Roman Reigns began his WWE career alongside Seth Rollins and Jon Moxley, as the three debuted on the main roster back in 2012 and were known as The Shield. They went on to become one of the most iconic teams in the history of the business. They would eventually break up and Reigns admitted he felt helpless with Vince McMahon’s booking afterwards.
The Shield would go on to become one of the most dominant and popular stables in the history of the WWE and truly elevate the statuses of all three Superstars involved. Naturally, their influence in the industry is not forgotten.
After the dissolution of The Shield, WWE attempted to transition Roman Reigns into a babyface role, but fans didn’t embrace the change. In his recent Biography: WWE Legends documentary, Reigns disclosed that he never desired to disband The Shield nor did he aspire to portray a babyface. He expressed reluctance to conform to the company’s directives but felt compelled to comply due to financial obligations and lack of alternative options.
Reigns felt helpless with Vince McMahon’s booking and highlighted the challenges of asserting oneself without financial security and emphasized the pressure of supporting his family and livelihood. Ultimately, he felt obliged to adhere to WWE’s decisions and prioritize his responsibilities as a provider.
“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.”
The Shield also topped the PWI Top 500 last year, ensuring their legacy lives on even now. The Shield would reunite on a couple of occasions after their initial breakup, but with Jon Moxley leaving the company in 2019, it is unlikely fans will get to see The Shield reunite anytime soon.
Do you feel bad for Roman Reigns after all he had to deal with as a babyface? Let us know in the comments section below!