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Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Destruction of The Shield – Disc 1

August 1, 2015 | Posted by TJ Hawke
8
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Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Destruction of The Shield – Disc 1  

 

The Feature

This actually did a nice job of humanizing all three members of The Shield, as they did not really get to show their “real” personalities much while they were in The Shield. The way they told the stories of all three men though of course display WWE’s feelings on how they feel about each man in terms of their future pecking order in the company. WWE is obviously high on all three men, but they clearly just see Roman Reigns as the next big star.

Everything said about him in this is positive and is presented in the best possible light. Ambrose and Rollins are allowed to have faults. For example, Roman Reigns eliminating four people in a super-cold match at a Survivor Series is made out to be his breakthrough moment. In reality, it’s just the moment WWE made crystal clear that he was getting pushed whether the crowd was ready or not. Rollins’ immaturity during the period in developmental when he was being unnecessarily held down far longer than he needed to be is presented as him “growing up” instead of WWE getting its head out of its collective ass.

The feature obviously does a nose-dive when turns into a kayfabe explanation for Seth Rollins turning heel on Ambrose and Reigns and then into the hype for the Summerslam PPV. WWE PPV hype is as ephemeral as it gets and there is no reason for it to be a part of the main feature on a WWE DVD (especially in such a kayfabe form). The fact that WWE has done this more than once in 2015 is quite alarming for the future of their home video releases.

 

Bonus Features

Ambrose spoke about how proud he and Seth were of their FCW matches. He thinks of their trilogy as one story told over three matches.

FCW
August 14, 2011

Seth Rollins(c) vs. Dean Ambrose [FCW 15 Championship]

While this match was far from spectacular, it absolutely works as the first entry in a larger story. They had fifteen minutes to pin or submit one another, and neither man was able to do so. Despite going fifteen minutes and with a non-finish, they did not waste time to get there as so many matches with that time and finish seem to do. They worked an engaging style and pace that kept me interested. The time limit expired with both men desperately throwing forearms at each other. (***)

 

They don’t have the 20 minute draw (match #2 on the trilogy) on the DVD, because life is too hard for some people. I believe it is on the Blu-Ray at least.

 

FCW
August 11, 2011

Seth Rollins(c) vs. Dean Ambrose [FCW 15 Championship]

This match headlined an episode of FCW that actually was one of my very first reviews for 411mania.

This match had a thirty minute time limit. They told a brilliant story and gave this feud a proper conclusion. They spent the first third (or so) of the match working the match normally. Ambrose got tired of that and decided to change it up. He sacrificed a fall by kicking Rollins in the crotch, but that helped him get to two falls soon thereafter. That caused Ambrose to get a little too cocky, and that gave Rollins an opportunity to pick up a fall to even it back up. Both men were incredibly focused after that as Ambrose realized he could not waste any more time. Rollins looked to have picked up the third fall first with the Curb Stomp, but Ambrose kicked out. In a desperate move, Rollins went for the Phoenix Splash…Ambrose avoided it though. They continued to desperately attempt to finish each other. They just could not do it before the time limit expired. Maxine, the FCW GM, announced that they would continue to fight until there was a winner. They proceeded to have one of the most heated and exciting sequences in recent memory to finish each other off. Rollins outlasted Ambrose though and finished him with a buckle bomb, two kneeling superkicks, and a God’s Last Gift. One of the most outstanding matches in recent WWE history. It featured brilliant storytelling and exciting action. (****3/4)

 

FCW
February 5, 2012

Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Leakee

This match was not much at all unfortunately. They did not have time to settle into a solid story. The action was solid though, and William Regal did a fantastic job on commentary of building his feud with Ambrose. Leakee won after his tornado bulldog on Ambrose. That is a hilariously awful finisher. (**1/2)

 

Watch some Shield matches for free!

The Shield vs. Rey Mysterio & The Usos

The Shield vs. Goldust & Cody Rhodes [The big title change]

Watch Ambrose for free!

Jon Moxley (Dean Ambrose) vs. Brodie Lee (Luke Harper)

Jon Moxley vs. B-Boy

Jon Moxley vs. Drake Younger [Dog Collar Match]

Watch Rollins for free!

Tyler Black (Seth Rollins) vs. Bryan Danielson

Tyler Black vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Tyler Black & Jimmy Jacobs vs. Bryan Danielson & Austin Aries

Tyler Black vs. Jimmy Jacobs [Cameo from Mick Foley]

Tyler Black vs. Josh Abercrombie [TLC Match]

Tyler Black vs. Johnny Gargano

Tyler Black vs. Jonathan Gresham

Tyler Black vs. Zema Ion vs. Starless

8.0
The final score: review Very Good
The 411
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