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Monday, June 23, 2014

Warfare: SHIELD vs. EVOLUTION

6/14/2014 10:31:47 AM

http://www.nappyafro.com

Forgive me for posting this quite too late. To be honest with you folks, I never saw a lot of things coming following their another clash at Payback—that Seth Rollins already broke their trio up, leaving the Shield faction to only a tandem of Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns.

But I think WWE in 2014 will never be an epic year (as what Triple H declared on his year-ending mano-a-mano interview with Michael Cole over WWE.com) without their two-battled rivalry—and I am talking about the clash of the three-man factions: SHIELD versus EVOLUTION.

It all started during April 2014, exactly a night after WrestleMania was staged in the Big Easy. Daniel Bryan, the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion, was about to be assaulted in some kind of conspiracy fashion by the Authority (Triple H and Kane) and alongside heels Batista and Randy Orton (also, fellow headliners of WM XXX), when these trio came out of nowhere to neutralize the momentum. Hunter was in the middle of the ring to pacify the upcoming commotion.

But it was the Samoan-raced Reigns who initiated first blood on the rivalry. At the end of April 7 RAW episode, people witnessed the formal turning back of the Shield’s character. The moment only lasted for some time however, as Triple H rebuilt their alliance with Orton and Batista. Thus, Evolution had their second era; and they formally came to life (even if the pioneer Ric Flair was not part of their context anymore) and trashed the Rollins-Reigns-Ambrose union the next time around.

In the succeeding tapings, it was an all-out clash between them, leading into total humiliation for either group. And their formal tip-off was slated on Extreme Rules in New Jersey last May.

The clash, which is a regular three-man tag team match, resulted into a victory for the black vest suited men, after Reigns unleashed a sphere to Batista and set the pinfall on him.

Another insult to injury was during the RAW episode in late April where the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair appear before the Randy Orton-Roman Reigns card, and gave his blessing to the two-year faction. Yes, over his old damn group.

So, the first blood was on the Shield, and it came after a Seth Rollins highlighted jump. Yes, the architect jumped from the stands to destroy the HHH-Orton assault on Ambrose. Lots of “holy shit” chants rocked the iZod center, and several pro wrestling aficionados proclaimed their duel as the “match of the evening” and a potential 2014 “match of the year.”

The feud did not stopped from there however, as Hunter and company continued to ravaged their anger on the Shield once again, prompting a challenge on the latter’s part for Payback.

The second match turned out to be “no hold barred elimination” stipulation, and everything went out of proportion from the start, including another highlight reel from Rollins. As the Evolution was assaulting Reigns, the highflyer leaped from the top portion of one of those screens to neutralize another attack.

The result: Rollins pinned Batista; Ambrose pinned Orton; and Reigns took the pinfall victory at the expense of the WWE COO to set a complete sweep; all that despite a late cheap sphere by the Fil-Greek superstar.

As the (another) result: Batista expressed his total frustration over Hunter, but in a clean manner. After he was told that he could not earn a shot for the WWE World Heavyweight title anew, he uttered “I understand… and I quit.”

So, seems like everything’s short-lived for the man who portrayed Drax the Destroyer, eh? However, the Shield got the shocker of their own after Rollins formally turned his back over his group mates Reigns and Ambrose. Perhaps a lot of people already predicted their breakup, but maybe they did not see it coming in the middle of their rivalry.

Now, what’s next for both squads? The WWE storytellers can only have a hand on that.

Sub-feature: Match of the Year?! #2 — SHIELD vs. EVOLUTION



Author: slickmaster | © 2014 september twenty-eight productions

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