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I was worried about this DVD initially, if for no other reason than the Shield just plain weren’t around that long. Were they an amazing, dominant faction that produced some great moments and matches? Absolutely. However, their run was limited thanks to a split in early 2014 that left most fans scratching their heads (especially when it happened a night after their huge clean sweep of Evolution in a 6-man tag team elimination match at Payback). Despite this, however, The Destruction of the Shield is overall a really fun DVD that covers a lot of ground.

Being that these three guys haven’t been in WWE long, you’d hope the the DVD would start with some discussion of each man’s work prior to their debut in 2012 at Survivor Series…and that’s exactly what we get. With the exception of Roman Reigns, who went straight to developmental (more on him in a minute), both Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose have their independent careers covered here, leading to each of their signings with WWE’s then-developmental system, FCW. Although these pieces are somewhat limited, CZW, ROH and DGUSA/Evolve were all still cool enough to loan WWE some footage in order to cover the respective careers of these two athletes. What’s even cooler is commentary from guys both men worked with that are in WWE today, including Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, Sami Zayn (El Generico) and a surprise appearance from referee Drake Wuertz, better known as long-time CZW mainstay Drake Younger. All parties praise the efforts of both Rollins and Ambrose on the indy circuit, with the general consensus being that both men would eventually make it to WWE (on a side note, Rollins mentions that he nearly didn’t sign with WWE because John Laurinaitis was horrible about returning calls, and instead nearly signed with TNA, or as he puts it, “some other company).

Now, as I said, Reigns never really worked the indy circuit, and instead went straight to FCW. However, that’s not to say he had an easy ride. Yes, he’s a member of the famous Anoa’i wrestling family, but if anything, he comes off as feeling even more pressured to be successful in wrestling as a result, which is completely understandable. Aside from this, Reigns was a star football player in high school (on a team with his cousins, the Usos, no less), became an even better player in college, and nearly made it big in the pros before being cut from his practice squad. From that point, Reigns decided to go into the family business, as he felt he had a better shot at providing a stable life for his daughter, a move that was obviously a smart gamble.

In addition to these stories, numerous WWE personnel discuss the careers of all three men, including Joey Mercury, who was apparently very instrumental in getting all three contracts, as well as legends like Mick Foley and William Regal, who have both worked extensively with Ambrose in the past. Even Ambrose’s attempted feud with Foley is covered, and I didn’t realize the reason the legs were cut off before it had the chance to really grow was Foley was more or less told by doctors he could never wrestle again, contrary to the popular rumor that WWE simply didn’t like the angle.

From the signings, each wrestler spending time in FCW/NXT is discussed, including the frustrations of both Ambrose and Rollins waiting longer than originally expected to get called up (in Rollins’ case, most notably attitude problems and serious issues with WWE agent Terry Taylor), up until the idea was created to put the three together and make them something a modern-day Horsemen group. At this point, most fans should be familiar what happens next: the Shield entered the WWE and caused complete destruction for a year and a half, until their break-up at the aforementioned RAW the night after Payback. This part of the DVD is less interesting, if for no other reason than it’s pretty common knowledge. And, surprisingly, despite all of this taking place on WWE, this section is really glossed over, with only a handful of matches being mentioned and a small blurb about their championship runs.

All of this leads up to the break-up and ends with the Ambrose/Rollins and Reigns/Orton matches at Summerslam. Both matches are looked at in detail, including preparations each man went into to physically get ready (all three are major workout junkies, and it shows), capped off with what ended up being two show-stealing matches at the second biggest card of the year.

That’s all on disc 1, which is also where the matches start. And the match list for this set is really extensive. Although no indy footage for Rollins and Ambrose was obtained, we still get some exclusive matches featuring both them and Reigns from both FCW and NXT, most of which the average fan has never seen. One of note is a triple threat match between the three, back when Reigns was still wrestling as Leakee Lee. Also included are an awesome match between Ambrose and one of his heroes, William Regal, as well Rollins becoming the first NXT Champion in a match with former WWE scrub, Jinder Mahal.

Aside from this, the rest are WWE matches you’ve probably seen, but that’s not really a bad thing. The Shield have been involved in some awesome matches, of the singles, tag and 6-man varieties, with a little bit of each thrown in for good measure. The Payback 6-man is here, as well as the awesome one vs. the Wyatt Family from last year’s Elimination Chamber. Also included are Ambrose’s US title win over Kofi Kingston and Reigns/Rollins beating Team Hell No! for the tag titles, both of which took place at Extreme Rules 2013. Both Summerslam matches mentioned above are included in their entirety, as well as Rollins’ MITB case win last year. All in all, 18 matches are included, and all of them are pretty enjoyable in their own ways.

While the documentary could have been a little bit better (mainly in the detail department, with less glossing over), the set overall is a really solid collection, with the match listing definitely being the selling point. If you’re a fan of all three guys or just one or two, you’ll want to pick this set up if you have the chance.

Documentary
*Who is the Shield?
*Game Changer
*Seth Rollins’ Journey Begins
*Dean Ambrose’s Journey Begins
*Roman Reigns’ Journey Begins
*Brothers in Arms
*The Ambrose-Rollins FCW Rivalry
*The Face of NXT
*Clashing Egos
*The Quick Study
*Failure to Launch
*Assembling the Shield
*Immediate Impact
*Bringing the Sword
*The First WrestleMania
*Extreme Success
*Lone Survivor
*Royal Record
*State of Evolution
*Shield Disassembled
*Buying In
*Lunatic Fringe Unleashed
*One Versus All
*Rollins Training for Summerslam
*Ambrose Training for Summerslam
*Good Friends, Better Enemies
*Reigns Training for Summerslam
*A Most Intriguing Matchup
*Arrival in Los Angeles
*Summerslam
*The Future is Now

Matches

Dean Ambrose on Seth Rollins FCW Rivalry

15-Minute Time Limit for the FCW 15 Championship
Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
FCW * August 14, 2011

Seth Rollins on Dean Ambrose FCW Rivalry

30-Minute Time Limit for the FCW 15 Championship
Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
FCW * September 18, 2011

Roman Reigns on FCW Triple Threat Match

Triple Threat Match
Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins vs. Leakee
FCW * February 5, 2012

WWE Shield DVD Full Match Listing

DISC 2

Dean Ambrose on William Regal FCW Rivalry

Dean Ambrose vs. William Regal
FCW * July 1, 2012

Seth Rollins on NXT Championship

Gold Rush Tournament Finals for the NXT Championship
Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal
NXT * August 29, 2012

Roman Reigns on NXT Debut

Roman Reigns vs. CJ Parker
NXT * October 31, 2012

Seth Rollins on Shield In-Ring Debut

6-Man Tag Team TLC Match
The Shield vs. Ryback & Team Hell No
TLC * December 16, 2012

Dean Ambrose on United States Championship

United States Championship Match
Dean Ambrose vs. Kofi Kingston
Extreme Rules * May 19, 2013

Roman Reigns on WWE Tag Team Championship

Tornado Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship
Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins vs. Team Hell No
Extreme Rules * May 19, 2013

Roman Reigns on Facing the Usos

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns vs. The Usos
Money In the Bank * July 14, 2013

Roman Reigns on Survivor Series 2013

Classic Survivor Series Elimination Match
The Shield & The Real Americans vs. The Usos, Rhodes Brothers & Rey Mysterio
Survivor Series * November 24, 2013

WWE Shield DVD Full Match Listing

DISC 3

Dean Ambrose on Wyatt Family Rivalry

6-Man Tag Team Match
The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose) vs. The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper & Erick Rowan)
Elimination Chamber * February 23, 2014

Seth Rollins on Evolution Rivalry

No Holds Barred 6-Man Elimination Tag Team Match
The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose) vs. Evolution (Triple H, Randy Orton & Batista)
Payback * June 1, 2014

Seth Rollins on Money in the Bank 2014

Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Jack Swagger
Money in the Bank * June 29, 2014

Dean Ambrose on SummerSlam

Lumberjack Match
Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
SummerSlam * August 17, 2014

Roman Reigns on SummerSlam

Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton
SummerSlam * August 17, 2014

Seth Rollins on Falls Count Anywhere Match with Dean Ambrose

Falls Count Anywhere Match
Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
RAW * August 18, 2014

Roman Reigns on Seth Rollins Rivalry

Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins
RAW * September 15, 2014

Deleted Scenes
*The Dean Ambrose – William Regal Rivalry
*Leakee

WWE Shield DVD Full Match Listing

BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVES

Roman Reigns on FCW Triple Threat Match

20-Minute Time Limit for the FCW 15 Championship
Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
FCW * August 28, 2011

Dean Ambrose on Facing The Undertaker

The Undertaker vs. Dean Ambrose
SmackDown * April 26, 2013

Seth Rollins on Facing Orton and Bryan

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton & Daniel Bryan
Payback * June 16, 2013

Roman Reigns on Royal Rumble

30-Man Royal Rumble Match
Royal Rumble * January 26, 2014

WWE: The Destruction of the Shield

WWE: The Destruction of the Shield (Blu-ray)

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