While appearing on Shannon Sharpe of Club Shay Shay, Seth Rollins looked back on the debut of The Shield at Survivor Series 2012, revealing that the original creative vision for the group involved actual physical shields and riot gear. During rehearsals for their ambush in Indianapolis, Vince McMahon personally stepped in to change their presentation.
The “Architect” noted that McMahon’s reaction to the batons was swift and dismissive, questioning the group’s perceived toughness if they required weapons for their attacks. This led to the trio immediately dropping the props and focusing on their hand-to-hand tactical style.
“When we first got called up (to the main roster) the debut, it’s Survivor Series. It’s 2012 and we’re in these stupid turtlenecks and these cargo pants, and we are called the shield. And they literally tried to give us riot gear, like shield riot gear, like these giant plexiglass shields that said shield on them. And these clubs, like batons, you know that you please ride people right, right, at least beat people with, you know, and like, we got rid of the plexiglass pretty quickly, but we’re rehearsing during the day, and we have these clubs. And like, I remember, we’re in, like, the we’re running through the crowd because we’re like, you know, ambushing the show. We’re not making an entrance. We’re running through the crowd. We’re out in the back Indianapolis, Indiana, and we’re in the back, and like, Vince is on the ring, by the ring, and he’s, like, running the rehearsals at the time, and he sees us with these clubs, because the camera is there and he’s watching the monitor, and he’s like, you could just hear his deep voice like echo through the empty arena. He’s like, what you need clubs to beat him up? Are you really that tough? We’re all just like, dump the club. All right, let’s go. So that was like my first introduction to Vince’s. Vinc-isms.”
The Shield went on to become one of the most successful factions in WWE history before Rollins famously turned on Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose in 2014.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Club Shay Shay with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. You can listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast platform or watch it on the Club Shay Shay YouTube channel.
