REVIEWED: WWE ‘The Shield – Justice for All’ DVD

In late 2017, three superstars with a penchant for delivering their own brand of justice put the band back together, if only for a short while. They were, of course, The Shield, and partly to commemorate their reunion, “The Shield – Justice for All” puts the DVD spotlight on Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose.

Each of those men has a disc dedicated to a selection of their more recent matches, going as far back as March 2015 and ending as recently as April of this year. We also get occasional pre-match thoughts from all three in newly-filmed interviews on particular stages of their career, what certain matches meant to them personally, and of course the odd comment on their Shield “brothers”.

With all that said, let’s get to the action!

BELIEVE IN THE SHIELD! Get the new 3-disc DVD on Amazon.com (USA) or Amazon.co.uk (UK)

 
DISC 1

WWE RAW – March 30, 2015
WWE United States Championship Open Challenge Match
John Cena (C) vs. Dean Ambrose

The first man to answer John Cena’s United States Championship Open Challenge, Ambrose puts forth a strong effort in a hidden gem of a match from RAW the night after WrestleMania 31. Look out for Jerry Lawler joining Byron Saxton on commentary midway through to rescue him from what had been – well, let’s be polite and just say that Byron was struggling on solo commentary that night.

WWE TLC 2015 – December 13, 2015
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Kevin Owens (C) vs. Dean Ambrose

The Intercontinental Championship has undergone a revival over the last few years, but an important step towards this occurred when Ambrose began feuding with Kevin Owens. Their match here from TLC 2015 could have done with a few more minutes, but it’s still a really enjoyable bout which the crowd are well into.

WWE Roadblock 2016 – March 18, 2016
WWE Championship Match
Triple H (C) vs. Dean Ambrose

Should this have been the main event for WrestleMania 32 (with a title change at the finish)? Many believed so at the time, and a lot of fans maintain to this day that this is the match which people really wanted to say. Watch it again and judge for yourself, but I will say that this features one hell of an effort by both men, in front of a hot crowd to boot.

WWE Money In The Bank 2016 – June 19, 2016
Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn vs. Chris Jericho vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Cesaro

The most memorable bumps come from Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn during this one, but it’s the Lunatic Fringe who ends up seizing the briefcase in one of the better MITB matches from the last few years. Of course, Dean’s night wouldn’t be over there, as he would successfully cash in on Seth Rollins to win his first WWE Championship. And that would set up…

WWE Battleground 2016 – July 24, 2016
WWE Championship Triple Threat Match
Dean Ambrose (C) vs. Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns

If you ignore the fact that WWE should have saved this match for a WrestleMania, this three-way is a very good main event, and it sees Ambrose’s popularity and status within WWE at an all-time high. This also takes place as the second Brand Extension is about to come into effect, meaning the stakes are raised with the winner bringing the WWE crown to their home brand. Ambrose’s triumph meant that the belt went to SmackDown, where it has remained ever since.

WWE SmackDown – January 3, 2017
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
The Miz (C) vs. Dean Ambrose

By early 2017, the now-former WWE Champion Ambrose had set his sights on a new foe, The Miz, who was the Intercontinental Champion at the time. They wouldn’t end up having a PPV match until the two men moved to RAW later that year, and yet some would argue that their brief interactions on the blue brand were the highlight of their entire feud. Such as this match from the first SmackDown of the year, which kicks off 2017 with a bang for Ambrose fans.

WWE No Mercy 2017 – September 24, 2017
WWE RAW Tag Team Championship Match
Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose (C) vs. The Bar

The last match of disc one sees Ambrose and Seth Rollins defend their recently-won RAW Tag Team Titles against The Bar. Their SummerSlam match was one of the night’s best encounters, and the same applied to this No Mercy rematch, where the action builds slowly and leads to a storming finale. Of course, one cannot cover this match without mentioning the fact that Cesaro loses his front teeth during the bout, and admirably continues competing while being in absolute agony!

 
DISC 2

WWE Money In The Bank 2016 – June 19, 2016
WWE Championship Match
Roman Reigns (C) vs. Seth Rollins

Seth’s disc opens by bringing us back to MITB 2016, and his WWE Championship contest against Roman Reigns. Due to Rollins still being a heel, and the set-up of the match (Roman plays heel at times, which makes sense given the crowd reactions, but not based on the psychology of their rivalry at the time), this feels like such a long time ago. Of course, Rollins wins his second World Title but, as noted earlier, he wouldn’t leave the arena as WWE Champion.

WWE WrestleMania 33 – April 2, 2017
Seth Rollins vs. Triple H

Next up, it’s Seth vs. Triple H from WrestleMania 33. Some people really enjoyed this match and thought it was one of the best bouts of the night; others found it to be dull, slow and uninteresting. I’m leaning towards the former; it’s no classic, but it is a well-worked match that tells a good story, and the finish definitely pops the large Orlando crowd as Rollins officially extracts full revenge on The Authority.

WWE Survivor Series 2017 – November 19, 2017
Six-Man Tag Team Match
The Shield vs. The New Day

Funnily enough, and even bearing in mind how an illness to Roman hampered The Shield’s reunion, this is the only match on the whole DVD which sees the trio teaming together. It’s a goodie, though, as they make magic with The New Day; it’s a terrific way to kick off the inter-brand Survivor Series, and the action is gripping from the first minute to the last.

WWE RAW – February 19, 2018
Gauntlet Match
Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns, John Cena & Elias

Despite his previous success, 2018 looks set to be the best year of Seth’s career, at least from an in-ring standpoint. The match that really opened people’s eyes to just how damn good Rollins really is (as if we didn’t know already) was the Gauntlet from RAW earlier this year; his contributions to the lengthy contest against Reigns, Cena and Elias are here, and it’s the perfect example of how one can use their performance to increase their standing with the audience, even if they don’t end up having their hand raised at the final bell.

WWE WrestleMania 34 – April 8, 2018
WWE Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat Match
The Miz (C) vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Bálor

Rollins’ great year entered its next stage when he claimed his first Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 34. This three-way against Finn Bálor and The Miz was expected to be little more than a card-filler despite the talent involved, but given plenty of time and due to the smart choice of having it open the ‘Mania show, it ends up being a fantastic match, and the result is in doubt right up until the three-count.

 
DISC 3

WWE Survivor Series 2015 – November 22, 2015
WWE Championship Tournament Final Match
Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose

It’s interesting that we have still yet to see a full-on rivalry between Reigns and Ambrose, over four years on from The Shield splitting. The nearest we have come to such a feud is this tournament final from Survivor Series 2015, a decent match hampered by minimal time being allocated to it. Upon Dean’s return from injury, perhaps a heel turn will set up the much-anticipated Dean vs. Roman feud in late 2018/early 2019?

WWE RAW – December 14, 2015
WWE Championship Match
Sheamus (C) vs. Roman Reigns

Sheamus would end up cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Roman after he won the previous contest, but the two would meet again in this RAW encounter, with Vince McMahon himself on hand for proceedings. In stark contrast to the reception that greeted his Royal Rumble win 11 months earlier in the same city (Philadelphia), fans are thoroughly behind Roman here, and go crazy when he recaptures the WWE Championship. How WWE must wish he could receive such praise if he were to win a top title today.

WWE WrestleMania 32 – April 3, 2016
WWE Championship Match
Triple H (C) vs. Roman Reigns

Indeed, the reaction to this next match – the main event of one of the biggest WrestleManias ever – indicates that WWE has seriously messed up Reigns’ character on more than one occasion. Less than four months on from that Monday night in Philadelphia, the record-breaking crowd in Dallas are more interested in chanting for NXT stars than they were in backing Reigns to defeat Triple H. There’s a pop at the finish, but otherwise it comes across very badly for Reigns’ (latest) big confrontation.

WWE WrestleMania 33 – April 2, 2017
Roman Reigns vs. The Undertaker

Similarly, his WM33 showdown with The Undertaker attracts apathy, partly because it comes at the end of another five-hour marathon card. Taker wasn’t in the best physical condition when this bout took place, which leads to some unfortunate moments of poor execution. It’s not a terrible match, but it’s not a great one either. Post-match, Undertaker has what was assumed to be a retirement ceremony at the time, though this has since been negated by his return to the ring when he defeated John Cena at WrestleMania 34.

WWE No Mercy 2017 – September 24, 2017
Roman Reigns vs. John Cena

Speaking of Cena, he stands opposite Roman for the next match. I enjoyed this clash of WWE’s two most-pushed performers of the last decade, though I still wish (as with the earlier all-Shield three-way) that it had been saved for a WrestleMania. Reigns takes the victory, and it has to be said that Cena hasn’t wrestled that much since then. So, this definitely marks a passing of the torch moment for Roman, at least in terms of his perception on the WWE mountain.

WWE Greatest Royal Rumble 2018 – April 27, 2018
WWE Universal Championship Steel Cage Match
Brock Lesnar (C) vs. Roman Reigns

The ideal finale to this DVD for Reigns fans would be a Universal Championship victory over Brock Lesnar. Unfortunately, Reigns was not victorious at WrestleMania 34, nor at Greatest Royal Rumble, where the last match of the set comes from. This Steel Cage match follows the ‘Mania formula in some respects, but this time Reigns only loses on somewhat controversial circumstances: spearing Lesnar through the mesh fence to the floor, Reigns’ feet hit the mats first, but Brock’s body is first to leave the cage. So, Brock retains, but I’m confident that Reigns will eventually dethrone Lesnar for the red-strapped title, probably at SummerSlam next month.

 

In terms of the in-ring action, “The Shield – Justice for All” is another strong DVD offering from WWE. But I’m just not sure if we really needed another one on The Shield at this point. Perhaps this is to promote a possible second Shield reunion upon Dean Ambrose’s return from injury, which will be sooner rather than later, but otherwise it feels like the wrong time to release such a compilation.

The additional comments from all three members are a nice touch, and there is definitely variety across the three discs, from the opponents to the stipulations. Of course, any fans of the featured performers will definitely get a real kick out of this, and it’s worth checking out for the strong selection of matches on display. But on the whole, there have been and will be more appealing DVD sets from WWE as the year rolls on.

 
Grab your copy of the WWE “THE SHIELD: JUSTICE FOR ALL” DVD…

 
– USA: RIGHT NOW! Get your copy of the new Shield DVD now here on Amazon.com.

– UK/Europe: RIGHT NOW! Get your copy of the new Shield DVD now on Amazon.co.uk.

– Australia: September 19th. Your pre-order opportunity just went live at Madman.com.au.