The Hounds Are Back

The Monday Night Raw after SummerSlam 2018 was one of the best episodes of Raw in recent memory. The show kicked off with a bang when Finn Balor accepted Roman Reigns’ Universal Championship challenge and the momentum seemingly carried throughout the show. Ronda Rousey nearly ripped out Stephanie McMahon’s arm, Elias avoided ending Curt Hawkins’ losing streak, and Dean Ambrose had his first match back from injury in a very entertaining bout against Dolph Ziggler. All were great moments, but all paled in comparison to the return of one of wrestling’s most dominant factions: the Shield.

After a thrilling main event that saw Reigns successfully defend his title against Finn Balor, the stage appeared to be set for Braun Strowman to cash in his Money in the Bank contract. He delivered a big boot to the Universal Champ, handed his briefcase to the referee, and the ring announcer proclaimed that “Monster Among Men” was cashing in for a Universal Title shot. Before the bell could ring, a familiar tune echoed throughout the Barclay’s Center. The crowd erupted when Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins stormed down to the ring in their traditional black gear as the Shield theme music played over the speakers. 

Reigns stood up in the ring as Ambrose and Rollins climbed onto the apron. Strowman looked around at the Hounds of Justice and, despite knowing he was outnumbered, went on the attack. It was a futile attempt as the numbers game proved to be too much for the monster to overcome as the Shield easily handled Strowman and capped off their reunion by triple powerbombing him through the announce table. It was a fantastic ending to what had been a great episode of Monday Night Raw. 

So is the Shield heel? That remains to be seen. While Strowman is one of the biggest faces on the roster, so is the Shield. WWE could be setting up for a face versus face rivalry, but imagine how much more fun it would be to see a heel Shield run roughshod over WWE similar to what they did when they burst on the scene nearly six year ago. Only time will tell if the Shield is face or heel, but there is one thing that we do know and that is to always believe in the Shield.