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| Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Randy Orton, The Big Show, and Sheamus vs. Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns (The Shield)
How: The match was made in between shows after the Shield attacked Orton and Sheamus for the umpteenth time.
The Story: The Shield, a group of three wrestlers from NXT, began attacking random wrestlers, starting with Ryback at Survivor Series. The method to their madness was revealed over time in that they were in WWE to right injustices by force against those perpetrating them. Even though they were bought and sold by Paul Heyman, their mission was never deterred. They went from assaulting Ryback in the interest of protecting CM Punk's title reign to attacking other popular babyface-types like John Cena, Randy Orton, and Sheamus. Cena, Sheamus, and Ryback teamed up at Elimination Chamber to try and defeat them, but it was for naught.
Orton and Sheamus had emerged from their Chamber dalliances (Orton was in the actual Chamber match itself) wanting to end Undertaker's Streak. They and Big Show staked claims against the Dead Man along with CM Punk, which led to a four-way match that Punk won. Hostilities among the three losers of the match emerged, and they were soon embroiled in a series of matches that were all interrupted by The Shield. At first, the rogue group didn't target Show, but he interjected his fist across their various faces for the interference before doing the same to Sheamus and Orton because of longstanding animosity.
Something had to be done about this group, so Sheamus and Orton banded together out of necessity. A challenge was laid down for Mania, and the two accepted, with a third wrestler needed to fill the ranks. While Show offered his services, the Celtic Vipers had other thoughts in mind, reaching out to Ryback. However, plans changed when Ryback's tensions with Mark Henry necessitated them having a HOSS FIGHT to end all HOSS FIGHTS at Mania. Reluctantly, they turned to Show. The group has since had an uneasy truce, although Show's presence has cast doubts over whether Orton and Sheamus can trust them. Orton has been the voice of reason, while it's Sheamus' hangups that keep Show aloof. Still, the group has rallied to be a force that has kept the cohesive Shield at bay for the last couple of weeks.
Analysis: Someone's turning here. Let's get that out of the way now. There's no way that this makeshift group of wrestlers is going to survive Mania intact, especially since resolved internal strife weeks before a big event is the biggest tell that there's going to be some kind of discord on the way down (whereas if they resolve their strife AT a big event, that team is build to last, at least for the next month). Sheamus seems to be too obvious, because he's the guy causing all the strife with his insecurities. Big Show also seems too obvious because he was recently the best bad guy WWE has had. Obviously, in any other entertainment medium, the most obvious guy would turn, but it's pro wrestling, so SWERVE. Even though it might not make the most sense due to how it's being built, Orton seems to be the candidate that's going to go heel. However, there's a chance none of them will until the next night on RAW, or even at all. Who knows. (Read: there's no chance, I'm just hedging, PK style)
Also interesting here is that the narrative is completely and totally concerned with the faces rather than The Shield here. I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing either. The Shield has a lot of shelf-life, and if they can spend a few more months as the catalysts for stories to start that don't involve them without delving into their motives and their endgame, then they can stay fresher for a lot longer. Besides, it's been awhile since Orton has been this interesting. That's a minor miracle in and of itself.
As for the match itself, I'm expecting it to be good with a chance to be the best on the card. The Shield is such a unique entity in how they work, and they can drag good matches out of seemingly any random teaming of three guys at a time. Sheamus and Show are great wrestlers, and Orton can be good in the right circumstances. This is a match I'm actually looking forward to with great zeal.
Who Should Win: If someone is going to take down The Shield, it shouldn't be a band of egos who've only come together out of necessity. I see no scenario where Reigns, Ambrose, and Rollins should lose here.
Who Will Win: My pick is The Shield, because there's no way the opposition team is leaving this match intact or as comrades, as I pointed out above. While it's almost certain to either be Sheamus or Orton, I'd probably have Big Show revert to his World's Largest Rebellious Teenager character. There's still a ton of mileage there. But what do I know?