If you listened to this past week’s episode of Doing the Job (episode 89), then you’ll have heard M2J, Denny and I discuss WWE’s Signature Sounds DVD, which breaks down the top 25 entrance themes in the company’s history. Considering I am a guy who has always loved comprising lists on just about anything (I actually have a list of my top 500 songs ever…like a five, with two zeroes in front of it), I felt it would be a fun little exorcise to do a top 25 of my own here.

There’s no mathematical equation to how I broke this down, but clearly the main factor was the piece of music itself. The wrestler’s character and overall entrance was kept in mind as well in most cases, as was the emotion it elicited upon hearing it. I did not, however, limit it to just Jim Johnston tracks (the guy who writes/composes most of the tracks for the superstars) and included songs from outside/mainstream bands as well. Where it is not obvious what the entrance theme in question is, I will parenthetically specify.

Hopefully you decided to read up until now instead of jumping straight into the list to allow me to give you the disclaimer that this is simply a list of personal favorites, and is a living, breathing thing where, like all music, any track can jump or fall a couple of spots on any given day. Lastly, something like this is clearly subjective, so to quote Rita before our show begins each week, if you have a problem with anything, please write it an email and go f*#% yourself. Enjoy the list.

25. Kane (Slow Chemical)
I really dug Kane’s original music he used during the Attitude Era, but with the evolution of his character, I felt like Finger Eleven’s version really nailed home the unmasked version that came to be.

24. Mr. McMahon
As M2J pointed out on the podcast, this was originally the theme for the Royal Rumble PPV in 1999 (as in, “Austin, you have no chance in hell of winning the Rumble). But No Chance in Hell truly became the backbone of what the Mr. McMahon gimmick was, and could not have been a better choice for him and, at the time, the Corporation.

23. Curtis Axel
Whoa! What the hell is Curtis Axel doing anywhere near ANY top 25 list of, well, anything?? The truth is, Mr. Perfect’s theme is excellent, and, in my opinion, when they remixed and updated the track for his son, it became that much better. Simple as that.

22. CM Punk (This Fire Burns)
I’ve personally never been a fan of Killswitch Engage, but that has nothing to do with this list. Talk about a song that fit a character so perfectly for what CM “my only addiction is competition” Punk was when he came up at the time. Even more so, when you go back and watch Money in the Bank from 2011, I couldn’t think of anything to get that crowd even more riled up than it already was. Rumor has had it that Randy Orton was originally the one who wanted this song before they gave it to Punk, but who knows.

21. Hollywood Hulk Hogan
I mean, it’s Voodoo Child by Jimi Hendrix, come on. The opening to that song is gold, and once it kicks in after a few seconds, you’re totally jamming. Of course, considering the list this falls on, if any Tom, Dick, or Harry came out to this, the song wouldn’t sniff it. But Hogan played it up so well with the boas and all that it became something else.

20. D’Lo Brown
Come on man, you lookin’ at the real deal now. Here’s your receipt! I was just down with this one; sue me.

19. Goldberg
I really don’t know if there’s a more powerful, imposing theme in wrestling. I was never a Goldberg guy, but for real, if you were going to lead an army into war and had to pick one theme, I don’t know how you don’t pick this. Like, if I were in the ring awaiting competition, having no clue who is on the other side of that curtain when I heard this go off, I’d already be crapping bricks. Taking into context the Goldberg character and the fans doing the slow chanting of his name with it, and that totally embodied who he was.

18. Evolution
Not much to say here. It’s just a good song that feels right for the group. It’s nice to be able to hear it again regularly now that the faction has reunited.

17. Randy Orton (Burn in My Light)
Yes, this one, from when he was a younger Orton without all of the ugly tattoos and still had the whole world in front of him. Not the crappy Voices song that embodies everything boring about that later version. To speak further on reading random Orton rumors pertaining to his music, I’ve read that he never actually liked his original song, but that’s too bad, because I did.

16. Christian (Just Close Your Eyes – both Waterproof Blonde and Story of the Year versions)
I was a huge fan of Christian’s theme before he left to waste time in TNA. Not only did he seem to be the only guy who could pull off a female vocalizing his entrance, but it actually fit really well, also. When he came back (to somehow no fanfare whatsoever on WWECW, but that’s a whole other thing) with a more upbeat version by Story of the Year, I was super with it, and still am to this day. Very catchy.

15. Eddie Guerrero (Lie, Cheat, Steal)
Such a smooth track, this is. As mentioned already, there are some themes that embody wrestler’s persona. This one, however, flat out tells you the entire gimmick – he lies, he cheats, he steals. You have to respect that.

14. Triple H (The Game)
Years ago, this would have ranked much higher, and perhaps I’m too low in this because quite frankly, this is a kickass song. But first, I feel like the song is only one part of an overall package of the entrance, and second, I feel like I’ve just seen that entrance way too many times over the years. Still, I don’t know how you put this on before something major you’re about to do and not get pumped.

13. Goldust
Alright, here’s where I have the strange task of acknowledging how great this song is, yet somewhat sort of going against it. I agree, it’s an all-time great. But I feel like over the years the love for this song by fans has taken on a life of its own. It is very, very good. But it’s not top five like so many people feel, I’m sorry.,

12. Shane McMahon
Yes, M2J, Here Comes the Money is up here. Straight up, this song is fun, and like many others on the list, it fit him so well once be broke away from his dad. One of the biggest reasons I’m upset Shane hasn’t been involved with WWE in a while is because I don’t get to regularly hear this song. Smell my cologne, it’s called brand new money…brilliant.

11. John Cena (Basic Thuganomics)
Let’s double up on the hip-hop. This is one of those things that some people think is corny, and others are totally with; there’s generally not much in between. I felt like the lyrics that Cena laid down here were fantastic for what he was trying to accomplish with this theme.

10. Rob Van Dam
Even considering that I rank his theme in the top ten, it’s still a shame that WWE never had the rights to “Walk” by Pantera when RVD came over from ECW, since, aside from it being an awesome song, the crowd interaction was excellent. Still, once they had Breaking Point revamp and add lyrics to his original lifeless WWE theme, I felt like they had a winner on their hands.

9. Hulk Hogan (Real American)
I can picture the “Yeah! Hulk Hogan!” now. Despite my feelings on Hogan, I mean, come on. It’s the most well-known and iconic theme in the history of the business, and rightfully so. You just can’t be in a bad mood when this song is on. It makes me want to no-sell and finger-point all over the place. YOU!!

8. Mr. Ass
There is a lot of people going hell mother-effing-yes right now, and a lot of other people who completely don’t get it. This song had so many levels of amazing that it is indescribable. Plus, it makes me laugh every time. Billy Gunn sure does love butts.

7. Triple H (My Time)
I believe Trips got this song only a month or so after Billy Gunn got that Ass-Man theme. Anyway, I really, really miss this one. I can’t imagine the Triple H that he became having this song, but for the post-DX, hungry Hunter, the ample aggression displayed here really hit the mark. Lots of replayability if you haven’t heard it in a while.

6. The Brood
This theme, much like the entrance that accompanied it, is a total spectacle. I genuinely feel bad for any fans that came along after 1999 that didn’t get to hear this on a regular basis. I also never realized how many other people loved this as much as I did and recognized it as an all-time great until recently. That makes me happy.

5. D-Generation X
This is what got the top spot on WWE’s list. While I don’t put it there, it’s absolutely in the discussion. Denny seemed to have some beef with that on the show but don’t let it fool you; back in the day we were all about that DX life. Say what you will, but the green and black never leaves the bloodstream. Going back to the song itself, one of the greatest moments in any theme is where we get the “Break it down!” You know it’s just on from that point. To me, if you were to give the Attitude Era a theme song, this is it, and it’s not close. That has to mean something.

(I felt it important enough to give the Run DMC version during the McMahon-Helmsley era in 2000 a shout out because that version is super underrated and seems to have been almost forgotten about over the course of time.)

(Bonus footnote: Normally I’d shake my head and say, “typical,” when noticing that Triple H appears in some fashion four times on a top 25 list. But, like…I’m the one making the list. Can I get a Ron Simmons “damn!” please?)

4. Edge
Directly from the get-go, this theme is a complete shot of adrenaline every time, and is the main ingredient in what makes up one the greatest entrances of all-time. It is an absolute energy burst of a track, and it’s about as damn near perfect of a theme for Edge to have had. For whatever it’s worth, my biggest back-and-forth on this list was choosing between this one and…

3. Shawn Michaels
But after all was said and done, this had to be in the top three; it’s just too iconic. It is awesome that he has had this for over two decades now, and the theme has almost become synonymous with great matches. Plus, I’m also partial to the name that the girls are clamoring for before it kicks in.

2. Chris Jericho
Speaking of guys who have had the same music forever, aside from a minor tweak from the first few appearances way back in ’99, Jericho has had the same music throughout his entire tenure with the company. There is no other music I would rather enter a room to, and the opening countdown serves basically as a signal of awesomeness to come. It is my belief that no other theme completes their wrestler’s entire entrance like Break the Walls Down does for Y2J.

1. CM Punk (Cult of Personality)
Honestly, it’s almost unfair. Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality” was already one of my favorite songs ever. Then in 2004, Rockstar put it in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (my third favorite video game of all-time – you can view my list for that here), which only increased my love for the song as it became one of my favorites to catch in the in-game radio. And finally, CM Punk returned from his walking out with the WWE Title in 2011 with this as his theme. I understand that this list is supposed to specifically take wrestling into account, but that’s too many things not to factor in.

Sure, he was gone for way too short when he left with the belt, but I’ll never forget hearing the opening chords and jumping off of my bed, knowing it was going to be Punk coming back on Raw before he came out, remembering that he used it at the end of his Ring of Honor run. The simple sound effect at the beginning is such a great addition, too. Simply put, the theme just fits.

Honorable mentions: The Nexus, Cryme Time, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Lita, Dolph Ziggler, Mankind, and the most difficult cut of all, Muhammad Hassan.

When Hulk Hogan first announced the concept of the Andre the Giant Memorial battle royal for this year’s Wrestlemania on Monday Night Raw a few weeks back, I was intrigued by the likelihood of what, at first glance, was probably going to be a mix of current and former stars fighting it out in honor of the Eighth Wonder of the World. When the names of midcarder after midcarder kept pouring in, I felt a bit dejected that this could be anything more than a simple reason to get these guys on the show and a “throw you a bone” payday for working the biggest event of the year. But as they’ve put energy into building this and the participants in the match (well, at least some of them), I’ve begun to think that this could be something much more important to those involved, and perhaps should garner a little more of our attention.

We will get to the superstars in a moment, but first, let’s talk about the match itself. Unless he misspoke, or Vince made him say it and decides to do an about-face, Michael Cole referred to the match on commentary as a new “tradition”, leading us to believe that this isn’t a one-off event. If it’s not, that could mean that winning it could have some real bearing going forward, and not just act as an excuse to carry around a trophy or earn a big paycheck.

Personally, and I said so on Doing the Job a couple weeks back, I feel like this should sort of serve a similar purpose as the King of the Ring once did; winning the battle royal could deliver a nice push in status for someone on the rise or perhaps even allow for a future title shot. Andre meant a great deal to the business, so winning something in his memory should carry some significance. I do, however, think that having thirty entrants is a bit much every year, but if they cut it to say about ten, made people have to qualify for it, thus tightening up to match itself, we could really have something here. Although it doesn’t replace having a Money in the Bank match at Wrestlemania in terms of the wildness that that match brings, it does however get superstars of the same ilk vying for a similar goal on the card each year. You can’t tell me this is a bad idea. Seriously, who says no to this?

Anyway, let’s bring it back to this year and break down how the participants can affect this match, or more importantly, how this match can affect them. If you look at certain casinos or online sportsbooks, you can find gambling odds for this match, plus the rest of the Wrestlemania card. For the purpose of this article, I am using Bovada’s online odds to analyze the standouts in this match. (You will find these odds in parentheses and they are current at the time of this writing. For those not savvy to how betting odds work, if something is, for example, “2/1”, this means that you win two dollars for every one dollar you bet, “11/4” would net you 11 for every four dollars wagered, and so on and so forth.) There’s a bunch of participants, but I will only list who I think it notable, in order from longest odds to the favorites.

Titus O’Neil  (50/1)
How do you spell darkhorse? T-I-T-U-S! (I swear, that wasn’t meant to be racist). Obviously, he likely won’t win, but I feel the need to point out that he has kinda, sorta been involved when the favorites of the match come out. Out of all the longshots, Titus has the best chance, and definitely the one of this lot that I can see WWE rolling with should they decide to be unpredictable just for the sake of doing so.

Damien Sandow (25/1)
He won Money in the Bank and then they basically did nothing with him after he unsuccessfully cashed in. Maybe a random shot in the dark here, but stranger things have happened. (Editor’s note: Damien Sandow’s odds have fell all the way to 75/1 as of April 3rd.)

Big E (18/1)
Speaking of guys that have been inexplicably buried, they give him the Intercontinental title, made him look unstoppable for a short while…and within a few months, he’s at the point where he can’t beat a ham sandwich (not a Boar’s Head one, at least). Having Big E win at this point would be a little contradictory to their recent booking, but I can’t think of a better way to instantly reverse those decisions than by having him win. In fact, I feel like a good concept for this match, if they were to want to push him again, would have been to make this for his IC title and have him successfully defend it against 29 other guys, gaining massive credibility. But that point is moot now and chances are, he won’t win so it doesn’t really matter.

The Miz (14/1)
Here is where things get interesting. I think that 16/1 odds for The Miz is way too low and if I were betting, I’d throw a few dollars down here. Chances are, a babyface wins this match for the feel good moment, as M2J has pointed out, but if a heel were to win, it almost has to be The Miz, right? He’s been the most outspoken of the heels (hell, probably the most outspoken of anyone in the match, period), so it would make sense to boost him back out of obscurity with a big victory, also allowing him to boast that he would still be undefeated, albeit only 4-0, at Wrestlemania.

Dolph Ziggler (6/1)
See most of what I just wrote for The Miz, but a face version. If you’ve been paying close attention to Michael Cole’s commentary (I never thought that would ever be recommended by anyone, let alone myself), It seems as if Ziggler may finally be getting out of the doghouse and receiving another push, and, like I just said, this is an instant credibility maker.

The Big Show (2/1)
The good: Firstly, the obvious is that it is a tip of the cap to Andre himself, having the memorial in his honor won by the modern day version of him. Also, it’s no secret that Show’s record, and more importantly, his legacy, is downright pitiful at Wrestlemania, so this would finally be a big win for him on the big stage. Finally, and this is the major one in my opinion, a victory here would almost be like a really nice lifetime achievement award for all of the hard work he has put in as a big man over the years; it would be a really cool moment.

The bad: The Big Show wins, none of the younger guys get a push from it, and it goes against everything that I have said this battle royal should represent.

Alexander Rusev (11/4)
Leaving the odds out for a second, I don’t get this at all. First, he hasn’t been announced to even be in this match (and if Daniel Bryan at this year’s Royal Rumble is any indication, just because there is speculation, don’t count on it). Additionally, even if he was in the battle royal, he shouldn’t be in it unless he is winning it, and even so, it doesn’t make sense to waste his debut here; just have him debut the night after Raw in a singles match. Bringing the odds back into play, though, he is the favorite simply because if they put him in the match, you have to believe it’s so they can showcase him winning it, which would be terrible. As Denny and M2J pointed out this past week on the podcast, it will look horrible if/when he becomes a major flop and people look back at Wrestlemania 30 and say, “wait, who the hell was that guy again winning the Andre memorial??”

The pick: Sheamus (6/1)
Here is where my money is going. He is the biggest star on the roster that isn’t in a main match at Wrestlemania. Since returning at the Royal Rumble, he really hasn’t done anything since, aside from defeat Christian 87 weeks in a row (give or take a few weeks), and that’s likely because they already had everything fleshed out going into Mania. You know Sheamus is a guy they want to have towards the top, and as I said earlier, winning this match would be a great shot of credibility for the guys that can really use it. I feel like they want to use that on Sheamus.

The Irishman wins.

Ugh, here comes John Cena again, hogging all the spotlight. There he is, not putting over another up-and-comer. Gee, the guy won another big pay-per-view match, shocking. Oh, five moves of doom time. Same old stuff. Cena, you su-. Hey, wait a minute. It’s 2014. None of these things are particularly true anymore, nor have they been for quite some time. So why is every adult male still booing the man?

Well, the short answer is that by now, it is flat out engrained in people’s minds that when Cena’s music hits and he comes to the ring, it’s time to boo. At this point, the crowd has manipulated itself to acting like nothing more than Pavlov’s Dogs. I also feel it is interesting to note that somewhere along the line in the mid-2000’s, it became fashionable to jeer him as a way to tell Vince McMahon and the WWE that the fans are not mindless drones that will cheer him just because you shove him down our throats and want us to. However, those same people, in fact, have become mindless drones in spite of themselves on the opposite end of the spectrum by getting caught up in their own cause of booing Cena…just because. Face it: booing John Cena has lost all of its meaning.

Granted, it is fair to say that a main frustration the fans have with Cena is that he is the same character that he was nine years ago. Look, I am a huge believer that characters need to evolve in pro wrestling to maintain intrigue, and that staying the same is a death knell to entertainment. I would love to see a heel turn for Cena or perhaps a more edgy babyface character. But people need to realize that by this point, it just isn’t going to happen. I was as big of a Cena hater as any up until a couple of years ago, but you have to learn to get over it and move on. Open your eyes and see the entire body of work he has put together, especially in recent years, and you will realize that the landscape is different, and for the better.

To that point, booing John Cena was used as a signal for wanting change, and regardless of how we got here, that almighty cause has seen its successful end game. In the process, he has torn the house down with wrestlers the caliber of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, while putting them over in order to get them to the top of the WWE hierarchy. Some other recent instant classics with the likes of future stars of the company such as Seth Rollins and Cesaro also come to mind. Add that with a major Wrestlemania match with Bray Wyatt around the corner, and the notion that he is hogging the spotlight while keeping young guys down has certainly become passé.

Hey, even after all is said and done, I still don’t fancy myself a Cena guy. But as a true fan of the WWE and the business as a whole, I feel like you have to respect the performer, at least enough to stop foolishly booing him for what has become no reason at this point. If nothing else, it is clear that he totally “gets it”, apparent by self-deprecating barbs randomly sprinkled throughout his promos. While the dueling “Let’s go Cena!/Cena sucks!” chants have been entertaining over the years , I feel like it has run its course. Besides, wouldn’t it just be more fun to just cheer Cena at this point and see what he could do with a full audience in his favor all of these years later? I think he has earned that right for us to give back, and who knows, maybe he will be better off for it.

At the end of the day, the fact remains that we’ve been giving someone the business that has put on incredible matches, while putting over the guys that we’ve fought so hard in supporting in hopes that one day they would get to the top. It appears to me that at this stage of the game, John Cena is no longer a part of the problem, but part of the solution. Someone that cares just as much about both the present and future of the company as we do. I don’t know about you, but this sounds like someone that I can get behind.

Before I get into the topic at hand, I want to give my apologies for the lengthy period of time between this post and my last. When I first joined the Doing the Job crew, my intent was to write something weekly and later discuss it on the show (mainly because I write significantly better than I speak, and M2J and Denny can talk circles around me in the podcast realm). But you know how it goes: things such as work, a girlfriend, friends, random other hobbies, actually watching the product, and the pod diddly itself get in the way of writing anything good. And kind of like CM Punk, if I don’t think my performance is at its best, I’m just going to go home. But the fact is, as much as I love doing the podcast, I really miss the writing.

So with that being said, I think it’s time for me to quit the show and focus on writing full-time. Just kidding. I’d miss Matt’s marking over Hogan, Denny’s failure at not cursing, and conversations about Rita from Podgods too much. But it is time for me to get back into my comfort zone and start putting words back onto your screen, so that’s what I’m here for today. So sit back, relax, and throw on some of M2J’s favorite Mike Tenay smooth jazz while I ease us back into things. More specifically, let’s talk about Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns: the three men that make up The Shield.

Now, I’m certainly not claiming that they’ve gotten lost in the shuffle, but between the rise of Daniel Bryan, CM Punk quitting, the polarizing return of Batista, Randy Orton’s title reign, the Authority’s power trip, the Wyatt Family taking the next step, and the mere ever-presence of John Cena, it can be easy to underestimate and forget just how consistently incredible The Shield have been over the past year-plus. They have been as dependable as it gets in terms of quality in the ring and attention to detail out of it. Simply put, they just “get it”. Personally speaking, they’re my favorite part of the show, Bryan and Punk included, to the point where I am ready to rank them as my number two stable of all-time (I was too much of a mark for DX in ’98 and ’99 to give them that spot, as Denny will attest to).

Having said all that, a breakup of the group has been teased multiple times since the Fall of last year, only to fizzle out as The Shield continued to improve every week. Now, however, the end seems imminent. Unfortunately, it appears that this upcoming pay-per-view match against the Wyatt Family at Elimination Chamber or sometime soon after may very well be their last stand as a group before it all falls apart. I, like many others, expect The Shield to take the loss here due to some selfish miscommunication from Dean Ambrose to the detriment of Roman Reigns, while poor Seth Rollins is caught in the middle.

I feel like this will ultimately lead to a triple threat match between the three to prove who “the man” in the group really is. Because really, aside from that, what else is there for them to do at Wrestlemania XXX? I suppose the ulterior would be a one-on-one match with Reigns against Ambrose, but then where does that leave Rollins? And maybe The Shield do in fact come out on top at Chamber and have a rematch with the Wyatts at Mania so they can get the win back, but if you believe everything you hear (and for their Royal Rumble interference to mean anything), Bray is all but locked in to face John Cena on the big stage.

Regardless of how this all culminates for The Shield, I’m more concerned about where the three individuals go after they wash their hands of each other. At first glance, it seemed that everyone believed, myself included, that Dean Ambrose was the true star of the group, ending up as a main event heel in the company not too far down the road. And while his endpoint might be the same, Roman Reigns has clearly skyrocketed past him in terms of a planned push toward the top (see: Royal Rumble 2014). The only question isn’t how high Reigns will go, but how fast he’ll get there.

My concern, which I touched upon briefly during last week’s podcast, is that there won’t be enough angles and storylines to go around for all three to be involved, in terms of importance, on WWE programming each week. Obviously, all three are extremely talented and can conceivably main event as singles competitors right now, but we know that’s not going to happen, nor should it necessarily. This isn’t like it was in the old days where seemingly everyone on the roster had something important to them going on. Now, we get around three to five actual stories at a time, and then guys like Kofi Kingston, who do come out every week, but to have a match of barely any consequence at all. This is where I am afraid. They have to make angles for three guys, and only about five spots tops to get them in (which is not a great way of maximizing talent, but that’s an article for another day). We might be looking at an odd man out situation here, but I suppose we’ll have to wait and see on that one. For now, let’s break each member down individually, before I give my take on how I would personally utilize The Shield.

Life after The Shield for Roman Reigns

As mentioned, there is no holding Roman Reigns back; his star is rising so high that it might shoot out of orbit. And unlike Denny, who sold the statement that double-R will main event a pay-per-view in 2014 in our little buy or sell gimmick, I think he’s heading toward the top much sooner. He is already too big of a star to hold either the Intercontinental or United States championships, so I feel like he wins a high profile feud with a big heel after his Shield business is over and then maybe, perhaps finds his way into the main event after he becomes super over with the fans. I mean, seriously, the fans are going to go bonkers for this guy when he’s a face. I’d say he is main eventing pay-per-views no later than Survivor Series, if not earlier if he makes it into like a triple threat or four-way match.

Once again though, I have a concern; what if he changes and somehow sucks as a babyface? People really dig Reigns now in his current iteration. This shouldn’t happen, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they put their foot on the brake in terms of his character’s aggressiveness as a good guy, just for the sake of him being more likeable. And he’s talked, by far, the least out of the three members of the group; what if we find out he can’t speak for himself very well? That will certainly limit some of the face charisma he will have on his own. Look, I don’t necessarily think any of these things will happen, I’d give it maybe a twenty percent chance, but I’m certainly not ruling it out either. I really like Reigns a lot and am actually very much looking forward to rooting for him as a face myself, but everyone loving his good guy work is not a complete slam dunk.

Life after The Shield for Dean Ambrose

As stated above, throughout the first half of The Shield’s run I was convinced that he was in line for a top heel role once the group eventually broke up. Now, however, I am a little worried that he toils away on the midcard for a while similar to Damien Sandow, who also once looked destined for a prominent role as recently as a few months ago, at least until they figure out what to do with him. At the moment, that US title is bogging him down, too, so right off the bat he will have to lose to a midcarder just in order to drop it. On the contrary, perhaps dropping that dead weight of a belt will allow creative to propel him into a more featured role with a higher quality face opponent.

Oddly enough, Ambrose is so unique that I can’t picture a realistic, WWE-style one-on-one feud with someone. (Realistic, meaning not some crazy Jon Moxley story an internet mark would armchair book that WWE would never do, like I’ve heard people say many times before.) Because of this, I feel it’s a little while before the company really features him, which I do believe they eventually will, while they try and figure out how to play their cards with his character. He will get there, but it might take a little longer than we had hoped.

Life after the Shield for Seth Rollins

I feel like Rollins’ career path is the most difficult to predict of the three, as he has both a high ceiling and low floor. Additionally, while both Ambrose and Reigns are set in their face/heel roles beyond The Shield, Rollins’ alignment can go either way. The talent is undeniably all there, and he has improved on the mic, although only in a heel role. If you read between the lines, he appears to be on the side of Reigns in any quips with Ambrose, which would lead one to believe he will turn face, the way he likely belongs, after the group is finished. Although it wouldn’t be stunning to see him take a “Reigns is becoming a too big for his britches” approach when the end comes for the Hounds of Justice, either.

Right here is where my theory that there aren’t enough storyline spots to go around comes into play. If he is a face, he’s already got multiple guys ahead of him (John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns, Sheamus, and Batista if he doesn’t turn), which probably means wasting time holding a meaningless midcard title that will only be a tool to placate his character until something better comes along. Or a worst case scenario (gulp), where he is something of a rich man’s Justin Gabriel, playing the exciting face coming out of a heel stable and goes nowhere. Again, like my concerns for his stable mates, I don’t think this happens, but I’m pointing out the possibilities for those that may be a little too optimistic. And like the other two, I think he eventually does “get there,” although his climb to the top might be a little long and arduous.

What should be the future of The Shield?

If it appears that I have much more concerns than hope for the three moving forward as singles wrestlers within WWE, it isn’t because I think they can’t or won’t make it on their own. I think they can and they will, despite taking much different paths. But my solution to a breakup is entirely different than what has been discussed in this article and many others altogether.

My solution is to keep The Shield together.

I get it. If anyone is looking at this with total optimism for each guy and sees Reigns’ star power, Rollins’ athleticism, and Ambrose’s dynamic character, it is easy to claim that they are all ready, that they’ve “graduated,” in a sense, from the stable life. But why tear apart something that works so well for your product? The Shield is excellent, and the three bring a teamwork, both in terms of kayfabe and reality, that is very difficult to come by. In wrestling years, sure, they’ve been around for a while. But that just means that now is the time to switch it up a bit.

To go further, my solution is to turn them babyface. And what better opportunity than now with the crowd in their favor with a rivalry brewing with the heel Wyatts? And after that is done, they could go on for another six months to a year making the rounds taking out the heels to the crowd’s delight. To draw a comparison, think D-Generation X, and how they spent a similar amount of time playing the villain, hit a point where they did all they needed to do in that role, and switched over in what was an even bigger success than anyone could imagine. And hey, if they want to blow their load with Reigns right now, they should keep in mind that spending a bunch of time in stables didn’t hurt The Rock any during his formative years.

Basically speaking, a lengthy good guy run for The Shield could be epic and do absolute wonders for the babyface careers of Rollins and Reigns, while making Ambrose that much more despicable when he ultimately turns his back on his friends.

Regardless of whatever they decide to do with them, I believe that we should take a moment to reflect on what an amazing run these guys have put on for us since November 2012. Because, yes, I do believe in The Shield.

That’s right, Denny and I were doing the job before we were Doing the Job.

It’s called “fact-checking.”