5 subtle hints during the initial Shield run that indicated Roman Reigns' WWE future

The Shield is one of the most dominating factions in WWE. They caused havoc to everything they saw. WWE protected the hounds of justice incredibly well. WWE even went as far as to rate them above legendary factions like New World Order, D Generation X, Four Horsemen, and Evolution. One of the most important characteristics Shield showcased was it being a faction of three equal brothers. There were no leaders or subordinates in the shield.

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However, if one looked at every nook and cranny of the initial Shield run, one could find that WWE was protecting Roman Reigns more than Seth Rollins or Dean Ambrose. There were a few hints that showcased WWE's attitude towards the big dog and in this article, we are going to rewind those signs.

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#5 Reigns barely took any pinfall

Shield's first clean loss.

The Shield did not lose many matches. But whenever they lost, WWE made sure that Roman Reigns never took the pin. Shield's first clean loss came at the hands of Team Hell No and Randy Orton on June 14th episode of SmackDown, where Seth Rollins tapped out to Daniel Bryan's yes lock.

In subsequent weeks, Dean Ambrose also got pinned. But it took an 11 on 3 handicap elimination match for Reigns to be pinned for the first time in his WWE career.

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#4 Reigns never tapped out

Dean Ambrose tapping out to Hell's gate.

As mentioned earlier, Shield got their first loss when Seth Rollins tapped out to Yes locks. A few weeks later, Dean Ambrose had a match against the Undertaker, where the Undertaker won by applying the Hell's gate and the lunatic fringe tapped out immediately.

However, Reigns is yet to officially tap out in his WWE career. He has lost some matches by passing out, but the big never escaped a tough submission spot by tapping out. Not tapping out is one of the biggest signs of the face of the company. Hogan, Austin, and Cena barely tapped out ever since they were elevated to the main event scene.

#3 Reigns is the only Shield member to pin CM Punk in a singles match

Even though he lost his matches against The Rock, Undertaker and Brock Lesnar, CM Punk was still a well-protected member of the rost. He even has a win over Shield in a 3 on 1 handicap match. Only the creamy layer of superstars could beat Punk.

Neither Seth Rollins nor Dean Ambrose could pin CM Punk. But during an old-school episode of RAW, Punk was pitted against Roman in a singles match. Punk was distracted by Dean Ambrose, allowing Roman to hit the spear and pin the voice of the voiceless.

#2 His Survivor Series record

During 2013 Survivor Series, Shield and the Real Americans were scheduled to battle the team of The Usos, Rhodes brothers and Rey Mysterio in a traditional survivor series elimination match.

Roman Reigns pinned four of his five opponents in that match - Jimmy Uso, Cody Rhodes, Goldust, and Rey Mysterio. Only Aja Kong achieved this feat before in 1995 when she pinned all four of her opponents.

#1 His Royal Rumble record

The Shield made its Royal Rumble debut in 2014. Seth Rollins was the second, Dean Ambrose was the eleventh and Roman Reigns was the fifteenth entrant. Both Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose could make only 3 eliminations each.

However, Roman Reigns made 12 eliminations and broke Kane's 13-year-old record of 11 eliminations at 2001 Royal Rumble. This is still a record in a traditional Royal Rumble match. Reigns was finally eliminated by the subsequent winner Batista, but WWE's decision to have him run through the entire roster including his shield brothers was an indication of how the company positioned Reigns at that time.