History Wrestling / RomanReigns

'''Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoa'i''', born May 25, 1985, is a Samoan-American [[ProfessionalWrestling professional wrestler]]. A former professional [[UsefulNote/AmericanFootball football player]], he signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in July 2010, and was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), WWE's developmental promotion, using the ring name '''Roman Leakee'''. Renamed '''Roman Reigns''' when FCW was rebranded as NXT, he debuted on the main roster at the 2012 Survivor Series PPV as a member of Wrestling/TheShield alongside Wrestling/DeanAmbrose and Wrestling/SethRollins. With the Shield's apparent dissolution, Reigns has been feuding with Wrestling/TheAuthority and is currently gunning for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Reigns once held the FCW Florida Tag-Team Championship with Mike Dalton before CJ Parker and Jason Jordan won it from them, and later held the WWE Tag-Team Championship with Rollins before losing the title to the team of Wrestling/CodyRhodes and Wrestling/{{Goldust}}. Additionally, in 2013 he won a number of Slammy Awards as well as winning awards from Pro Wrestling Illustrated and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in the same year.

* ShipTease: Seems to have this dynamic with Wrestling/ReneeYoung whenever she interviews him since the Shield face turn—though it's definitely to a lesser degree than his buddy Ambrose, who may actually be dating Renee in real life.

* GeniusBruiser: Shows signs of it. His level of involvement in Wrestling/TheShield's strategies is unclear, but now that they've started going their separate ways, Reigns has executed a clever takedown on his own (see DangerouslyGenreSavvy) and after Wrestling/TheAuthority banned him from the battle royal that would determine the last entrant into the Money in the Bank match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, flawlessly manuevered Wrestling/TripleH and Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon out of the way in order to manipulate Wrestling/VickieGuerrero into entering him into the battle royal and giving him a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. He then won said battle royal by eliminating Rusev, breaking the latter's winning streak and becoming the first wrestler to actually beat Rusev in a match since Rusev came to WWE. Reigns is useless without you, huh, [[Wrestling/SethRollins Seth]]?

* TheQuietOne: He prefers to let Ambrose or Rollins do the talking for the group in promos. But when he's in a fight, he turns into a ScreamingWarrior. The instance below is perhaps the most glaring.

** It looks like Roman will have to move past this. As a result of Wrestling/TheShield dissolving and each member doing his own thing, Reigns is forced to do more of his own talking.

* TheStoic[=/=]TheQuietOne: He rarely talked wile in the Shield, Ambrose and Rollins had that honor. But as time went on he has stepped out of that and talks more in promos.

Reigns once held the FCW Florida Tag-Team Championship with Mike Dalton before CJ Parker and Jason Hordan won it from them, and later held the WWE Tag-Team Championship with Rollins before losing the title to the team of Wrestling/CodyRhodes and Wrestling/{{Goldust}}. Additionally, in 2013 he won a number of Slammy Awards as well as winning awards from Pro Wrestling Illustrated and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in the same year.

After the team nearly experienced a meltdown in late 2013/early 2014, Ambrose's ego seems to have cooled down significantly, however, as has the tension within The Shield. Even through Rollins' betrayal, Dean and Roman don't seem to be missing a beat.
* WildSamoan: Reigns averts the trope himself in his gimmick, but he is notably the son and nephew of the TropeNamers; his old gimmick in NXT, Leakee, played with it a bit.

[[quoteright:184:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/romanreigns_1_full_20140305_6223.png]]

!!!Tropes associated with Roman Reigns:

* TheStoic

* EarlyBirdCameo: Appeared along with Wrestling/SethRollins in a promo about Wrestling/JohnCena at Elimination Chamber 2012, though he (Reigns) was known as Leakee back then.

* ShipTease: Since turning face, Reigns (and Ambrose) seems to have this dynamic with Wrestling/ReneeYoung whenever she interviews him.

* TrueCompanions: Played ''wonderfully'' straight throughout the end of 2013 and into 2014. There was so much tension between Ambrose and Reigns that just about any other team/stable in WWE history would have long since imploded on itself-- [[SubvertedTrope it seemed painfully obvious]] that WWE's creative team was setting up a team-wide split (possibly to turn Roman Reigns face and give him a push). Rollins, being the [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]] [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]] that he is, gave the two something to confront as one when he walked out on them, then used the situation to convince them to put aside their issues, resulting in the Shield becoming stronger than ever and making a HeelFaceTurn.\\

* TrueCompanions: Played ''wonderfully'' straight throughout the end of 2013 and into 2014. There was so much tension between Ambrose and Reigns that just about any other team/stable in WWE history would have long since imploded on itself-- [[SubvertedTrope it seemed painfully obvious]] that WWE's creative team was setting up a team-wide split (possibly to turn Roman Reigns face and give him a push). Rollins, being the [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]] [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]] that he is, gave the two something to confront as one when he walked out on them, then used the situation to convince them to put aside their issues, resulting in the Shield becoming stronger than ever and making a HeelFaceTurn. Sadly, after making it perfectly clear that the Shield were Evolution's superiors, Rollins stabbed Reigns and Ambrose in the back and would go on to claim that the brotherhood he presented the Shield as was just a lie that they believed in; to him they were nothing but business partners. However, once again the two responded only by banding closer together, and while they may have decided to split up and operate on their own, they still remain boys and are after the same targets.

* TrueCompanions: Played ''wonderfully'' straight throughout the end of 2013 and into 2014. There was so much tension between Ambrose and Reigns that just about any other team/stable in WWE history would have long since imploded on itself-- [[SubvertedTrope it seemed painfully obvious]] that WWE's creative team was setting up a team-wide split (possibly to turn Roman Reigns face and give him a push).
** Since Rollins' betrayal he's claimed that while Reigns and Ambrose looked at the Shield as a brotherhood and he himself played to that image, the truth is he considered them nothing more than business partners. Oddly enough, Seth Rollins may have just started setting himself up as the new Ultimate Opportunist by deconstructing this very trope.

!!!Tropes associated with Roman Reigns'''

* ArchEnemy: Wrestling/TheAuthority [=/=] Wrestling/{{Evolution}}, particularly Wrestling/TripleH and Wrestling/RandyOrton. He's either leaving [[Wrestling/SethRollins Rollins]] to [[Wrestling/DeanAmbrose Dean]] or he isn't ''quite'' as pissed at him as he is with the rest of Evolution.

!!!'''Tropes associated with Roman Reigns:'''

** TookALevelInBadass: Of course, Roman Reigns was already the most physically imposing member of Wrestling/TheShield to begin with, but since he was the least experienced in the ring, Wrestling/SethRollins and Wrestling/DeanAmbrose tended to do most of the ring work. Then, right around a year after the Shield debuted, Reigns had improved almost exponentially in the ring, and people also started figuring out that Reigns wasn't just a [[MightyGlacier pure power guy]], but had a mix of power, speed, and agility. Right about then, Reigns went from The Shield's somewhat subservient muscle to a nigh-unstoppable juggernaut whose own teammates are even a bit intimidated by him. He featured heavily at the next two major pay-per-views, eliminating 4 men out of a five-man team at SurvivorSeries by himself, and then topped himself at the RoyalRumble by eliminating '''''12 superstars''''' (breaking a record set by Kane in 2001) and remaining as the final obstacle between Batista and his eventual RoyalRumble win.

* GeniusBruiser: Shows signs of it. His level of involvement in Wrestling/TheShield's strategies is unclear, but now that they've started going their separate ways, Reigns has executed a clever takedown on his own (see DangerouslyGenreSavvy) and after Wrestling/TheAuthority banned from the battle royal that would determine the last entrant into the Money in the Bank match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, flawlessly manuevered Wrestling/TripleH and Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon out of the way in order to manipulate Wrestling/VickieGuerrero into entering him into the battle royal and giving him a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. He then won said battle royal by eliminating Rusev, breaking the latter's winning streak and becoming the first wrestler to actually beat Rusev in a match since Rusev came to WWE. Reigns is useless without you, huh, [[Wrestling/SethRollins Seth]]?

Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoa'i/Leakee now known as Roman Reigns is a professional wrestler employed by WWE and is a (former?) member of Wrestling/TheShield

* ADayInTheLimelight: Roman Reigns had this in Survivor Series 2013, when he eliminated ''four'' of a five-man team. Seth Rollins also got one in the final Smackdown of 2013 where he managed to push [[TheHero John Cena]] to the limits in singles competition. He lost, sure, but it he definitely left an impression.
** Reigns got another one at the Royal Rumble 2014, where he made his Rumble debut in a big way, staying in for over 30 minutes and breaking Kane's 13 year record by throwing out 12 people.
** This has occurred for each of the members of The Shield: Ambrose served as this sometime after the faction's debut (he was the first opponent TheUndertaker faced in singles competition on Smackdown since his part-timer status), Reigns got his from Survivor Series until the Wyatt feud, and Rollins is currently having his following the group's HeelFaceTurn.

* ArchEnemy: Primarily the "[[FanHater WWE Universe]]," as they do not believe the decisions of the company should be made based on popularity contests, they got together to ensure the WWE universe would not always get what it wanted.
** While they varied their targets during the first month or so of inception, they very obviously had a special dislike for Wrestling/{{Ryback}}, and screwed him out of WWE Title wins at least three times in as many months. They also built somewhat of a rivalry with Wrestling/TeamHellNo. They developed a huge rivalry with Wrestling/CodyRhodes and Wrestling/{{Goldust}} in late 2013. As of November 2013, the team of Cody Rhodes and Goldust is the only team to defeat Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins twice.
** GreenEyedMonster: Their dislike of Wrestling/{{Ryback}} stemmed essentially from Ryback joining the main roster and being pushed to the top so quickly while they had been forced to keep toiling away in developmental. [[StrawmanHasAPoint (And, actually, a good part of the IWC sort of agrees.)]]
** As of mid April 2014, Wrestling/TheAuthority, and the reformed Wrestling/{{Evolution}}. Taken to the extreme when Seth Rollins turned on them and joined Evolution. Ambrose promised to rearrange his face.
** Wrestling/TheWyattFamily.
* ArcWords: '''JUSTICE.'''
* AxCrazy[=/=]{{Cloudcuckoolander}}:
** Dean Ambrose was this in the indies and FCW. It seems to have been reined in somewhat since hitting the main roster as part of the Shield, but even now he still shows signs of being off his rocker. Pay close attention to Dean's eccentric tendencies when The Shield is being interviewed (ask Wrestling/MichaelCole) or in match situations, and it is clear that he's by far the most violent, erratic member of the trio. His mannerisms only add to it- he constantly twitches, flinches and seems to talk to himself when he's not on the mic, like he's just waiting an excuse to fly off the handle and beat the hell out of someone.
** As time goes on, it has become clear that Ambrose has a thin veneer of sanity holding back a whole lotta crazy. He's licked his hand before slapping Sheamus; actually stroked Wrestling/RandyOrton (who is no stranger to AxCrazy behavior himself) on the shoulder, basically ''petting him as if he was his pet'', in a backstage vignette. He's also, on at least one occasion, ''foamed at the mouth'' during a match. And check the promo where The Shield calls out the Wyatt Family. Rollins and Reigns actually do most of the talking, mainly because Ambrose is completely flipping out in the background to the point where he can't put sentences together.
** Ambrose's examples of AxCrazy from the indies and FCW are just plain brutal- for instance, see [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b-q0cAkboc his rematch]] with Wrestling/WilliamRegal, where he beats Regal so badly that Regal's bleeding and confused, and ''the entire locker room'' has to come out and restrain him, and even then he breaks away and tries to go back for more. Within the WWE scope of affairs, this one actually warranted him being "banned" from the new NXT both in and out of kayfabe—in-universe it was due to the brutality making him unsafe for the rest of the developmental roster to work with, in reality because creative struggled to find a proper way to follow up on it with the transition to NXT. Until, of course, enter the Shield.
** After Seth Rollins turned on the group, Ambrose went into excruciating detail about how he would rearrange Seth's face (see below). After twitching the entire time he smacked the mic out of his own hand, only for Roman to give him a smile (almost in a friendly, "How the hell am I supposed to follow that?" manner), and Ambrose to gingerly bend over and hand Roman the mic.
--->'''Ambrose:''' When I get the opportunity to rearrange your face, which I will... your nose isn't gonna be over here anymore, it's gonna be over here... ''[slides finger from his own nose towards his ear]''... by your ear. I say "ear" because you're only gonna have one left. I'm gonna rip your dirty, stinkin' hair out by the roots, and I'm gonna stuff it in your mouth-- there'll be plenty of room ''where your teeth used to be.''\\
\\
Seth Rollins... ''[begins to hyperventilate and beats his own chest while smiling maniacally]''... [[SarcasmMode my brother]]... we want you to stand out here in front of the whole world, and we want them to hear Triple H's words comin' out of your mouth. We're gonna listen to every word of it, '''''[[PreAssKickingOneLiner and then we're gonna beat the hell out of you.]]''''' ''[slaps microphone out of own hands emphatically]''
* '''{{Badass}}''': A trio of young wrestlers fresh off of NXT invade the WWE and win their first six PPV tag-team matches. All but one of those matches involve some combination of the following wrestlers: Ryback, John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Kane, Randy Orton, Sheamus, and The Big Show. Seven wrestlers with a combined 36 world championship reigns (WWE or World Heavyweight) amongst them at the time... and each combination of them lost to a team of rookies. Oh yeah, and they also hold clean victories in 6-Man Tag matches against Team Hell No and Wrestling/TheUndertaker, as well as Team Hell No and then-reigning WWE Champion Wrestling/JohnCena (who was pinned by Roman Reigns after a Spear). All of that is the very definition of {{Badass}}.

** BadassCreed: "Where honor no longer exists, we're going to step in. We're a shield from injustice... we are The Shield."
** BeardOfEvil[=/=]BadassBeard: Reigns and Rollins again.
* BatmanGambit: Seth Rollins, apparently nicknamed "The Architect" for good reason, successfully pulled one off ''on his own stablemates.'' When the incessant bickering between Ambrose and Reigns threatened to tear the team apart, Rollins made a statement by [[RageQuit leaving the ring during a six-man tag match]], resulting in Reigns and Ambrose catching a serious beat-down from all three members of Wrestling/TheWyattFamily (although they didn't go down without a fight).\\
\\
Reigns and Ambrose called Rollins out on the following episode of [=SmackDown=], and that was the payoff. Rollins made them realize that, to put it simply, ''they're the goddamn Shield'', and it's obvious that Reigns and Ambrose can coexist when necessary (as they had each other's backs when Rollins abandoned them). He preached a surprisingly powerful sermon, basically telling Ambrose and Reigns to get their game together so The Shield can "Take this place back!"\\
\\
Rollins even, at one point during the promo, refused to retaliate when Dean Ambrose punched him square in the mouth out of frustration-- the idea was that Rollins letting Ambrose get the anger out of his system was worth it, since a fight between the two would accomplish nothing.
--> '''Rollins:''' ''[after being punched in the face by Ambrose]'' Are we done here? ... or are we done? ''[[http://i.imgur.com/9id6H6m.png [extends his fist, implicitly imploring Reigns and Ambrose to do the same]]]''
--> '''Reigns:''' ''[[{{beat}} [glares at Rollins]], then places his fist alongside]''
--> '''Ambrose:''' ''[appears to be mouthing off defiantly to Reigns and Rollins, [[SubvertedTrope but, somewhat reluctantly, completes the pose]]]''
* BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame:
** Ironically, the teams that are most effective against The Shield are the ones who turn their tactics against them. Their first defeat as a team comes when the numbers game (their favorite tactic) is turned against them.
** The second defeat comes from the numbers game turning on them again, with one of their members being beaten down, and the distraction allowing for the pin on the partner. For added insult, the FinishingMove that scored the win was the Spear, the same move Reigns loves to ambush distracted people with.
* BigDamnHeroes: At the April 7, 2014 post-[=WrestleMania=] episode of RAW, the Shield arrive to put the hurt on Wrestling/TripleH and the Authority, preventing Wrestling/DanielBryan from getting screwed out of the title again.
* BlatantLies: Their claims about standing for justice became sketchier and sketchier since their debut, were belied by an incident where it was revealed that they assaulted Brad Maddox (and generally did everything they did which benefited CM Punk) on Paul Heyman's orders, and finally became completely meaningless when they became Triple H's personal security and actively helped screw Daniel Bryan at every turn.
** They and Punk continually denied that the Shield worked for Punk. Apparently only Punk himself believed it.
* BrokenPedestal[=/=]{{Irony}}: Seth Rollins, the member of the Shield commonly treated as TheHeart of the team and the one directly responsible for keeping the group together when Reigns and Ambrose were at each other's throats, was in fact the first one to outright turn on the rest of the team.
* TheBrute: Reigns shows shades of this. He's by far the largest and most muscular. He also talks the least (but when he does, it's usually REALLY LOUD), and he does the most heavy lifting on the trio.
* BullyingADragon:
** Decided it would be a great idea to target Wrestling/MarkHenry. He was ''not'' happy.
** They also decided to interrupt The Undertaker, of all people, at one point.
** When their crusade against CM Punk and Daniel Bryan was rudely interrupted by Wrestling/TheWyattFamily, none of the three Shield members showed the slightest hesitation to get up in the Wyatt's faces and challenge them. Keep in mind that the Wyatt Family is a CreepyCult of backwoods hillbillies with an AxCrazy leader, and the mere sight of them is enough to give most badasses pause. Say what you will about them, but Rollins, Ambrose, and Reigns aren't afraid to stand up to anyone.
* ButtMonkey: If something bad is going to happen to a member of The Shield, more often than not it's going to happen to Dean Ambrose.
* CatchPhrase: "Believe in the Shield!"

* CompetitiveBalance: Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns each have different skills and weaknesses, listed elsewhere on this page.
* {{Corpsing}}: On the January 6, 2014 edition of Raw, if one looks closely, they can see Dean Ambrose cracking a smile when Jake "the Snake" Roberts has his snake lying on his (Dean's) "unconscious" body. Either the licks were ticklish, or Mr. Good was trying to quell his inner fanboy.
* CoolMask: Started wearing [[http://www.wrestlingforum.com/signaturepics/xsigpic218218_22.gif.pagespeed.ic.IpVmGkI2QB.jpg these]] from Wrestlemania XXX on.
* CoolShades: Reigns would often cut promos on ''NXT'' with them on after his gimmick change.
* CoolVersusAwesome: The Shield vs. TheWyattFamily. A team of mercenaries consisting of an unstoppable force, an unhinged maniac, and a strategically-minded acrobat competing against a charismatic cult leader and his two monsters? It's a big deal, to say the least.
** Their feud with Evolution, pitting three of the WWE's rising stars versus three of the [[Wrestling/TripleH most]] [[Wrestling/RandyOrton established]] [[Wrestling/{{Batista}} veterans]] in the industry.
* {{The Corrupter}}s:
** Depending on your point of view, they may have been this to Wrestling/{{Ryback}}, who turned heel after fighting and losing to them one time too many.
** Played straight with Daniel Bryan, who went off the deep end thanks to their [[BreakThemByTalking Breaking Speeches]], in addition to losing the tag titles.
*** However, on the June 14, 2013 episode of ''[=SmackDown=]'', Bryan made Rollins tap out to the No Lock, marking the first time the Shield has lost a six-man tag team match ever.
* DangerouslyGenreSavvy:
** You'd think these guys sat around reading Sun Tzu's ''Art of War'' in their spare time or something. They've established a pattern of focusing all of their attention on one target and never stopping their assault until they know ''he can't get up.'' And if they must separate, they leave their biggest and most powerful guy (Reigns) to make sure no one reaches their feet while Ambrose and Rollins knock around whoever's still standing. As a result, they almost ''always'' have a numerical advantage against whoever they're fighting.
** Additionally, if a guy starts fighting back, Ambrose or Rollins almost always gets the opponent in a position where his hands are away from his body. Once the torso is left open, '''[[RammingAlwaysWorks CUE SPEAR.]]'''
** On the June 9, 2014 episode of Raw, Reigns and Ambrose lay down a beating on 3MB, but Heath Slater manages to take only a few licks and escape up the ramp (a common {{heel}} tactic during a brawl). Ambrose continues to pummel Jinder Mahal and Drew [=McIntyre=], and while Slater strolls up the ramp (all while still facing the ring, due to Ambrose's distraction), Roman Reigns ''goes through the crowd, around the tech area, and up the side of the stage,'' meeting an unknowing Slater at the top of the ramp and flanking him with a Spear. Not only is this an ''actual military tactic,'' it also resembled [[IKnowMaddenKombat a defensive football player blitzing a quarterback from the outside]]. Reigns' gridiron background and mercenary attire might not be just for show.
* {{Determinator}}: All of them. It takes a ''lot'' to put the Shield down, and according to them, nothing short of a nuclear blast can ''keep'' them down.
* EarlyBirdCameo: Ambrose makes a quick cameo in Wrestling/CMPunk's DVD ''Best In The World'', backstage and talking with Punk. Rollins and Reigns (then called Leakee) appeared in a promo about Wrestling/JohnCena at Elimination Chamber 2012.
* EnemyMine:
** Inverted, then played straight on the November 11, 2013 episode of Monday Night Raw. After interfering in the main event, [[{{Heel}} the Wyatt Family]] finds itself in the ring with the teams of [[{{Heel}} Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins]] and [[{{Face}} CM Punk/Daniel Bryan.]] CM Punk shoves Rollins into [[Wrestling/BrodieLee Luke Harper]], who in turn pushes Rollins away, damn near out of the ring. Rollins takes exception, and boom. Two heel teams going at it, despite a common enemy... until they realize that they should go after Punk and Bryan instead of fighting one another.
---> '''Bray Wyatt:''' ''[during a standoff that occurred after the short brawl]'' We're the same! We have a common enemy! WE HAVE A COMMON ENEMY! ''[[OhCrap [points to CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, who are outside of the ring]]]''
** Subverted during the feud between The Shield and The Wyatts, as The Shield has been collateral damage to some of the Family's sporadic actions. For reasons they attacked the team of John Cena, Sheamus, and Daniel Bryan during a 6-man tag match with the Shield where all 3 winning members qualified for the Elimination Chamber WWE World Heavyweight Title match, giving the face team the DQ win and thus disqualifying The Shield from a chance at the title through no fault of The Shield. This pissed the group off to such an extent that they went directly against TripleH's orders to pick a fight with the Family.
* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** Dean Ambrose proved in the 2014 Royal Rumble that he's a heel amongst heels when he tried to get a cheap elimination on Reigns. His teammates were quick to call him out on it, and Reigns was quick to toss Ambrose (along with Rollins) out of the ring. This is despite the fact that the Royal Rumble is always played up as "Every man for himself," even amongst friends and/or stablemates.[[note]]This was more about him abandoning the gameplan of eliminating everyone else before they had it out between themselves.[[/note]]
** On a February 2014 episode of ''Monday Night Raw'', Roman Reigns defeated Mark Henry 100% cleanly in about 3 minutes flat. As Rollins congratulated Reigns after the match, Ambrose attacked a vulnerable Henry (signs point to Ambrose being jealous that, for all intents and purposes, Reigns is a better wrestler than he is). In response to Dean losing his cool (as if that doesn't happen often), Reigns and Rollins gave Ambrose a "What the hell, dude?" look from inside the ring.[[note]]Although a sharp-eared viewer may have noticed Reigns saying, in an amused tone that matched his smile, "That's weak"; so it was less a moral condemnation and more disappointment at Ambrose's posturing.[[/note]]
** On the March 17th, 2014 episode of RAW they were called in by Kane to attack Jerry Lawler under false pretenses that he was in cahoots with Daniel Bryan's [=YESMovement=] [[InsaneTrollLogic because it took place in Lawler's hometown]]. Coupled with the fact that Jerry had suffered a heart attack, as well as it was obvious to anyone that he was innocent, The Shield decided not to attack Lawler because it would not be in the name of JUSTICE.
* EvilVersusEvil: Teased at one point with an in-ring confrontation with Wrestling/TheWyattFamily that stopped before it went anywhere. Now out in full force as the Family's decision to target JohnCena had the side effect of screwing the Shield out of a championship opportunity, resulting in the Shield challenging the Family to a match set to happen at the ''Elimination Chamber'' pay-per-view.
* ExactWords: Their first interview has Michael Cole asking them if they are working for CM Punk. Ambrose says no, they aren't, which is completely true: they're not working for Punk, they're working for Paul Heyman on Punk's behalf.
* {{Expy}}: Ambrose has quite a bit of Creator/HeathLedger's [[Film/TheDarkKnight Joker]] in his mannerisms and voice. He's drawn more than a few comparisons (especially with his promo style) to Wrestling/BrianPillman or even a young Wrestling/RoddyPiper.
** Speaking of SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker, the group's "holding a hand-cam on themselves at arm's length" promos are almost identical in appearance to scenes of his taken from ''Film/TheDarkKnight''.
** Rollins has often been compared by fans (and even Wrestling/JimRoss) to Wrestling/CMPunk[[note]]Both are former Ring of Honor champions[[/note]] during his [[Wrestling/{{WWENXT}} NXT]] run. It's quite apt that when CM Punk guest-starred on the show, he would confront and eventually congratulate Rollins.
*** He's also drawn a number of comparisons to Wrestling/JeffHardy for his looks and willingness to take huge bumps.
** And then there's the stable itself, which has drawn some very obvious comparisons to Wrestling/TheNexus (who, coincidentally, also made their debut in a match involving Wrestling/JohnCena and Wrestling/CMPunk).
*** That's only the tip of the iceberg. Both debuts involved Ryan Reeves in some way. As Skip Sheffield, he was one of the eight members of the Nexus involved in the attack on the WWE Raw set, while as Ryback, he was the main target of the Shield's first attack.) Even more ironic is the fact that both stables had a former [[Wrestling/RingOfHonor ROH]] [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/roh/roh-h.html World Heavyweight Champion]] as a member. In the Nexus's case, Daniel Bryan (although he was gone in a week), while in the Shield's case, Seth Rollins, known in ROH as Tyler Black. All of this, of course, wasn't lost on Ambrose, who promptly rebuked those comparisons.
*** Close examination of the group, however, seems to bring their makeup more in line with the Nexus splinter group, The Corre. Both stables focus(ed) on unity over solidarity, the whole being greater than the sum of the parts, and teamwork above all else. Although, they seem to be more of a foil, as they've lasted much longer and established a much greater presence than the Corre ever did due to no member being entirely hypocritical about these claims.
** In a wider perspective, The Shield strongly resembles the old times of the Japanese stable [[Wrestling/DragonGate Crazy MAX]]. A triad of guys in black military outfit who come through the crowd to wreak havoc with an undefined but styled aura of invincibility, composed by a cocky leader, an energetic eccentric and a silent brute.
** A heel faction containing some of the best workers in the company combines brutal tactics with complete unison between the members and a sense of righteous purpose which some fans actually agree with, subsequently becoming super popular in spite of their villainous status as a result. They eventually come to serve as the enforcers for somebody's power trip/conspiracy, only to eventually turn against said outfit and make their purpose true as a face faction. Moreover, this doesn't seem to have ever been the original plan. Now who are we talking about, the Shield or Wrestling/{{TNA}}'s Wrestling/{{Fortune}} stable?
* FaceHeelTurn: Rollins, who served as a good guy on ''NXT'' prior to appearing with The Shield, promptly turned heel on the show when his affiliation with the group became prominent.
** The June 2, 2014 broadcast of Raw, after defeating Evolution again at Payback '14, Rollins proceeded to attack Ambrose and Reigns from behind, aligning himself with Evolution.
* FallacyOfDivision: Averted. The Shield is one of the best examples of a pro wrestling team's whole being greater than the sum of its parts. They've defeated two teams consisting of (1) Ryback, Kane, and Daniel Bryan, and (2) Randy Orton, Big Show, and Sheamus. However, when one of their members faces a main-eventer one-on-one, it tends not to be a competitive affair. JBL, on commentary, strongly supports the claim that no three superstars put together, no matter how good individually, can defeat The Shield if The Shield's opponents don't have experience teaming with one another.\\

In short, each of the members individually is not main-event caliber. Together, as a unit, this no longer applies, and they ARE main-event caliber as a trio, with many in-universe even referring to them as possibly the greatest three-man tandem in the history of WWE.
* FinishingMove:
** For Ambrose, "Dirty Deeds", a headlock driver.
** For Rollins, the Curb Stomp whose name was changed from "Blackout" to "Piece of Mind".
** For Reigns, the [[RammingAlwaysWorks spear]].
** For the group, the Triple Powerbomb.
* [[FiveTokenBand Three-Token Band]]: Latino Seth Rollins, Samoan Roman Reigns, and Caucasian Dean Ambrose.
* FragileSpeedster[=/=]GlassCannon: Seth Rollins is the most agile member of The Shield, but he's also the smallest, most likely to take a really hard bump (if you can manage to land a hit on him), and seems to get pinned more than the other two.
* FreudianTrio: Played with. Ambrose is the Id. [[AxCrazy Simply put, he's nuts.]] Rollins plays with the reasoned Superego role, but he's usually the one that breaks up conflicts between the volatile Ambrose and the much more reserved Roman Reigns.
* GeniusBruiser: Seth Rollins in particular has proven to be this in droves. His new nickname as the "Architect" and at least one subsequent promo/interview referencing ''his'' strategy in regards to the Shield implies that he, not Ambrose as originally thought, is actually the primary brains behind their DangerouslyGenreSavvy ''Art of War'' tactics. When the dissension between Ambrose and Reigns threatened to break up the team, he's the one who pulled a RageQuit on them during their second match with the Wyatt Family—which may have seemed like just another nail in the Shield's coffin at the time, but was in fact done as a ploy to bring them back together.[[note]]The following Smackdown, Ambrose and Reigns were standing together and talking to each other like teammates with no hint of rivalry for the first time in months, united in the desire to confront Rollins for his actions. Having gotten them to agree on something as well as gained their attention at the same time, Seth proved his point about the two's issues, then got into a slapping and shoving contest with Dean (and a cameo from Roman) to get all the frustration out of their systems, then put it to them to either go their separate ways now or get it together. They chose the latter.[[/note]] Furthermore, the group backstory of the three talking together and becoming disillusioned by the popularity contest-driven nature of the WWE machine comes off similar to how Rollins in his Tyler Black days in the indies started [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized the Age of the Fall]] in Wrestling/RingOfHonor with Wrestling/JimmyJacobs.[[note]]Note that Black was later credited as the man behind the group's "Project 161" blogs prior to their debut, hinting that this is not a WWE-exclusive trope for Colby Lopez.[[/note]]
** This was taken to its darkest extreme on the June 2, 2014 episode of Raw, which concluded with Rollins stabbing his own "brothers" in the back with a steel chair and joining forces with Wrestling/TripleH, Wrestling/{{Evolution}} and Wrestling/TheAuthority as a result of Triple H's "Plan B." Because Seth was regarded as both the brains and the heart of the team, ''nobody'' saw it coming—- especially not Ambrose and Reigns.
* GenreSavvy: There are quite a few similarities between The Shield and [[Wrestling/TheNexus some]] [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder other]] {{Power Stable}}s that have appeared on RAW over the years. Ambrose quickly goes out of his way to rebuff the comparisons.
--> '''Ambrose:''' We're not Wrestling/TheNexus. If you're lookin' for the [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]], [[ProductPlacement go buy the DVD.]]
** Vickie Guerrero books them into another 11 on 3 match. What's the Shield to do? Instead of defiantly facing all eleven opponents, they seek out opponent after opponent and put them out of action (they Triple Powerbombed Jack Swagger, took out 3MB, took out Brad Maddox and threw Fandango through two tables), cutting the numbers down so it becomes a 5 on 3 match. Then they beat the hell out of the remaining five.
** On the May 19, 2014 Raw, Triple H proclaimed that no one other than "official personnel" were to be at ringside during a match between Seth Rollins and Batista. However, at the last minute, he appointed himself as the official guest ring announcer, and Randy Orton as the official guest timekeeper. Apparently prepared for this, The Shield were implied to have bullied Raw general manager Brad Maddox into making Reigns and Ambrose official guest ring announcers for the match (all that was said is that Maddox had something to do with the decision, and that he was "in the trainer's room" during the match).
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Look at [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqFQLB370pk Ambrose's hand gesture]] at about twenty seconds in.
* TheHeart: Seth Rollins has operated as this recently. When the relationship between Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns became strained over the course of their late 2013 feud with their former unwitting client Wrestling/CMPunk, one could argue that he was the one keeping The Shield together. Eventually it reached a breaking point…for ''Seth'', causing him to RageQuit during a match against the Wyatt Family, which he amazingly used to bring the two ''back on the same page''.
** Ultimately deconstructed, as Rollins pointed out that one of the reasons he turned on them was being tired of being the one that made them get along.
* HairTriggerTemper: The one thing that's consistent about Dean Ambrose's erratic personality is that he's liable to snap at a moment's notice.
* HeelFaceTurn: Early 2014 has them moving in this direction as they have turned against Kane and The Authority.
* HeroKiller: See {{Badass}} above.
** The last we saw of The Undertaker in 2013, he was getting mauled by The Hounds of Justice, effectively killing him (or at least his screen time).
* HonorBeforeReason[=/=]IdiotBall:
** Everyone who's just stood there while The Shield enters. It takes them a good minute or so to get to the ring going through the crowd. No one thinks of grabbing a weapon, or, you know, RUNNING? They're not coming down the aisle, hit the locker room! Where all your damn friends are!
** Wrestling/{{Ryback}} defied this at one point, leaving the ring during The Shield's entrance, only to re-enter with a chair when they got there. Granted, he was also a heel and would eventually break in the chair on Cena's back, which would make this something of a double subversion.
** Averted by Wrestling/RandyOrton on the August 5, 2013 episode of Monday Night Raw. After the team of Orton, Daniel Bryan, and Wrestling/JohnCena defeated The Shield by disqualification, Orton struck with an RKO to Bryan first, and then Cena (each unprovoked). He procured his Money in the Bank briefcase, and a referee, from ringside, and appeared ready to cash in his contract on then-WWE Champion John Cena... until The Shield made their way back towards the ring. Orton, who was on the apron, decided that discretion is the better part of valor, and left Bryan and Cena to the Hounds (he retained his Money in the Bank contract since his cash-in match had not officially started).
** JohnCena once rallied the entire locker room to come out on the Shield to let them know they weren't going to let them continue to get away with their attacks. This probably would have spelled the end of the trio, if it weren't for the fact that they ''never did this again''.
*** FridgeBrilliance: Of course not. Not long after this event, the Shield were brought on as the muscle for Wrestling/TheAuthority, and Cena (probably the only person in the locker room that would have had the pull to try this again) went down with an injury. Everyone was too scared of getting fired to mount up any resistance against them.
** Averted in their face incarnation, as they're every bit as pragmatic as before.
* {{Hunk}}: Roman Reigns has been met with a very... ''positive'' reception from the female demographic. The ripped form, the sexy voice, and the [[WhenSheSmiles smile]] may have something to do with it. There's a group that are encouraging the split-up up the Shield simply because it means that he (and both of the others) will finally ditch the vests and wrestle in something a [[UnderwearOfPower little less comfortable.]]
** Reigns got more of the same at Payback 2014. When Triple H stripped Reigns' vest and shirt off, you could definitely hear a decidedly female sigh/whimper throughout the audience.
* InsaneTrollLogic:
** [[Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield JBL's]] explanations for the Shield's targets of "injustice," such as Wrestling/RandyOrton, tend to be rather skewed. For example, Orton was targeted for "destroying" Brad Maddox's hopes of a WWE contract, even though Maddox ''asked'' for the match and knew the level of opposition he'd face would be a crap-shoot at best.
** The logic that The Shield itself runs on in general is pretty dubious at best. When they debuted and appeared to be hired stooges for Wrestling/CMPunk and Wrestling/PaulHeyman, their attacks on whoever Punk was feuding with at the time made sense. Since that connection was dropped and they've gone off on their own, what they consider "injustices" would seem to be what most reasonable viewers would call "people living their lives and going about their business."
* IHaveTheHighGround: Seth Rollins seems to break the [[HolyShitQuotient HSQ]] once per PPV.
* InTheHood: In 2014, Ambrose started wearing a hoodie during his entrance. This may be a MythologyGag as well, as he was often shown wearing hoodies during his days as Jon Moxley.
* [[ItRunsInTheFamily It Runs in]] [[InTheBlood the Blood]]: Reigns is at least the ''tenth'' guy from his bloodline to appear in a WWF/E ring. Others include Wrestling/{{Rikishi}} (and his sons Wrestling/TheUsos), The Original {{Wild Samoan}}s (who are his father and uncle), the late Wrestling/{{Umaga}} and Wrestling/{{Yokozuna}}, the Tonga Kid, and his brother, who went by the name Rosey. Oh, and his cousin, [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson Dwayne something or other.]]
** Somebody finally put all of this together into [[http://25.media.tumblr.com/31e6432871156d11786202c012470072/tumblr_n19tgyCtGQ1rzcokbo1_1280.png family tree format]]. In The Blood might be an understatement.
* JackOfAllStats: Dean Ambrose-- he had neutral strength, speed and resistance but, for better or worse, doesn't stick out as extraordinary in any one area... except if you're counting bat-shit insanity as a stat (see AxCrazy).
* JitterCam: A couple of The Shield's promos have looked like something out of ''Film/TheBlairWitchProject''.
* TheJuggernaut: They are this as a collective. They've been forced into retreat once or twice when the numbers were even, but they've never been laid out in the middle of a ring and they STILL (and this is going on six months now) haven't lost a match as a team on PPV, having taken on and defeated pretty much all of WWE's main event faces at some point or another during that time span.
** On the second-to-last part, they've been recently out-Juggernauted by Wrestling/TheWyattFamily on both PPV and RAW.
* JusticeWillPrevail: Their claim, even though they mostly ambush Faces and give them {{No Holds Barred Beatdown}}s for no apparent reason.
* {{Kiai}}: Any time Roman Reigns rears his head back and roars to the heavens, you can bet your ass that somebody is gonna receive a powerbomb... or a Superman punch.
* KnightTemplar: Their crusade against injustice, which apparently means mostly going after fan favorite wrestlers, who clearly haven't committed any outright injustices. However, they have assaulted fellow heels at least three times-- dismantling 3MB on one occasion (saving Triple H, a babyface at the time, from a three-on-one against 3MB; in hindsight, this seems to be an oddly prophetic occurrence), giving Brad Maddox the beat-down of his life after [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu he called The Shield out to the ring, with no backup of his own,]] and brawling with Wrestling/TheWyattFamily after the latter interrupted a tag match with Wrestling/CMPunk and Wrestling/DanielBryan.
* TheLeader: Although The Shield do not have a clear-cut leader, Dean Ambrose appears to be the BigBad of the group-- Type II/III.
** As of the December 9, 2013 episode of ''Monday Night Raw'', Ambrose is veering into BadBoss territory. His ego (and the fact that he's the only championship-holder in the group) is causing him to verbally demean (if only indirectly) Reigns and Rollins. His claims that he's the best of the three members of The Shield have garnered [[MeaningfulLook looks of frustration]] from Reigns and Rollins, but the group remains a solid, cohesive unit.
** The waters have muddied even further going into 2014, where it now seems that Ambrose and Rollins defer to Reigns, if anything. And, at least on commentary, Reigns is pushed as the overall strongest member.
** Ultimately, the Shield could be said to be a team of leaders: all three are part Headstrong and Charismatic, with Ambrose also being part Mastermind and Reigns also part Levelheaded while Rollins possesses traits of all four leadership styles. To prove this point, all three members have stood in the center of their Fists of Excellence pose, and when it comes to non-to-semi-{{kayfabe}} interviews, each man frequently points to all three of them as being leaders, potential top guys, the best workers in the company, etc.
** Now that Seth Rollins has turned heel he claims that he was the leader and mastermind behind the Shield and that without him they are nothing. He also claims that he was the only one capable of making Dean and Roman get along and work together.
* LegacyCharacter: Reigns is one of [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]], at least in physical profile. Both are third-generation wrestlers with Samoan origins. They have similar body build and athleticism, also both played [[UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootball College Football]] (same position, in fact). Reigns' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP_xzjBy0CQ earlier finisher]] also bears a passing resemblance to the Rock Bottom in execution.
* LightningBruiser: Roman Reigns. He stands taller than TripleH, weighs in at 265 pounds, but also brings his football athleticism to bear in the ring. The only thing keeping him, perhaps, from MasterOfAll status is his inexperience relative to Ambrose and Rollins, who had both been indy stars for years while Reigns went to college and played football.
* MeetMyGoodFriendsLeftyAndRighty: [[http://www.cagematch.net/?id=93&nr=1132 On the June 2nd, 2014 episode of Monday Night Raw]], Roman Reigns called Wrestling/RandyOrton to the ring, for their scheduled one-on-one match that night, with the following threat:
--> '''Reigns:''' Randy Orton, bring your ass out here and let me break your jaw with the symbol of excellence. ''[gestures to his right fist]''
* MegatonPunch: Roman Reigns' Superman Punch.
* MessyHair: Ambrose's hair matches his personality.
* MilitaryAlphabet: Their entrance theme begins with radio chatter spelling out "Shield" in the NATO Military Alphabet.
* MotiveDecay: After they won their titles (Reigns/Rollins as Tag Team Champions, and Ambrose as United States Champion), they started preaching about "justice" less and less. After a year, they'd basically abandoned all pretense and simply just beat the crap out of whoever they don't like.
** Subverted following their face turn, they have now begun taking Triple H and the Authority to the task for their flagrant abuses of power throughout the past year.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain:
** Thanks to The Shield attacking [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] and Wrestling/{{Kane}}, the two actually started to get along. In addition, Daniel Bryan [[TookALevelInBadass took a]] '''[[TookALevelInBadass massive level in badass]]''' - enough to get the attention of Wrestling/JohnCena, who named him number one contender for the WWE Championship... Bryan would then go on to '''defeat John Cena for the WWE Championship!'''
** In the 2014 Royal Rumble, all three members managed to get in the ring at the same time, with the assumed plan that they would save themselves for last, with no strong feelings against whomever won. And with the three of them together, that plan was practically guaranteed. Unfortunately, Ambrose is kind of a dick (and also mentally unstable), and he tried to eliminate Reigns far sooner. Not only did this screw the entire team out of winning (especially since Reigns eliminated the two other members in retaliation), it also easily planted the biggest seed of discord amongst the group. Dean Ambrose may very well have brought about the end of The Shield himself.
** For a while things were looking very much on their way there, what with the tension between Reigns and Ambrose boiling over with each passing week even during their budding war of CoolVersusAwesome with Wrestling/TheWyattFamily. But then [[TheHeart Seth Rollins]] became increasingly tired of pulling them together and walked out on them in the middle of the second of two six-man tags between the trios, forcing them to confront him so he could air his frustrations and physically get everything out of the three's system. The result: what didn't kill the Shield only made them stronger than ever…with their justice [[MookFaceTurn redirected towards those who tried to use them blatantly with no proper cause but for power]].
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: This is pretty much their hat. Not only do they do it often, they're actually better at it than your average "Pack of wolves" heel group who just jumps unsuspecting wrestlers from behind and uses its numbers advantage to serve up the beatdown. See DangerouslyGenreSavvy above.
* NoodleIncident: We never did find out what happened to Dean Ambrose at the 2014 Elimination Chamber PPV.
* NoSneakAttacks: Almost every time The Shield shows up to kick some ass, there's a clear warning of their arrival (see OhCrap below). This leads to the commentators pleading with the soon-to-be victims to ''just run'' (or at least grab a weapon-- see HonorBeforeReason above) when the music blasts trough the arena speakers.
* OhCrap:
** You've just finished a match, your music is playing, you're feeling pretty good about yourself.....'''SIERRA. HOTEL. INDIA. ECHO. LIMA. DELTA. SHIELD.''' Cue three guys in combat vests handing you your ass.
** The Shield themselves had this reaction on the September 23, 2013 RAW, where Triple H put them in a match against Wrestling/KofiKingston, Wrestling/RobVanDam, Wrestling/TheUsos, Wrestling/PrimeTimePlayers, Wrestling/DolphZiggler, Wrestling/ZackRyder, [[Wrestling/RonKillings R-Truth]], Wrestling/JustinGabriel... [[LongList *gasp*]]... and Daniel Bryan... and then again when one of the Usos hit the [[Wrestling/JimmySnuka Superfly]] [[FinishingMove Splash]] on Reigns and pinned him for the very first time in WWE.
** The February 10, 2014 episode of RAW saw Ambrose claiming that the reason nobody was challenging him for his title was, simply put, because no one had the guts. This spurs him to issue an open challenge to the locker room later that night. Cue chanting and hip-hop beat... yep. It's Wrestling/MarkHenry.
** Ambrose's reaction to Rollins turning on them.
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: They seemed to have been hired by Wrestling/PaulHeyman to aid Punk, and when Punk's title reign was over, they pretty much went back to doing whatever they damn well pleased.
* PermaStubble: Dean Ambrose sports one.
* ThePowerOfRock: Rollins has been described by commentators as a heavy metal fan, Rollins' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVtbPyhfZmY NXT entrance]] plays with this trope.
* PseudoCrisis: Vince and Stephanie [=McMahon=] are in the ring and the Shield interrupts them as the show goes to commercial! What will The Shield do to the [=McMahons=]? What awesome storyline will start? And...nothing happens. The [=McMahons=] "leave the ring without incident."
* PsychopathicManchild: Dean Ambrose.
* ThePsychoRangers:
** Any group that goes against them turns into this. They portray their opponents as being potentially the three strongest guys they could find (three former world champions in Wrestling/RandyOrton, Wrestling/{{Sheamus}}, and Wrestling/TheBigShow, for example), but they don't have the Shield's united front and usually fall due to their own infighting. Either that, or the fact that The Shield is simply a better trio than any possible three-man combination in WWE, despite not being its three best wrestlers. It's an interesting example of the good guys being the Psycho Rangers instead of the bad guys.
** This might explain why Wrestling/{{Christian}} and the Usos were able to defeat them in their first match with them; the Usos are twin brothers and Christian is one of the tag team greats, giving them the united front most of their opponents lack.
** This dynamic seems to have reversed in their feud with TheWyattFamily. Rowan and Harper are fanatically devoted to Bray Wyatt, while Ambrose and Reigns of the Shield have been somewhat at each other's throats with Rollins trying his best to act as mediator.
** Actually ''lampshaded'' this trope in the buildup to their match with a [[PuttingTheBandBackTogether re-formed Evolution]], noting that, the [[Wrestling/TripleH three]] [[Wrestling/RandyOrton remaining]] [[Wrestling/{{Batista}} members']] egos notwithstanding, their paths had completely separated since the days of their original formation. Trips had become more of a backstage presence and was just recently getting back into ring competition, Batista had dabbled in Hollywood a la early-career Wrestling/DwayneJohnson, and Randy had hit something of a rough patch as far as his record was concerned. Because of this, The Shield contended that Evolution couldn't beat them. They were right.
* TheQuietOne:
** Reigns is this up until he's in a fight. Then he turns into a ScreamingWarrior. The instance below is perhaps the most glaring.
---> '''Reigns:''' ''[before preparing to put an opponent through an announcer's table at ringside]'' '''GET UP, FOOLS! THIS IS MY TABLE NOW!'''
** He even established his status as such during the interview with The Shield conducted by Michael Cole. Rollins and Ambrose did quite literally all of the talking, until:
--->'''Cole:''' Roman... I'd love to get your take on all this.
--->'''Reigns:''' (in an eerily calm voice for someone of his stature) When I wanna say something... I'll say it.
* RageQuit: A team-wide version - if a member (or members) of the team is getting knocked around and looks to be losing the match, the others who aren't participating will often attack, resulting in a DQ win for the opponent, rather than letting their teammate(s) submit or get pinned clean. And then it's usually at that point that the NoHoldsBarredBeatdown starts.
** On the March 3, 2014 episode of Raw, Seth Rollins grows frustrated with Reigns and Ambrose's constant bickering and miscommunication, and walks out on them during a match with The Wyatt Family, leaving Reigns and Ambrose to get hammered.
* RammingAlwaysWorks: Reigns uses the Spear to ''devastating'' effect.
** IKnowMaddenKombat: Occasionally, you'll see Reigns take off from a three-point stance when he uses the move. Reigns has a [[UsefulNote/AmericanFootball collegiate and Canadian football background as a defensive lineman]], which is one of the positions where the three-point stance is most often utilized. Compare Reigns' Spear with any available videos of a good football form tackle.
* RedBaron: Michael Cole has dubbed the group "The Hounds of Justice," which WWE later ran with in their merchandising (see the page image above). He's also dubbed Seth Rollins "The Architect," Roman Reigns "The Powerhouse," and Dean Ambrose "The Lunatic Fringe."
* TheRival: The fans [[CoolVersusAwesome got to enjoy]] a long feud between the Shield and Wrestling/TheWyattFamily, and even when the feud proper was over, this matchup was revisited ''several'' more times, usually with very entertaining results.
* ShipTease: Since turning face, Reigns and Ambrose seem to have this dynamic with Renee Young whenever she interviews them—especially Ambrose.
** RomanceOnTheSet: Based on pictures that have shown up on the internet, Ambrose and Young may be actually dating.
* ShoutOut: In addition to the Reigns' Superman Punch referencing, well, Franchise/{{Superman}} with its name he's stated that he got the idea from ''Film/{{Troy}}''.
* SignatureMove:
** Their triple-assist powerbomb. And if there happens to be a table around, rest assured the victim's going straight through it.
** In addition, it's pretty much a given that Roman Reigns will hit a Spear on '''someone''' during one of their beat downs. And if given the chance, he will not hesitate to Spear '''''every single opponent''''' during one of their matches. He's also adopted the use of a MMA-style superman punch as well as a spot that sees him use a flying front dropkick to the head of an opponent draped over the bottom rope.
* SlipknotPonytail: Initially, Reigns and Rollins would both have their hair tied. The former would keeps his hair down a couple months after their debut and the latter would invoke this trope before keeping his hair nearly a year later.
* SmugSnake: Reigns on ''[[Wrestling/{{WWENXT}} NXT]]''.
* SoreLoser:
** As shown on April 26, 2013 on SmackDown, if one of the group was to lose, the rest would attack the winner together. See also RageQuit above.
** Subverted at times, as the same thing happens when one of the group wins.
* SpamAttack: If The Shield are involved in a match with multiple opponents, Roman Reigns will resort to this with his Spear if necessary. Taken UpToEleven with his dominant show of force in his Traditional Survivor Series match debut in 2013.
* StalkerWithACrush: Rollins [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg2dIyKkAsw originally]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v1w9dS5kSc had one]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XHnJOSZceU in]] Wrestling/{{Paige}}, but it got dropped after a couple of weeks.
* SuicideAttack: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed by Roman Reigns]], who won't think twice about Spearing an opponent through the barricade at ringside, which sometimes keeps Reigns himself down as long as the victim.
* TookALevelInBadass: Roman Reigns. Of course, he was already the most physically imposing member of the trio to begin with, but since he was the least experienced in the ring, Rollins and Ambrose tended to do most of the ring work. Then, right around a year after the Shield debuted, Reigns had improved almost exponentially in the ring, and people also started figuring out that Reigns wasn't just a [[MightyGlacier pure power guy]], but had a mix of power, speed, and agility. Right about then, Reigns went from The Shield's somewhat subservient muscle to a nigh-unstoppable juggernaut whose own teammates are even a bit intimidated by him. He featured heavily at the next two major pay-per-views, eliminating 4 men out of a five-man team at SurvivorSeries by himself, and then topped himself at the RoyalRumble by eliminating '''''12 superstars''''' (breaking a record set by Kane in 2001) and remaining as the final obstacle between Batista and his eventual RoyalRumble win.
* TrueCompanions: Played ''wonderfully'' straight throughout the end of 2013 and into 2014. There was so much tension between Ambrose and Reigns that just about any other team/stable in WWE history would have long since imploded on itself-- [[SubvertedTrope it seemed painfully obvious]] that WWE's creative team was setting up a team-wide split (possibly to turn Roman Reigns face and give him a push). However, thanks to the fact that Seth Rollins is apparently the [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]] of the group (see BatmanGambit above), they actually became ''stronger.'' Also see TeethClenchedTeamwork above.
** Since Rollins' betrayal he's claimed that while Reigns and Ambrose looked at the Shield as a brotherhood and he himself played to that image, the truth is he considered them nothing more than business partners. Oddly enough, Seth Rollins may have just started setting himself up as the new Ultimate Opportunist by deconstructing this very trope.
* UnrelatedBrothers: Inverted with Roman Reigns. As a member of the [[WrestlingFamily Anoa'i clan]], he's RealLife cousins with [[DwayneJohnson The Rock]] as well as Wrestling/TheUsos, with whom The Shield established something of a rivalry, resulting in a period of time where Reigns seemingly couldn't get through a week without being matched against them. Reigns' relationship with the Anoa'i family is never brought up - not even by [[Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield JBL]], who ''[[ShownTheirWork always]]'' [[ShownTheirWork seems to dig up that sort of information.]]
* UnskilledButStrong: Compared to his partner Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns is lacking a bit in grace and finesse [[JustifiedTrope (he's not bad, but he's the least experienced wrestler and it shows at points)]]. But he makes up for it by packing a ''lot'' of power in his punch, and his Spear is by far the most devastating one-man move in The Shield's arsenal.
* UnstoppableRage[=/=]VillainousValour:
** In a traditional five-on-five Survivor Series tag-team elimination match, Reigns and Rollins found themselves at a five-on-two disadvantage (much different than what The Hounds are used to) towards the end of the bout. Two Spears from Roman Reigns take out Jimmy Uso and Cody Rhodes. Rollins' curb stomp ("The Blackout") then eliminates Jey Uso. After Rey Mysterio pins Rollins, Reigns is alone against Rey and Goldust. Two Spears later, Roman Reigns has pinned both men, giving him four of the five eliminations for his team (tying a record for Survivor Series 5-on-5 matches).\\
\\

* VitriolicBestBuds: Downplayed between Reigns and Ambrose, since the tension is glaringly obvious. Calling the two "best buds" would probably be a lie. At some point, Ambrose's admittedly impressive (if not just long) reign as United States Champion massively inflated his ego, to the point that he declared himself the best individual wrestler in The Shield. This is despite the fact that Roman Reigns damn near squashed Wrestling/MarkHenry on the February 17, 2014 edition of Raw, when Ambrose got dominated by the World's Strongest Man the week before. Reigns also has a (tied) Survivor-Series record, and a standalone Royal-Rumble record, to his name (see UnstoppableRage[=/=]VillainousValour above).\\

* WildSamoan: Reigns averts the trope himself in his gimmick, but he is notably the son and nephew of the TropeNamers; his old gimmick in NXT, Leakee, played with it a bit.
* WrestlingFamily: Reigns is part of the massive Anoa'i family of wrestlers, as described above, and is a cousin of the Usos. Save for his use of the Samoan Drop as a signature move however, this has yet to be acknowledged as a part of his current on-air gimmick.
* YouLookFamiliar: Reigns was formerly known as Leakee in FCW.
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: They always have a reason to explain how whatever they did was justified if pressed, even if it comes to acting as the mercenaries they say they are not or screwing someone out of envy.

Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoa'i/Leakee now known as Roman Reigns is a professional wrestler employed by WWE and is a (former?) member of Wrestling/TheShield

Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoa'i/Leakee now known as Roman Reigns is a professional wrestler employed by WWE and is a (former?) member of The Shield