5 Years Ago: Rollins betrays The Shield

[Deleted]

[Captain Stud Muffin (BLM)]

That was 5 years ago damn

It's crazy to think those guys became the present and the future of the company on their rise

[riseofsetian1981]

Jun 2, 2019 0:17:52 GMT -5 @kn said:

Wow. Time flies. Hard to believe it's been five years already.

[Deleted]

It is incredible how that was five years ago and the only meaningful change to the company as a whole in the meantime has been ditching the Supershow format to go back to the brand split... only to now be in the process of basically going back to the Supershow via the Wildcard nonsense.

[Deleted]

Loved this.

HATED The Ambrose turn though.

I’m glad all three got a run with the title.

[riseofsetian1981]

Jun 2, 2019 2:10:47 GMT -5 @negan said:

Loved this.

HATED The Ambrose turn though.

I’m glad all three got a run with the title.

Ambrose turn could've and should've been great if handled properly. Judging by from what I read, giving him a gimmick of an ultimate germaphobe and resorting to "YOU PEOPLE" killed any kind of momentum it was supposed to have in the long run. The whole feud just seemed all over the place and didn't make sense.

Hence why they need better writers that can properly showcase character depth in the programs. Rollins should be a likeable babyface, showed remorse for what he did, and accept that he literally had no real logical reason to be angry at Ambrose since he betrayed The Shield first. They could've successfully created a Bret/Owen like scenario where Rollins refuses to fight Ambrose despite constantly getting brutalized, that is until maybe Ambrose attacks Reigns, and thus it pushes Rollins over the edge into getting some measure of revenge.

[Deleted]

[Prince Petty]

Ambrose's reaction to Seth betraying them was top notch. The perfect emotional beat to hit. And his promo the next night was excellent. But it was all downhill from there, and Seth was never believable as a "chosen guy".

[chazraps]

This mean the five year anniversary of Bluetista?

[chazraps]

Seriously though, what a great choice. This gave Rollins a cemented identity that Reigns and Ambrose already had and created a stellar dynamic.

INTERESTING NOTE: On Ambrose merchandise that mentioned "Ambrose Asylum Member" or any sort of numbering, the number is always #060214, which is the above date that Rollins turned on the Shield.

[Deleted]

Loved it as they'd been teasing a split with Seth as the voice of reason getting frustrated at Ambrose's resentment of Reigns so an example of a swerve working, Ambrose's facial expression was great as was his raw anger on the follow up promo.

But in hindsight Cole and JBL's quivering lips reaction to it hasn't aged well. We needed JR for that, screaming with righteous disgust "BAH GAWD SETH NO! THOSE MEN ARE YOUR BROTHERS! DON'T DO THIS. NO! SETH ROLLINS IS A JUDAS A MAN WHO HAS DESTROYED EVERYTHING HE HAD FOR THE AUTHORITIES PIECES OF SILVER! WHAT A VILE HUMAN BEING BAH GAWD" and so on...

[Heartbreaker]

I was so mad and sad when this happened.

[Germansuplex]

IT STILL HURTS OKAY?

[The Foreigner™: OffSZN]

The guy screaming "NOOOOOOO!" gets me every time

Jun 2, 2019 2:52:24 GMT -5 chazraps said:

This mean the five year anniversary of Bluetista?

Bluetista was at Extreme Rules in May 2014, so we all dun goof'd by forgetting Bluetista.

Extremely late edit: Whoops, Bluetista was at Payback, not Extreme Rules.

[HMARK Center]

Jun 2, 2019 1:55:29 GMT -5 Lizuka #BLM said:

It is incredible how that was five years ago and the only meaningful change to the company as a whole in the meantime has been ditching the Supershow format to go back to the brand split... only to now be in the process of basically going back to the Supershow via the Wildcard nonsense.

Yep, any time there's a thread like this it makes my brain go "Huh, compare 1985 WWF to 1990 WWF, to 1995 WWF, to 2000 WWF..." and it's amazing how much more change there routinely was back then, for good or ill.

Granted, that was back during an era where things as simple as camera technology was progressing with much more dramatic leaps than we get today since we finally arrived at HD, so it could at least look very different after five years, but still.

[Jake, The Jake, Jake]

Jun 2, 2019 4:42:04 GMT -5 @selhurst said:

But in hindsight Cole and JBL's quivering lips reaction to it hasn't aged well. We needed JR for that, screaming with righteous disgust "BAH GAWD SETH NO! THOSE MEN ARE YOUR BROTHERS! DON'T DO THIS. NO! SETH ROLLINS IS A JUDAS A MAN WHO HAS DESTROYED EVERYTHING HE HAD FOR THE AUTHORITIES PIECES OF SILVER! WHAT A VILE HUMAN BEING BAH GAWD" and so on...

You could say that for literally any big heel moment of the last twelve years.

[Spider2024]

[2coldMack is even more baffled]

Jun 2, 2019 2:48:26 GMT -5 Prince Petty said:

Ambrose's reaction to Seth betraying them was top notch. The perfect emotional beat to hit. And his promo the next night was excellent. But it was all downhill from there, and Seth was never believable as a "chosen guy".

I was just coming in to say this. Ambrose's face in that moment of betrayal broke my heart.

[sarkerpolseng]

I was at Raw a week later (The Aftermath). I got to witness his theme for the first time, but had to sit through a brutal interview with Michael Cole.

[rnrk supports BLM]

There's so much that we justifiably roast WWE over that it bears mention when they really do pull off something inspired. I remember the reaction to Rollins' heel turn on here being mostly negative, including from myself. Everyone was expecting it to be Ambrose or Reigns, and the generaly consensus was that Rollins was such a natural babyface that he'd flounder in a role that didn't play to his strengths.

We were wrong. They managed to book villainous Rollins perfectly, and even his dorky Evan Bourne voice just ended up adding to what an insufferable little shit he came across as. At this stage I'd say he's had by far the most successfully post-Shield singles run, compared to his over- and under-utilized teammates.