Mind of Michaels: Could The Rock Be Behind The Shield? (Edition #1)

By Chris Michaels

Saturday, December 29th, 2012 I spent my night hanging out with a couple of friends at Buffalo Wild Wings there to see UFC 155 Junior Dos Santos vs Cain Velasquez for the UFC Heavyweight Championship. After enjoying a delicious set of boneless chicken wings smothered in honey BBQ, some mozzarella sticks, and washing it down with a glass of water being in this position before I knew that there were two other people that were big wrestling fans at our table. We talked about the highlights in WWE those obviously being about The Shield and the upcoming Royal Rumble Match, but there was one thing that really caught my attention which is leading me to writing this column today.

Now before I go into detail about what this person said (we will call him, “G”) I just want to say that, yes, it is a little far-fetched, but is the reason why I’m writing about this topic because I want to know what people think about it and even though it sounds unlikely they say the phrase in professional wrestling, “Anything can happen”.

Right after we finished our Royal Rumble predictions, G, caught my attention and said, “Hey, listen, how much do you want to bet that The Rock is the man behind The Shield?” Now after hearing him say that I immediately dismissed the idea of The Rock having anything to do with The Shield, but he continued on, “Just think, The Rock has been wanting CM Punk’s head on a platter since RAW 1000 and what better way to make sure CM Punk is still the WWE Champion when he returns than to having The Shield make sure it happens.”

Now, while I am not the biggest fan of outlandish booking what, G, said did sound reasonable and could happen. Lets just say it did, so would that make The Rock a heel or would that make The Shield faces? While the idea of The Shield being minions of The Rock would be unexpected if they really went that route then WWE would have to do some explaining. Again, lets say they went with this idea, what would be the purpose of attacking stars at random, The Shield claiming they work alone, but most of all siding with one of the biggest injustices of them all; a part time wrestler like The Rock beating the longest reigning champion in 25 years? I am literally spitting these ideas off as they come to my mind.

While there are more negatives to The Shield partnering with The Rock there could be some positives that come out of it. First, being involved with The Rock in anyway would no doubt make the fans looks at The Shield from a different perspective, good or bad, either way it would put The Shield on the map. The Shield could get more heat by, at first, partnering with The Rock, but turning on him at Royal Rumble helping Punk retain. The Shield could also be a fantastic face stable bringing justice to the heels which would no doubt have the crowd salivating over who is the next bad guy to get justice handed to them. As I said while the positive are rather low the negatives out weight the positives.

Personally, heading into the Royal Rumble I believe The Shield will have a big part in how the decision in the WWE Championship match between The Rock and CM Punk is decided. People are already claiming that Rock will defeat Punk, but I am not counting out, “The Longest Reigning Champion of the Modern Era” just yet. It would make perfect booking sense for The Shield to attack Rock and cost him the WWE Championship. Not only does it have Punk go into WrestleMania as WWE Champion (no way he loses it at Elimination Chamber), but it sets up the perfect scenario for Rock to get a rematch on the grandest stage of them all.

I have been enjoying The Shield since they debuted at Survivor Series. You all will hear it first, but when The Shield debuted and I saw; Ambrose, Reigns, and Rollins got pushed to the main roster I nearly cried. WWE are merely introducing these guys to us once they go on their own as single competitors (especially Ambrose and Rollins) these guys will take the WWE Universe by storm (We saw a glimpse of what they have to offer at TLC). While The Shield fights injustice in the WWE Universe it would be an injustice for WWE, the fans, but most of all creative to have to come up with reasonable explanations into why The Rock would side with The Shield and I don’t even believe that’s an injustice Ambrose, Rollins, and Reigns can fix.

I would like to take this time to thank GSM for giving me the opportunity to write for Next Era Wrestling and share my opinions with all of you on such a big platform. I hope all of you enjoy reading my columns as much as I enjoy writing for them for you. I will attempt to write as many of these columns that I can. I tweet constantly about professional wrestling; I tweet during Monday Night RAW and occasionally Impact Wrestling, SmackDown, and PPVs. I also tweet interesting news that I read on the web and my opinions on those topics. So, be sure to follow me on Twitter at @Jesse_Stewart_. I am looking forward to contributing to the IWC.