Editor’s Note
This report details a shocking assault on WWE’s dominant faction, The Shield, during Monday Night Raw. The unprovoked attack by Drew McIntyre and Shelton Benjamin signals a major shift in the brand’s power structure and raises urgent questions about the trio’s future.
WWE Raw on Monday night witnessed a rude awakening for members of The Shield, with Drew McIntyre and Shelton Benjamin attacking the trio of Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins.
Drew McIntyre made an impact on two members of The Shield even as they bid farewell at the start of WWE Raw in Pittsburgh. He ambushed and brutalized Roman Reigns and then faced Dean Ambrose in a Falls Count Anywhere Match – a bout demanded by The Big Dog’s unpredictable Shield brother. After brawling with The Lunatic Fringe all over the arena, The Scottish Psychopath ended the match in gruesome fashion.
At the start of the show, The Shield addressed the WWE Universe after a successful coming together at WWE Fastlane. Despite the success, the Road to WrestleMania made things difficult for the trio to keep going on, and they had the blessing of Roman Reigns. Their farewell address, however, was cut short by Paul Heyman.
He, of course, had business to take care of for his client Brock Lesnar, with the Universal Champion set to face Rollins at WrestleMania. Heyman re-emerged for the first time in weeks to remind the would-be Beastslayer of what, exactly, it is he’s looking to slay. He showed a highlight reel of Brock Lesnar in action and even brought out Shelton Benjamin, a veteran of Lesnar’s collegiate wrestling room who was once described as the only man who could go toe-to-toe with The Conqueror in his youth.
It wasn’t just a rude awakening for Rollins. It proved to be for the other Shield members – Reigns and Ambrose too.