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Why none of the Shield guys will never reach that mega star status

8K views 89 replies 64 participants last post by  Not Lying 
#1 ·
They have been given the ball for the longest time and have been given opportunity after opportunity to deliver but as things stand they just can't do it, here are some reasons why that is the case:

Generic jobber type entrance/theme
All three have very generic stock themes that do not stand out and their entrances are the same with nothing memorable or iconic to them. Compare with say, Nakamura’s and Balor’s entrance and theme both of which are memorable and encourage the crowd to participate, hell even Zayn’s theme gets the crowd singing along. None of the Shield guys have anything like that.

Lack of crowd involvement in anything they do
They have no chorus or phrases to hook the crowd and with their entrances being as they are they just don’t have anything memorable that really makes them stand out. Nor do they have any sign language like the too sweet of Balor/Styles (for example). No phrases like an Austin or Rock had, it is like they are just…there.

None of them really excel on the mic
Ambrose has his hits but he is very inconsistent to really reach any level of greatness. Seth is passable at best and Roman is just terrible. None of them really have the skill to go out there and really work a crowd with their mic skills. They have had all the time to do that and have fallen flat.

None of them really excel when it comes to telling a story in the ring that gets the crowd invested
Seth may have the technical skill but he doesn’t brings much else to his matches, no story, no big fight feel, he hardly gets the crowd invested. Ambrose is just sloppy overall and also fails to get the crowd invested. Roman manages to have the crowd somewhat invested but his matches are so formulaic and his ring work mediocre. In the end none of them really have what it takes to really hype a crowd during their matches (compare Owens vs Zayn, Styles vs Cena, for example).

In the end, I think the Shield guys will never reach that mega star status due to the above, none of them are draws nor are likely to make any impact in popular culture. And I don’t think it can be blamed on booking or creative, they have had a lot of time in the spotlight and main eventing and by this point they should have already stablished their characters and stood out if they were to be any sort of mega stars. People like Balor, Styles and Nakamura are already a bigger deal and more iconic than any of them and they have done this in less time within WWE.

This being the case it doesn’t surprises me that they choose to have Balor beat clean both Roman and Seth to become the first Universal champion and no doubt have plans to have Styles beat Ambrose for the belt soon. They are realizing the Shield guys have failed to reach their potential and are moving on to different talent.
 
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#9 ·
WWE:

- Has Rollins getting beaten every week as champ, even by his own entourage, and his highest priority feud was over a statue.

- Has Reigns come back from injury to talk about fairytales, puts him over the biggest fan favorite since the Rock, books him the most detestable way possible, finally gets it right 11 months later, then kill it with the stupidest main event storyline in recent years.

- Has Ambrose being used as enhancement talent for nearly 2 years, involved in silly angles involving exploding TV's, hot dog carts, etc. Only has 6 PPV wins in 2 years.


People: "You can't blame creative."

:kobefacepalm
 
#16 ·
WWE:

- Has Rollins getting beaten every week as champ, even by his own entourage, and his highest priority feud was over a statue.

- Has Reigns come back from injury to talk about fairytales, puts him over the biggest fan favorite since the Rock, books him the most detestable way possible, finally gets it right 11 months later, then kill it with the stupidest main event storyline in recent years.

- Has Ambrose being used as enhancement talent for nearly 2 years, involved in silly angles involving exploding TV's, hot dog carts, etc. Only has 6 PPV wins in 2 years.


People: "You can't blame creative."

Post of the week
 
#8 · (Edited)
None of them are great, they all have one big positive but its outweighed by negatives. Rollins is fantastic in the ring for the most part but he has no psycology in the ring. And he's dull as dishwater, no charisma, no it factor, average mic work, no matter how hard he's pushed he doesn't feel like a big deal main eventer because he's so boring. Ambrose is charismatic and good on the mic but he looks like a goofball and is average in the ring. Reigns is charismatic and brings a big fight main eventer feeling to everything he does, but he's not great at anything. If you could combine them into one wrestler he wold be great, as three separate wrestlers they're all mediocre.

Problem is WWE dont really give a crap, Rollins and Reigns especially are going to be shoved down our throats for the next decade, treated like God tier Main Eventers but never really living up to the billing. Reigns can fit the badass destroyer bill when hes booked right but WWE really need to stop pretending Rollins is a Jericho/Angle/Punk level all round great when he's more of a Lance Storm than he is a Chris Jericho.
 
#46 · (Edited)
I completely agree with almost everything from OP. As the Shield I thought these guys had potential but once they broke up it became pretty obvious very quick that they had alot of flaws as individuals that need to be worked out. Maybe in a couple more years we'll all be thinking differently. Or maybe they are as good as performers as they will ever be.

They all have one thing in common. On any given night they can have a stand-out performance. Which is great. But the problem is, they haven't been capable of having that night in and night out. NO CONSISTENCY!!! One week they can really leave an impression and have you looking forward to what they'll do next week. Then that next week comes and they bore you to tears whether it be from watching a match or with promos. One week the fans are feeling enthusiastic and the next they leave them feeling apathetic.

But, this is also where creative comes in and what I disagree with OP on. The Shield members are all slotted in the wrong roles.

Reigns should be a mega heel taking a huge dump on the smarks every chance he gets.
Rollins should be a face that everyone thought was gonna be left behind after the break-up but then turned out to be the star nobody saw coming.
Ambrose should be that tweener who's an unhinged psycho and you don't know where his allegiance lies. Not some G-rated lunatic fringe crap.

If they were playing the roles that they were best suited for at the moment maybe they would excel. I may have reservations on whether any of the 3 could truly be that next megastar but I can't ignore that creative has done them no favors along the way.
 
#2 ·
For the most part, I agree with you, but I do think Ambrose has tons of charisma on the mic and I think Seth is good. A whole lot better than when he started in the E, and better than his indie days.

But for the most part, I do agree with you in terms of crowd participation and the like. I also couldn't really tell you their themes, which is weird.
 
#12 ·
Reigns is really the only guy who can possibly be that star because the guy just looks like a superhero, and he is no slouch in the ring either.

Rollins is good in the ring and good on the mic, but I dunno. Hes just so bleh. The way you described it is perfect. He doesn't have the it factor, the kind of charisma that makes you stand up and take notice.

Ambrose is good on the mic but on his bad days is absolutely atrocious in the ring, which is a big problem if you are at the top of the card because if the crowd are falling asleep during your main event matches, its certainly not good.
 
#30 ·
I don't know, I felt like Ambrose was on his way to becoming huge in 2014 there was even a point where he was getting people back into the product (me included) but then they pretty much ruined him. Now in 2016 they've salvaged him he's the champ but even as champ the booking isn't completely there. What I mean by that is, how Rollins & Reigns have had chances that the show revolved around them Ambrose hasn't really gotten that chance. Him as a heel may be the way to go.

Rollins he was sh*t in 2015, booking wise, promo wise etc. His injury built sympathy for him and when he came back it was time for him to be a face now I'm not saying him as a babyface would've catapulted him into being a big star but it was worth a shot. In fact it's way better than how he is right now, if he continues these losses maybe that's what they're building too. Rollins as a face won't guranteed make him a star but it's worth a huge try because this sh*t as a heel is failing.

Reigns he's got what it takes to be a star he's had flashes of brilliance but the problem is, we don't want him the way he is right now. He shouldn't be a guy that's telling jokes, he shouldn't be a guy that has extended promos he needs to be an arrive-kickass-leave type of guy. Simple as that, whether that's as a heel, tweener whatever.

And I do agree on the entrance. They just really don't have a presence during their entrances aside from Reigns. When Austin walked down to the ring it wasn't flash or glamour but it was the conviction and badassery he walked with. Reigns has presence but he doesn't walk with conviction. Ambrose's has a badass feel to his entrance but it's missing something maybe his theme same for Rollins.
 
#5 ·
WWE will do their utmost to make Reigns into a megastar, that's been made abundantly clear. They've definitely shown love for Rollins and Ambrose too.

End of the day, it's hard to reach that level of becoming a megastar in WWE anymore, because of the problems with the WWE's style of booking, character, storyline etc. While i admit that these guys perhaps don't have the appeal of guys like Undertaker, Rock, Austin and such, i think they all have a fair shot at becoming big names for different reasons. Again, it won't be as easy because of reasons already mentioned, as well as pro wrestling not being quite as appealing as it once was, but i don't think there's any two ways about it, in the future when you look back at this era, whatever you want to call it, Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose are likely to be some of, if not the, first names that will pop into your head, because they still rank among the most popular guys on the roster right now, and that can only be a good thing for them.

Will they become big, branching out megastars like Rock? Probably not, will they be remembered as stars? At this rate, it's virtually guaranteed.
 
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#6 ·
I think Dean has the most potential of the three, but it would require him to get much more interesting booking and be able to turn up his intensity and edge a lot, probably beyond what the WWE is comfortable with in its current state. Roman has the look but his booking has been crap too (should have gotten a heel run first) and he just hasnt really got the skills in other areas. Seth is the best all rounder but I just think theres something missing, he doesnt exude any real star quality/aura to me even though he is pretty good in most areas.
 
#28 ·
It is true, none of these guys has next-level charisma in any way. Rollins/Ambrose both come across as guys who could be good-great 1B's to a 1A guy. Reigns is a midcarder. Bottom line, none of them are superstars. The "generic" aspect of them that OP points out is very true. Like when their music hits it's just like...okay...here comes ___. There's nothing 'special' there.

But they are where WWE has invested for the last 5 years, so this is what you get.
 
#29 ·
Shield Roman Reign was destined to be a megastar, he was rising fast, the silent badass ass kicker was rising fast, until they screwed up. He could have been a modern Goldberg.

Rollins will never be a megastar, but he could be a big, big babyface with correct presentation.

Ambrose has the charisma and the mic skills, but he is screwed up in the PG era, could have been easily a megastar during the AE.
 
#34 ·
The reason they won't reach mega star status is because wrestling isn't a huge staple in modern day culture and booking.

All the biggest mega stars in the history of wrestling were mega stars due to the way wrestling was in popular culture, their charisma and booking. I think Ambrose could have been HUGE in a different era, throughout the 90s with the likes of ECW and it's grunge style of wrestling and then WWE where they were edgy and pushing the envelope a lot more, his charisma would really have shone through.

Jury is actually out on the other two. I think Reigns during the 80s may have been a huge star if he had the same booking as Hogan, but Hogans charisma is unreal and unmatched and maybe that's where Reigns would fall short. Rollins could have been a great sort of Macho Man style type in the 80s with his flash ring style but I wouldn't consider that mega star status. Rollins may have been HBK status in the 90s but also again, falls short of mega star status.

It's hard to say, I think you'd find it hard for any superstar in the modern era of wrestling become a mega star. I mean John Cena, who's been on top for over 10 years, insane amount of charisma and booked like a champion for that period of time, couldn't even make it to mega star status and ALOT of that is down to where wrestling falls on the social ladder.
 
#47 ·
The one thing that I can agree with is the fact that WWE is infamous for undercutting their guys, it's happened for years. I can go back to '96 when Vader was well respected and very over as a monster heel, and he was wasted. Kane when he debuted as a monster, was a mid-carder in 3 months. Fast forward to today, and look at Rusev and Bray who continue to get themselves over. WWE takes advantage of them, thinking they will remain relevant and keep jobbing them, as opposed to pushing them properly.
 
#48 ·
There are no megastars today.
 
#24 ·
Rollins and Ambrose are more than passable on the mic, I find both to be very good. Roman on the other hand isn't terrible, but he just isn't very interesting either. All 3 of them lack in ring psychology, and being able to tell a proper story in the ring. Its going to take a lot of improvement from all 3 if they ever want to become bigger stars, I personally think Rollins has the most potential out of the 3.
 
#35 ·
You make a compelling argument on some fronts (the generic theme songs in particular bothers the absolute hell out of me considering these are supposedly their top guys for the next decade.) I don't think either of them have put it together. They've all come close once upon a time. Dean in July - August 2014 (he should have been the one to enter through the crowd.) Seth upon his return from injury (should have gradually transitioned into a face and returned with a new theme.) Reigns after winning the belt from Sheamus. Each guy has their strength but I don't see any of them being the mega star the company needs one or two of them to become. There isn't a Rock, Austin or Cena amongst them.


Whomever the next "top guy" will be, it won't be either if the Shield trio. They're still going to be heavily pushed and a big cornerstone but yeah. Neither of these three are "the guy."
 
#36 ·
I love that the double negative in the thread title actually makes this thread "why all of the Shield members will reach mega star status." The entire thread is off-topic LOL.
 
#39 ·
Wait for Rollins to get a face run. He basically played face in peril in every single great match he had. As long as he isn't made into a cookie-cutter face and keep his edge, he'll absolutely kill it.

All this is on the bookers and WWE, tbh. If you wanted mega stars, you'd double turn Reigns and Rollins right away instead of using them against the crowd's wishes.
 
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