From the Bowery: Destruction of the Shield (DVD): Disc One

From the Bowery: Destruction of The Shield (DVD): Disc One

-This DVD set hits stores next week, but thanks to Larry I was able to get an advanced copy. I am kind of excited about this one as The Shield was a breath of fresh air in the WWE and while some may think it’s too early for a DVD set, I am sure each guy will get his own down the line.

-We start at SummerSlam 2014 as this does seem to just be the special they ran on the WWE Network about the group. This DVD will basically cover their journey to the SummerSlam.

-Paul Heyman is the first talking head as he calls the Shield a 3 Man Swat team braced for war. Awesome! Triple H calls them 3 stars that all brought something different. Ambrose says the same and Bryan calls Rollins one of the most amazing and fun wrestlers in the world. He says Ambrose brings a grittiness and realness to wrestling that you just don’t say and puts over Reigns as the muscle and the big dude you didn’t want to mess with.

-Reigns says that what set them apart is that they worked so well as a team. Hayes says they carried about an arrogance because they felt they should have arrived on the roster earlier than they did. Rollins says the group enjoyed being the new 4 Horsemen and they were the work horses that carried the show, and they thrived on that.

-They show Rollins winning Money in the Bank, and get some out of character thoughts from him following the match. He says it is something he could only dream about, but he is ready for the pressure.

-We jump back and start from the beginning with Rollins. He says he wanted to be a pro-wrestler since he was 14. He and his friends started back yard wrestling, and that only fueled his desire to become a pro-wrestler. He talks about being there for WrestleMania XXVI (I was there as well) and how that was his first and last Mania as a fan because he knew he had be there as a wrestler and not just a guy who bought a ticket.

-Sami Zayn and Gabe Sapolsky discuss ROH and Rollins start in the promotion. Zayn talks about how Gabe saw something in Seth and put him in a position to succeed. Rollins says he was signed to a 3 year deal and that he knew he had to deliver because of how great the talent was in ROH. Bryan talks about the chemistry they had instantly and that everyone knew Rollins was going to be something special. Rollins says it was the greatest experience he ever had. Gabe brings up how the new owner of ROH wanted a new direction and that didn’t include Seth in those plans.

-Rollins talks about how many days quitting would have been the easy thing, but the love of the business drove him. He kept calling WWE and John Laurinaitis to get a contract and never heard back from them. Finally he called and told them that he had an offer somewhere else (TNA I believe) and that if WWE had anything for him to let him know or he would take the other deal. The next day John calls back and they give him a developmental deal to start in FCW.

-We just over to Ambrose and he tells us he was born in Cincinnati, OH in 1985. He tells people he was raised by wolves and he doesn’t think he was a bad person, but was a good person in a bad place. He became obsessed with wrestling and started collecting and trading tapes like many of us did in the 80s and 90s before YouTube and WWE Network spoiled us all.

-He didn’t know how to start to become a wrestler, but saw a flyer for a school run by Les Thatcher. Les himself shows up as a talking head and says that Ambrose had too much passion at times. Ambrose calls it an old school camp and that he took an ass beating for about a year. He calls it a great time in that he learned something new every day.

-Daniel Bryan puts over Ambrose and discusses how they met for the first time at a show in Ohio where they were booked in the Main Event. They had a great match and it opened up Bryan’s eyes that Ambrose was pretty damn good.

-Ambrose discusses his run in CZW and of course WWE brokered a deal to get some of that footage as well. It was a blood and guts promotion that was run in the old ECW Arena. Cesaro and Zayn put over the drive of Ambrose and we get footage of the crazy shit he did in CZW. He calls it the perfect place for him, but he knew it wasn’t something he could keep doing.

-Next up he joined up with Gabe Sapolsky in Dragon Gate USA and yep, got footage from there as well. In Dragon Gate he got a chance to cut promos and shit was genius. The talking heads put over how polished he was in the ring and on the mic. Following his run in Dragon Gate some of his work was noticed by Joey Mercury who put in a word with John Laurinaitis and once he saw the tape he decided to hire Dean.

-Now we get to Reigns and he talks about his Hall of Famer father, Sika. Heyman says Reigns was born into this business and comes from royalty. He discusses his family ties and we get words from Jey Uso (his cousin) and how they all grew up watching wrestling.

-In a cool bit of trivia they discuss his football career and while showing high school footage we find out that Reigns played middle linebacker while The Usos each played an outside linebacker position. That’s pretty cool actually! They bring in Reigns’ high school coach as a talking head because why wouldn’t them, and Reigns was good enough to get a full scholarship to Georgia Tech. He played on the same team as Lion’s all world WR, Calvin Johnson. I am just in awe of the footage the WWE gets these days as it is a far cry from what we got in their early DVDs.

-Roman went to the CFL and played there for a bit, but it was too far away from his daughter and he made the decision to give up his football dream. He went to a normal 9-5 job for a bit, but then started to train and decided to give pro-wrestling a try. His dad convinced him to go to FCW and learn everything he could. Mercury pops up and says that he told everyone that one day the WWE was going to hook their wagon to Reigns and he would be the next big WWE star. It’s coming people no matter how much the IWC doesn’t think he is ready.

-Back to the present day and they put over the friendship between Dean and Reigns. Roman talks about how Ambrose looks like the “everyman”, but he is far from that. Ambrose says that once he got to FCW he soon realized they had nothing like him there.

-Rollins went to FCW and he had an attitude as he says he knew he was better than everyone there. They talk about how he had an advantage because he came in polished from the independents. Soon he started a rivalry with Dean Ambrose and it was the first time they worked with each other. Rollins calls Ambrose his wrestling soul mate and that it was magic each time they got in the ring. We get FCW footage of their 15-30 minute iron matches and I believe some of them are included on this set. Reigns puts over how great the matches were, and HHH was a fan of them as well.

-FCW was soon rebranded as NXT in August of 2012 and Rollins says that he wanted to be the face of the brand. HHH says that Seth is good and knows he is good, but at same time he felt like he knew everything and it led to some conflict between the two of them. They show footage of Rollins becoming the first ever NXT Champion (included on this set). HHH discusses how Rollins would have moments and then regress. Rollins talks about how he always butted heads with Terry Taylor and Taylor uses an analogy that Rollins spoke French while they spoke English and he wanted everyone to speak his language. That lead to a final one on one with HHH and he was told he needed to change or he was done. Rollins told HHH that he finally got it and would be a changed man.

-Back to Reigns and he was the unknown man in NXT. He was tossed in with the best and he calls Rollins and Ambrose the 2 best in NXT at the time. Heyman says nobody is more coachable than Reigns and puts over how quickly he can pick things up. Hugh Morrus talks about how fast Reigns traveled to the top of NXT and didn’t need to be on the independent scene for 7-8 years.

-Ambrose on the other hand wasn’t getting much traction in NXT. They discuss the angle that was being worked on with Ambrose and Foley to have a match at SummerSlam in 2012. They show Ambrose getting into Mick’s face during WrestleMania weekend and man was that stuff great and I weep to think about the greatness on the mic that we missed out on when that angle was cancelled. HHH and Mick talk about the angle getting killed because Mick couldn’t pass the impact test during his physical.

-Once the Foley angle fell through, Ambrose begged to just be put back on NXT then so he had something to do. HHH talks about how the waiting game is the worst thing and Regal says that he talked things over with Ambrose to keep him sane.

-Finally they got the call to the main roster and Ambrose says they all came into the situation with a us against the world mentality. Seth had to overcome his attitude, Dean his frustration, and Roman not knowing.

-We get to Survivor Series 2012 in Indianapolis, and the 3 are set to make their Main Roster debut. Ambrose discusses how their goal was to protect the WWE Championship (no mention of the guy who was holding that title). Ambrose says they didn’t care what they were given to do as they just wanted anything to get their foot in the door. Each guy talks about their nerves and the thoughts they had waiting to make their debut. We then see all 3 guys rush the ring and beat the piss out of Ryback before hitting the Triple Powerbomb through the announcer’s table.

-We get early Shield promos with the handheld camera and they deny working for anyone other than each other. The make their in ring debut at TLC in a TLC match against Team Hell No and Ryback (thanks to Punk being injured). There were nerves as this wasn’t just a TV match to get their feet wet, but instead they were given a top spot in a signature match.

-The match was fantastic and still may be the best match the trio had as a group (Wyatt match and Evolution match also in the running). They won their debut match and they discuss how they knew they had hit a homerun.

-The group continued to beat the hell out of everyone and Heyman talks about how they were thrust into the main event and they never blinked an eye. They got to put Taker through a table and then hit the powerbomb on The Rock. They had arrived and had the backing of the WWE.

-Their first WrestleMania is in Jersey and they all couldn’t believe they had made it to Mania and it was pretty cool walking through all the fans. Ambrose calls the whole ordeal trippy and he knew they had to be doing well to get into a spot like that.

-Next we get to Extreme Rules with Ambrose winning the US Title, and he calls it a cool deal winning the title in Harley Race country (St Louis). Rollins and Reigns win the Tag Titles the same night and Reigns loved being tag champion because his father had held the same title. He calls it a proud moment for his father.

-Heyman calls wrestling a product driven industry and that the product improved with the rise of The Shield. Rollins calls his and Reigns run with the titles as one of the best in recent memory. Ambrose puts over his reign as US Champion and how he is proud of what he was able to do. He was the longest reigning US Champion since the title became a part of the WWE.

-Now we are up to Survivor Series 2013 and that night the rise of Roman started. The talking heads put over how great Reigns was that night, and how it was the start of something bigger for him. Yes, the WWE started to get behind him and see him as the breakout superstar of the group and that continued at The Royal Rumble when he broke Kane’s elimination record (I was there live for the show). He made it to the final 2 and they talk about how the crowd was solidly behind Reigns. They don’t mention it was only because the crowd hated Batista that much, and as we all know it would be a different story a year later.

-Speaking of Batista that leads us to the Evolution/Shield feud that was a battle of the old guard vs. the new. Kind of sucks they skipped right over the Wyatt feud, but WWE screwed that one up by kind of throwing it away. The Shield got to dominate Evolution like nobody else including winning an elimination match in clean sweep fashion. They discuss how good the matches were, and I would like to mention that for all the crap Batista took for his return, the man put over Bryan clean in the middle of the ring and they had the Shield go over him on PPV twice.

-At their highest after the Evolution feud, The Shield finally breaks as Rollins turns on Reigns and Ambrose. It was shocking at the time as everyone pegged Ambrose or Reigns as the one that would turn. It ended up being a pretty smart decision in the end as Rollins has been killing it in his heel run.

-HHH calls Ambrose the crazy guy that won’t die, Reigns the badass, and Rollins the technician that didn’t sell out, but bought in. Heyman talks about Rollins stepping into the Main Event and Zayn talks about how Rollins is going to be the WWE Champion because that briefcase basically guarantees it.

-Heyman calls Ambrose an ant-hero and the great thing about him is that you have no clue what to expect. Thatcher says Ambrose isn’t playing a character because that is how he really is. Hayes says that last person you want to fight is a guy that doesn’t care if he gets beat up, and that is Ambrose.

-Everyone drools over Reigns and Hayes calls him a model Superstar. Reigns says he doesn’t care about moves and only about reactions. Heyman calls him a future champion and future Hall of Famer. He says the only thing that can stop Reigns is Reigns himself and he doesn’t see that happening.

-Now we are heading to SummerSlam 2012 and Rollins and Ambrose are booked against each other. We got home footage of Rollins training for the match and he talks about keeping yourself accountable. He is big into cross-fit and it trains him for everything and he needs to be ready for the biggest match of his career.

-Over to Ambrose and his training for the match with Rollins. He trains over in a desert in Nevada as he wants to be away from everything. He talks about the competiveness between him and Rollins because neither wants to get left behind. It warms my heart now to see things go back in kayfabe as Ambrose says that Rollins needs to get his ass kicked. Rollins says that he and Ambrose are good friends, but even better enemies. Someone should add that as a tag line to a PPV. All the talking heads put over the chemistry between the two and how expectations are great for them, and yet the WWE saddled them with a lumberjack match.

-While those two feud with each other, Reigns gets fed someone higher on the food chain in Randy Orton. They discuss how it is a battle between two second generation guys. Heyman calls it an interesting matchup because Orton came up as the Legend Killer and now he is the legend being challenged by a younger guy.

-Wow, now we got ESPN SportsNation footage of Reigns helping Michelle Beadle (woo!) beat up some cardboard cutouts of various athletes. That was kind of random, but fun!

-They show some footage of each guy arriving in LA and getting to the arena. They hype the idea that all 3 guys want to show the future is now. Rollins mentions this is his first singles PPV match for the company and he wants to do something special out there with Ambrose. They show each guy warming up before the match and then we get some of the high points from the match (included on the DVD).

-Now onto Reigns vs. Orton and they show Reigns taking an elevator to the upper levels of the arena so he can make his entrance through the crowd. Reigns says his goal was to tear the house down and gives the fans a match they would never forget. Yeah, that didn’t happen as even the highlights don’t make the match all that interesting. Reigns promises to get better each day and take things to a new level.

-The documentary wraps up by putting all three guys over and that their future is bright which means the future of the WWE should be bright. Mercury calls all three guys WrestleMania Main Event guys waiting to happen. Ambrose ends things by saying no matter if they are friends or enemies they are going to own the business.

Special Features

-Dean Ambrose speaks on the FCW rivalry he had with Seth Rollins. He says the title was named for Jack Briscoe and the idea was it would be defended in a 15 minute iron man match each time. He talks about how they took pride it in even thought it was only local access TV in Florida with only 100 people in the building.

FCW 15 Championship: Seth Rollins © vs. Dean Ambrose
FCW TV: August 14, 2011

-Apparently there is no title and instead it is a gold medal which is kind of unique. As mentioned this championship is decided in a 15 minute Iron Man match. A stare down to start and Ambrose talks trash before a collar and elbow. That yields a stale mate as Regal puts over on commentary how this is the first meeting between the two in any promotion. Rollins controls with an arm drag and works the arm. Ambrose pulls hair to gain the advantage, but Rollins gets to his feet each time. Ambrose gets frustrated and decides to slap Rollins in the face. Nice! Rollins gets a slap of his own and the shit is on as they say. They exchange chops in the corner, and they take turns avoiding each other’s moves before Ambrose counters a suicide dive with a forearm. We take a break and come back with 9:49 left in the match. Ambrose stays in control with Japanese strangle hold and gets a two count off that. He hits a charge in the corner, but Rollins counters a second charge by sending Ambrose into the middle buckle. Rollins fires up and hits a slingshot neckbreaker for a near fall. Rollins tunes up the band and hits a running forearm in the corner. The curb stomp follows, but Ambrose is out at two. I am used to that being the finish, so that one kind of caught me off guard. Ambrose hits the floor to catch his breath, but charges back in to meet Rollins. He ends up getting sent right back to the floor and Rollins hits a somersault plancha that leaves both men down. They head back inside the ring and Ambrose is able to kick out at two. A clothesline sends Ambrose to the mat and Rollins hits a flying clothesline for a two count with 5:25 to go in the match. Rollins has a super kick blocked and Ambrose hits a face plant for two. Ambrose seems frustrated by the refs count and tries for the Midnight Special, but Rollins counters and hits a kick for another near fall. We are under four minutes and things are still at a scoreless tie. Rollins heads up top, but Ambrose just punches him in the face to stop that noise. Effective! They fight on top and Ambrose goes dirty as he scratches the back, but a superplex is blocked and Rollins tries a sunset flip powerbomb. That is blocked however, but Rollins is able to land another head kick. We are nearing the 2 minute warning as Rollins hits a top rope rana, but Ambrose rolls through with him to get a roll-up for two. That is reversed by Rollins into his own pin attempt for two and both men just start trading blows in the middle of the ring. Awesome! We are down to 90 seconds and a double clothesline leaves both men down and out. There is only 1 minute left in the match and both men look desperate to get a pin. They struggle to their feet and then just start unloading on each other with right hands, and the bell rings with them still slugging away. The crowd chants for five more minutes, but it’s not happening on this show. After the match Ambrose tosses the medal into the FCW control room near the ring.

Result: Draw @ 15:00
-Fine match with about 3-4 minutes hacked off due to the commercial. You could definitely see that these two had great chemistry with each other. I loved the ending with them forgetting about the pin and just trying to beat the hell out of each other. The crowd’s chants of 5 more minutes would be answered with 2 more matches in the series. ***

-Seth Rollins speaks on the FCW rivalry with Dean Ambrose. Rollins says the title was created by Dusty Rhodes and he thinks the title was made for him. He won the title before Ambrose made his FCW debut and he knew it would be great to start a feud with him. He covers how they had the first match that went to a 15 minute draw and then the rematch went 20 minutes without a winner, so we get a 30 minute match. Rollins says he would put this match against any match in WWE history. Ok that is a mighty big claim, and now I am pretty excited for this one.

FCW 15 Championship: Seth Rollins © vs. Dean Ambrose
FCW TV: Sept 18, 2011

-Rollins has been undefeated since winning the inaugural FCW 15 Championship in January coming into this match. The crowd is firmly behind Rollins and then a small Ambrose chant breaks out to show he has his fans as well. They start slow as you would expect with a feeling out process. Rollins gains an advantage, but Ambrose makes the ropes to break. We have another go as they work off an armbar, but Ambrose hits the floor to escape a super kick. We take a commercial break and come back with 26 minutes left on the clock. Rollins gets an arm drag and goes back to work on the arm as they show Bo Rotundo (Bo Dallas) watching from the crowd. Rollins continues the work on the arm and Ambrose does a hell of a job selling it. He starts to fight back with some chops and gets great sound on them because of the small setting. The action heads to a corner and Ambrose tries for a pin, but can only get a one count. Rollins starts to fire back with chops of his own and he gets Ambrose tied up in the ropes so he chops him over and over again. A basement dropkick sends Ambrose to the floor and the brawl is on down there. They fight back into the ring as the announcers mention that Bo is the FCW Heavyweight Champion and he is joined by GM Maxine and FCW Divas Champion, Aksana. Back inside the ring Ambrose kicks Rollins in the balls to draw a DQ, but the damage is done. Rollins goes up 1-0 with just under 22 minutes to go. Ambrose hits the Midnight Special since Rollins is still searching for his junk (just look on twitter) and that gets him a pin at 20:45 to even things at 1 fall. Ambrose gets another pin at 20:16 to go up 2-1 as it shows giving up 1 fall by DQ was great way to get him 2 falls. I have always liked that spot, and the Ambrose onslaught continues as he hits a sick clothesline before we take another break. We are back with 17 minutes left on the clock and Ambrose is still in control with a submission move working on the back. Ambrose goes to a neck crank as he seemingly wants to work every body part he can. A neckbreaker follows and that gets a two count. The announcers discuss how Rollins has been used to 15 minute matches and he has to go double that this time. Ambrose hits a face plant for two as we hit 15 minutes and if this was a normal title defense then Ambrose would be your new champion right now, but sadly announcers don’t mention that fact. Ambrose is enjoying himself so much he starts dancing in the ring and he tries for another Midnight Special, but Rollins slides out and gets a roll-up for a pin at 13:40 to even things up at 2. Rollins is now fired up and hits a flatliner into the middle buckle. The curb stomp is blocked, but Ambrose ends up getting sent to the floor and Rollins follows with a flipping senton. Things head back into the ring with under 12 minutes to go and Rollins gets a head kick and hits a springboard clothesline for a two count. Great action building in this one! Ambrose avoids the super kick again and tries a suplex to the floor, but Rollins lands on the apron. They fight over that and once back in the ring Ambrose gets the suplex from inside the ring and out to the floor. Damn! We take another beak and are back with 7:55 left on the clock. As we come back each man is fighting off the mat with hay makers as each man looks spent. Ambrose’s crazy man act is tremendous as he smiles with each punch he ends up taking. He gets the best of the punches so Rollins decides to kick him in the head which is pretty damn effective as he gets a two count. I guess that will teach Dean to smile in a match again. A springboard moonsault gets two and Rollins looks rather frustrated. Rollins finally hits the curb stomp, but Ambrose is out after a great near fall. Rollins is now pissed as he is having an internal struggle about whether he can beat Ambrose. He heads up top and misses the corkscrew 450 splash as we hit the 4:00 mark. Ambrose drags himself over for the cover, but Rollins gets his shoulder up at the last second. Ambrose continues to kill it with his facials and sells the beating he has taken. He tries for a cloverleaf, but Rollins fights it off for a few moments before Ambrose finally locks the hold in with 2 minutes left. Obviously they are going to shades of Mania XII with Shawn and Bret here which isn’t a bad idea. They change things up a bit though as Rollins crawls to the ropes to break at 1:05 to go. Ambrose fires himself up in the corner while the clock continues to tick and in the stalling Rollins is able to duck a kick and uses Ambrose’s own finisher against him for a two count. The clock is counting down and Rollins finally hits his super kick, but the Ambrose kicks out as the clock expires. We have another draw in this series, but GM Maxine announces the match will continue with sudden death rules. We are back at it and Rollins gets a roll-up for two. Each man is desperate now and they start firing off heavy blows and Ambrose wins that exchange. He kills Rollins with the Foley running knee in the corner and that gets a two count. The crowd is going insane for Rollins as they fight near the ropes and Rollins hits another head kick. Rollins hits a suicide dive and immediately throws Ambrose back into the ring. Things get fucking crazy as they have an exchange with a super kick and a rebound clothesline that has the announcers choking on their spit as they are marking out so much. Ambrose hits the Midnight Special again, but Rollins is once again out at two. They head up top and Ambrose seemingly wants a top rope midnight special, but Rollins counters to a turnbuckle powerbomb and hits his finishing kick, but Ambrose gets back to his feet and talks shit so Rollins hit him with another one and then a small package driver finally gets the win at 33:37.

Winner and Still FCW 15 Champion: Seth Rollins via 3-2 score at 33:37 (27:50 shown)
-Great match to be sure, and loved the overtime sequence as they went balls to the wall. They told a great story and had some nice call backs to previous WWE Iron Man matches. Just tremendous stuff all around and why I love WWE putting these FCW matches on DVD because a lot of people didn’t get to watch this stuff. ****

-Now onto Reigns as he discusses the Triple Threat match they had against each other in FCW. He puts over the opportunity he was given to get in the ring with the two top guys in FCW. In hindsight he thinks the match is cool is because it shows how far they have come.

Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins vs. Leakee
FCW TV: Feb 5, 2012

– It is pretty weird seeing all 3 guys wrestling in trunks, and the action pauses for a second so Ambrose can talk shit to Regal how is on commentary. He gets tossed to the floor and that leaves Rollins and Leakee to have a go. Leakee gets the better of the exchange, so Ambrose comes back in to cut him off. That doesn’t last long as Leakee uses his power game to control each man. Rollins and Ambrose get mart as they work together to subdue the big man. They try a double hiptoss, but Leakee blocks and takes both men out. They finally get Leakee to the mat and then turn their attention towards each other, but think better of it and go back to beating on Leakee. We take a break and when we come back we are told the winner gets a FCW Title shot the following week against Leo Kruger (Adam Rose). Ambrose continues to keep peace with Rollins as the beating on Leakee continues. Ambrose finally turns on Rollins and hits a clothesline to send him to the floor and gets a small package on Leakee for two. He tries for the Midnight Special, but Leakee escapes and Ambrose gets sent to the floor as Rollins springboards back into the ring. All three men get back in the ring and Leakee tries to hit Check Mate, but Ambrose ducks and catches Leakee with the Regal Stretch to rub things in and Regal actually appreciates it. He does mention that if he was applying the hold the match would be over as Leakee escapes the hold. Leakee gets sent to the floor and Ambrose and Rollins have a go continuing their rivalry. Ambrose gets the better of the exchange and tries to run things into Regal’s face some more, but he takes too much time and Rollins catches him running in. Ambrose misses a clothesline and Rollins continues his motion and hits a suicide dive to the floor on Leakee. Regal continues to put over his feud with Ambrose and he is tremendous with his threats in a monotone voice. Leakee gets sent back to the floor as Ambrose and Rollins continue to do the bulk of the work in this one (which is smart). A clothesline nearly breaks Rollins in half, and as he tries for the Midnight Special, Leakee comes back in and hits both men at the same time with a Samoan Drop. He ends things from there with Check Mate on Ambrose and that gets the pin at 9:23 (shown).

Winner: Leakee via pin on Ambrose at 9:23 (shown)
-Just your normal triple threat match with a lot of the 1 guy on the floor while the other two fight in the ring stuff. Leakee was still rather raw at this point and things were done smartly with Rollins and Ambrose carrying the majority of the work. The fact Leakee went over only shows WWE brass was high on him from the start. **1/2

8.5

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

The documentary was good stuff and as mentioned was the special they ran on the Network last year, but that doesn't take away from it. So far so good with the matches and we still have 2 more discs to get through.