“I Still Feel The Repercussions”: Seth Rollins On The Shield Break Up

Seth Rollins still feels the effects of The Shield‘s breakup.

In one of WWE‘s most memorable moments, Seth Rollins turned on his Shield brethren, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose (now known as AEW’s Jon Moxley), by slamming a chair against each of them, then aligning himself with The Authority. As it turns out, the moment also remains one of the most emotional for WWE fans.

According to Rollins, WWE fans continue to question him about The Shield’s 2014 breakup, even 12 years later. Given that so much has time has passed, he encourages them to move on from it instead.

“There was a lot of tension there [after finding out about The Shield’s split], Rollins told Shannon Sharpe of Club Shay Shay. “It was mostly we found our comfort zone as a trio, and we were really relying on each other. We enjoyed the process, we enjoyed performing together, and we did feel like we had more legs. But at the end of the day, it was one of the most shocking betrayals and shocking moments in the history of our company and our industry. What it set in motion over the last 11, 12 years almost now. It has been a complete paradigm shift in our industry.

“You look at myself, Roman, and Jon Moxley, we’re at the very tippy top. If we had stayed together, it just wouldn’t be possible. So you needed that break. I was super fortunate that I was the one to be the catalyst for that. I still feel the repercussions for that today. Like people still ask me to this day, 12 years later, ‘Why did you break up The Shield?’ These are grown people, because they watched it when they were teenagers. You are grown. You know this stuff ain’t real. Come on now. That hurts you that bad? God.”

In the present day, Rollins and Reigns are multi-time world champions in WWE, with Reigns now set for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania 42. Meanwhile, Jon Moxley reigns as the AEW Continental Champion, with four reigns as AEW World Champion under his belt as well.