punk retain the WWE Title, and they then went on to dominate the company. They had several runs together as a unit, but for those hoping to see them back together one more time, Rollins had bad news when he spoke to “Digital Spy.”

“I can say that, and maybe this might come back to bite me at some point, but I just don’t think you’re ever going to see the three of us team up again,” Rollins said. “It wouldn’t look the way you want it to look. It wouldn’t be like the old days in The Shield; it would be a different animal. I think we’re all just too big stars with too big personalities at this point.”

The Shield’s final match took place in 2019 as they defeated Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin, and Bobby Lashley at WWE’s The Shield’s Final Chapter event, but even by the time that match took place, the three men had all proven themselves as solo acts.

“We needed each other back then, and now none of us need the other one,” he continued. “We’re at a point where we’re all standalone stars on a different level. So to have to minimize that to fit into each other’s molds, I don’t see it ever happening again. It would look a lot different than the next time you see us together.”

While Rollins does not believe that fans will ever see the three team up again for a match, he does see one particular instance where they would stand side by side. “The next time you see us together, it’s going to be when we’re inducted into the Hall of Fame,” he said. “That’s going to be it.”

WWE has inducted entire factions in the past, proving that it could be possible for The Shield one day, as D-Generation X, the Four Horsemen, and others have all earned Hall Of Fame rings for their work as a group.

Right now, all three men remain at the top of the industry, with Rollins gearing up to face Riddle in singles action at WWE SummerSlam. Reigns is the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion and will be putting both titles on the line against Brock Lesnar at the upcoming premium live event in a last man standing match. While Moxley is no longer working for WWE, he is still doing well as the interim AEW World Champion, which he won at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door.

McIntyre vs. Reigns rumored as main event of WWE Clash At The Castle

Dave Meltzer has reported in this week’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the planned main event for WWE Clash At The Castle, emanating from the Principality Stadium at Cardiff, Wales on September 3, 2022, is Roman Reigns Vs. Drew McIntyre.

“The plan for the show as of right now is Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre as the main event,” Meltzer reports, before adding “but if Tyson Fury is part of the show, it could change to him against McIntyre”.

How this impacts WWE’s other large-scale stadium events is unclear, since WWE has not built another act on SmackDown to McIntyre’s level; then again, the brand split is hardly enforced in 2022. It would be strange for WWE to book such a massive and potentially lucrative event, only to job out the home nation (just about) hero and kill the territory, so this might – might – even play host to the biggest title change in all of wrestling.

In news related to the event, ticket sales have failed to meet projections. 30,000 tickets have been sold at time of writing, despite WWE hyping up that 85,000 tickets had been signed up for to investors.

Historically low product interest in the UK, or the effects of the ongoing cost of living crisis?

Kenny Omega On Trending Today, If Roman Reigns Could Last 5 Minutes In The Ring With Him

AEW star Kenny Omega responded to fan comments on Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns earlier today.

The exchange with fans started when Omega noticed he was a trending topic on Twitter, apparently due to fans discussing how Reigns and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos put on a strong performance as they defeated Drew McIntyre and RAW Tag Team Champions RK-Bro in the WrestleMania Backlash main event on Sunday.

“Umm, why am I trending? I’ve done nothing but get sliced up and struggle through rehab all this year. *checks timeline* Oh, I see. We’re still doing that comparing thing every show…,” Omega wrote with a face-plant GIF.

One fan responded to Omega and said he believes Reigns is better than Omega. Another fan responded to that comment, and said Reigns couldn’t last five minutes in the ring with Omega.

Omega responded to the last comment and gave Reigns some praise, adding that a match between the two would surprise a lot of people.

“I’m sure he could. He’s their top guy for a reason and works hard to be that guy. I think the match would surprise a lot of people,” Omega responded.

Omega has been out of in-ring action since dropping the AEW World Title to “Hangman” Adam Page at AEW Full Gear back on November 13. He took time off to deal with several nagging injuries, and was told by AEW President Tony Khan to take as much time as he needed. Omega originally hoped to be back in action by February, but that was before he underwent other surgeries. He reportedly underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia in April some time, which would require another two months of recovery. There was hope that Omega will be back in the ring this spring or early summer.

Booker T: “I Would Not Be Surprised If Roman Had The Title For The Next Two Years”

During the latest installment of the Hall Of Fame podcast, Booker T spoke about the future of the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Cody Rhodes has made it clear he wants that title, and Booker believes that could be done. Even if WWE wants Roman to be champion to possibly face The Rock, this could be done in his opinion.

“Yeah, we talked about that, we talked about Cody may be able to slip in there,” he said. “Then somehow maybe it will be able to flip back before WrestleMania, and we can still do The Rock. But, of course, right now Cody Rhodes coming back and saying, ‘the title that my dad didn’t win,’ it seems like we are going that route and doing something along that route, I don’t know.”

While Booker T believes that it is easy to believe Roman Reigns will be champion for the foreseeable future. “I would not be surprised, I’ll tell you right now, I know Cody what he wants. But, I would not be surprised if Roman had the title for the next two years. Card subject to change,” he said.

Booker T also discussed the future of The Bloodline as a faction in WWE. While he wouldn’t be shocked to see new members added, Booker is not sure if that is needed.

“I am not going to sit here and say I would be surprised if I saw something like that. But, I would not want to just start adding members to The Bloodline. It ain’t broke,” he said. “I was reading I think Naomi was considering, they were considering putting her in The Bloodline at one point. You go, okay, ‘what will that do for The Bloodline? What is that going to bring to The Bloodline?’

“It’s just going to bring another element, is it another element that we need? That’s the question, so, I don’t know. I do know this, there’s enough Samoans out there to where if Roman Reigns and The Bloodline and the family was to find themselves in a predicament to be able to insert certain factors at certain times, I could tell you this, wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

WWE Hall Of Famer On Roman Reigns Approaching 600 Days As Universal Champion

Roman Reigns is five days away from reaching the milestone of 600 days as WWE Universal Champion, and WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff is here for it.

On Sunday, Bischoff praised Reigns for his commitment to staying atop the food chain in WWE.

Ya know what’s so cool about this? The journey. In-ring and out. The commitment, from Roman personally, to @WWE. The real-life journey makes the public one so special.

Bischoff also disputed the notion that WWE hasn’t built anyone up to dethrone Reigns.

The WWE on BT Sport Twitter handle recently asked fans to pick the Superstar they wish to see end The Tribal Chief’s historic reign. The poll listed Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins, Gunther, NXT Champion Bron Breakker, Bobby Lashley, RAW Tag Team Champion Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Shinsuke Nakamura and Sheamus as nine potential Superstars to dethrone Reigns from the mountain top.

Speaking of McIntyre, the Scottish Warrior is pushing for a match against Reigns at WWE’s stadium show in the United Kingdom this September.

“I’ve been away from the title for a long time,” McIntyre told BT Sport last week. “Roman’s been so dominant and is doing the best work of his career. We’re on a collision course. It [the U.K. event] is five months away. If somehow we could avoid each other for five months, that would be such a big match. Especially on the U.K. soil, I can’t imagine the atmosphere for that match.”

Fans on social media have been split between Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre as the two frontrunners to dethrone Roman Reigns, who is rumored to wrestle The Rock at next year’s WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles.

Renee Paquette Is “Torn” Over Her 2021 Male Wrestler Of The Year Pick

In an appearance at the Sportskeeda Wrestling Awards, Renee Paquette was asked to name who she thought was the male Wrestler of the Year for 2021.

Renee Paquette named both AEW star Bryan Danielson and WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns as the two best candidates before ultimately choosing Danielson. She explained it was due to both his wrestling and that the Bryan Danielson we’re seeing now is the best version of him.

“I’m torn between Roman Reigns and Bryan Danielson,” Paquette said. “I think what Roman has been able to do in terms of interest in that big, blockbuster name, you want to see what he’s going to do, I like character growth and development. Roman Reigns has been incredible to watch. Whoever he happens to be in a storyline with, I think he’s been so cool to watch and you can really feel him as sort of the standard-bearer pillar of WWE. He is that guy.

“And I know we’ve been told he’s that guy for a long time, but he is that guy right now. But now on the other side, you’ve got somebody like Bryan Danielson and I think when you’re talking professional wrestling, and not to take away the entertainment side of things, he’s fantastic at that as well, but when you’re talking just professional wrestling alone, he is the guy that everybody else looks to for inspiration.

“He’s a guy they look to see how holds are done, the different moves that he’s doing. And the fact that he showed up in AEW, that was another one that really blew people’s minds. I think everyone was like ‘is this happening? I this actually going to happen? We think it’s going to happen, but we’re not sure if it’s actually going to happen.’

“So the fact that it did, and we get to see Bryan Danielson, the best version of him. You know, I think from all the things he’s been able to learn throughout his career from the independent scene to working for WWE and now being back. Taking all of those tools and just getting to be the best version of himself, like, we are so lucky that we get to watch this and witness this and be a part of this. The matches that him and Hangman have been able to have together were insane. So male wrestler of the year, I’m gonna give it to Bryan Danielson.”

As for who Renee Paquette thought was the best babyface in 2021, she gave the nod to close friend and former WWE Champion Big E. Praising him as both a performer and a person, Paquette stated that it was almost impossible for anyone to dislike Big E.

“Big E all day, every day,” Paquette said. “That’s my guy. Big E with his championship run was incredible. He’s also just an exceptional human being. He’s an exceptional human being, he’s an exceptional professional wrestler. I thought he was an absolutely outstanding champion. I loved him at the tippy top of that company.

“I think that that’s exactly where he belongs. In terms of like a big man that can move, that’s oddly flexible, he’s so great. He’s so entertaining, he’s so charming, he’s just that guy that everybody roots for. Nobody goes ‘ah, Big E is not really for me. I’m not a Big E guy.’ Nobody says that. Literally, those words don’t exist.”

Brock Lesnar Wins WWE Championship At Elimination Chamber 2022

Brock Lesnar outlasted former WWE Champion Bobby Lashley as well as Austin Theory, AJ Styles, Riddle and Seth Rollins to win the Raw brand’s top strap for the seventh time and tee up a Champion Vs Champion match with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 38.

‘The Beast’ decimated the entire field apart from ‘The All-Mighty’, who was taken out of the contest due to an injury sustained while in his pod at the hands of a Seth Rollins buckle bomb on Austin Theory into plexi-glass and onto Lashley’s prone frame.

Lesnar entered last in the absence of the Champion and tore through each man with F5s, concluding with one off the top of a Chamber pod on to a Theory that had previously tried to escape from a small hole in the roof.

Brock’s path of rage represented just about the only element of promised chaos from either Chamber match, and delivered a Title-For-Title encounter with ‘The Tribal Chief’ WWE have been speaking into existence for the last few weeks. A ‘Show Of Shows’ match graphic confirmed the inevitable, with the bout set to be the first time both belts have been up for grabs since the 2016 brand split.

Roman Reigns Reveals His REAL Thoughts On AEW

Roman Reigns doesn’t view AEW as competition to WWE.

The current Universal Champ, who is 100% part of the furniture on SmackDown, told Complex that Tony Khan’s outfit wasn’t competition to him “personally”. In fact, whilst Roman is impressed by the hardcore fanbase AEW attracts, he also thinks it’s somewhat of a hindrance.

Reigns believes that All Elite’s rabid followers have built a “ceiling” that’ll stunt company growth. Meanwhile, he says, WWE is “trying to engage the new viewer, while also servicing our hardcore fan base and give compelling stories to fulfil them as well”.

He sees a clear difference between the markets both promotions cater to then.

Roman also thinks it’s “strange” that the audience “is probably the biggest character in [AEW’s] show”, and called All Elite the “new kid on the block”. At the same time, he’d never want to shoot down another avenue for workers to make some cash – that’s something Reigns views as a major positive.

Competition though? Nah, the ‘Tribal Chief’ isn’t buying it. He reckons AEW’s growth is finite and isn’t concerned with much that’s going on in Khan’s organisation.

WWE Star Reportedly Receives Backstage Heat Over Roman Reigns Comments

RAW Tag Team Champion Riddle reportedly received backstage heat over his recent comments aimed at WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns.

We noted before how Reigns recently took a shot at AEW star CM Punk while speaking with BT Sport.

When it comes down to it, CM Punk was not as good or as over as a John Cena, wasn’t as good or as over or moved the needle like The Rock. It just was what it was,” Reigns said. You can read his full comments here.

Reigns then tweeted a reaction to WWE’s announcement on SummerSlam pay-per-view success and said that was “legitimate needle moving.” There was other instances of “the needle” being referenced in the world of pro wrestling that week, as detailed at this link.

Riddle then spoke with Graham Matthews of Bleacher Report for a recent interview where he had some strong words for The Tribal Chief.

“No disrespect to Roman, he seems like a swell fella, but at the same time, it’s like when people say they’re a good parent,” Riddle said. “You know what? If you were a good parent, your kids would be telling you you’re a good parent. When he’s saying ‘Acknowledge me’ or ‘I move the needle,’ no, you don’t. You’re related to The Rock. Shut up. Like, I’m not impressed, I can beat you up in a real fight. So, shut your mouth. You’re not moving needles. I’m the real stallion, RK-Bro is moving the merch, we’re moving the needle, and that’s it. I don’t want to say too much, I’m not trying to get in trouble. Hey, hats off to him. He’s amazing at what he does. I do like what he does, but at the same time, it’s like, get off your high horse. You’re in that spot for a reason. You’re not a bro. You’re second generation. I’m first generation.”

In that same interview, Riddle referenced Brock Lesnar’s SummerSlam return and said The Beast and The Head of The Table don’t want to get hurt, noting that they both are making a wise decision in avoiding an in-ring collision with him.

“Brock came out at the end of the show,” Riddle said. “I saw a sign on a door say Mr. Beast and I was like, ‘Who the hell is Mr. Beast? I got a feeling that’s Brock.’ You know, hey, I’m glad Brock’s back. Fans missed him and he’s one hell of a competitor. I personally think he went for the wrong man—he went from Roman—but people love that Universal Championship, so I get it. I think they’re both doing the right thing because they don’t want to get hurt.”

In an update, there was said to be a lot of heat on Riddle within “certain circles” due to the comments about Reigns, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

While there was some speculation on the nature of Riddle’s comments, it was confirmed that this was not storyline related, and was very much considered a negative by many with the idea that Riddle is incredibly talents, more than he gets credit for being, but he’s not very astute politically in the company.

It was also noted on a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that Riddle “ruffled some feathers” with people in WWE over the comments.

Riddle has had issues with Brock Lesnar and WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg in the past, and has talked about them publicly, so Reigns isn’t the first. Riddle recently noted to Sony Sports India that he and Goldberg are on better terms after years of heated interactions. He noted in this new interview with Bleacher Report that things haven’t really improved with Lesnar, and they remain at odds following their backstage incident at the 2020 Royal Rumble.

“I don’t see Brock [burying the hatchet],” Riddle said to Bleacher Report. “The way we talk to each other when we talk to each other, he is not a fan. He thinks I’m extremely arrogant and disrespectful.”

Becky Lynch Heel Turn Reportedly Inspired By Top WWE Star

New SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch was reportedly inspired by WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns to turn heel.

As we’ve noted, Lynch reportedly asked to be booked as a heel now that she’s back in action for WWE. It’s been reported that Lynch is now set to be the top heel of the blue brand women’s division. She made her surprise return at WWE SummerSlam on Saturday and defeated Bianca Belair in just 26 seconds to win the title, as the replacement for Sasha Banks, who is not cleared to compete.

In an update, people within WWE have reportedly said Lynch was inspired by top heel Reigns, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

It was noted how Lynch became the most popular wrestler in the company and the hottest female Superstar the company has ever seen the last time she tried to go heel. It was also speculated that this could be some sort of personal challenge for The Man as the move doesn’t make much sense from a business standpoint as a truly-loved babyface talent is very rare, and hard to replace.

Lynch is expected to feud with Belair, at least for the rematch. You can click here for a backstage report on the status of Belair’s push.

Lynch will make her return to WWE SmackDown during tonight’s episode, her first blue brand appearance since the October 4, 2019 episode.