Roman Reigns is in god mode and serving as the hottest star in WWE today. His rise is not surprising, as he is making huge strides every year in some way or the other. The Undisputed WWE Universal Champion breaks records every day and is truly a megastar.
It all started for Reigns at Survivor Series 2012. There he debuted as part of The Shield alongside Dean Ambrose (aka Jon Moxley) and Seth Rollins.
The three accomplished great things together, including Roman winning tag team, Intercontinental and World Championship gold while they were together.
However, The Big Dog could have had another name on the roster if a huge piece of luck had not gone his way. He was not the original choice to team with Ambrose and Rollins in The Shield.
If you can’t remember which former WWE star should have been in the group, read on to find out.
According to CM Punk, the original plan was for Kassius Ohno to replace Roman Reigns as part of The Shield. He revealed that Triple H and Vince McMahon made the call to include The Tribal Chief, which was one of the greatest decisions in pro wrestling history.
“I took the idea to Hunter, I took it to Vince, they agreed. Vince immediately said ‘Who do you have in mind?’ And I said ‘Ambrose, Rollins, Kassius Ono.’ Hunter shot Hero. They wanted Roman Reigns. They came up to me and they said ‘What about Leek (Rance’s name in NXT)?’ I didn’t … It wasn’t my hill to die on. I said ‘sure’ because it made sense to me,” Punk said. [h/t GivemySport]
We are so glad The Game and Vinnie Mack took this opportunity to impress The Tribal Chief. He impressed, because you only have to look at his resume to see how far he’s come.
Roman Reigns on being selected for The Shield
Who knows what Roman Reigns’ career would have been like had he not debuted as part of The Shield? The man is certainly grateful for the support of Triple H and Vince McMahon. Given how the events have panned out since the faction’s debut in 2012, we are too.
“There was a bunch of people from CM Punk, I believe they were there, but I wasn’t one of those people. No, I was handpicked by Triple H and Vince [McMahon].” [h/t GivemySport]
It’s been 10 years since The Shield debuted in WWE. They are undoubtedly one of the greatest WWE factions of all time.