Roman Reigns Beating Up Seth Rollins Got Them Out Of A WWE Drill
Before they were members of The Shield, and two of the top stars within WWE, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins were two guys trying to make it in WWE's developmental system at the time, Florida Championship Wrestling. Both men's entry into wrestling couldn't have been different, Reigns, a second generation wrestler, coming from a college football background, while Rollins was a veteran of the independent scene, where he wrestled as Tyler Black.
So how did the two end up bonding en route to forming the Shield with current AEW World Champion Jon Moxley. In an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, both Rollins and Reigns revealed it was a particular training session during one summer afternoon.
"That was a time when no one knew who we were," Reigns said. "They were training us like dogs, training us good, and I turned it up on Seth big time that day."
"I remember it very specifically," Rollins said. "Terry [Taylor] was working with the talent that day, working with a few of us on basically picking up the intensity for short sprints of time. A lot of what we were doing at that time in the training facility in Tampa was mindless work. It's summer in Florida; it's roasting inside. We'd been toiling away in developmental, and it was all very frustrating."
Seth Rollins Says Training Session Was Responsible For The Shield
"You had five or ten seconds to blow yourself sky high," Rollins continued. "Roman and I, we were paired together, and whatever we did, it wasn't to Terry's liking. We both looked at each other from across the ring, and there was this clarity and communication between the two of us. We were like 'We need to get out of this ring as soon as possible.' We knew what had to be done."
What had to be done? According to both, a sequence that led to Reigns getting the upper hand on Rollins as they went back and forth in the ring. It was necessary though, with Rollins going as far to credit it as the moment that put himself, Reigns, and even Moxley, on the same page.
"I remember it well, and I know Seth remembers it," Reigns said. "I beat the hell out of him."
"Roman was on the offense, and I was on the defense, so I knew what was going to happen," Rollins said. "Roman knew how to bring it, and he got us out of this drill. Mox and I were already on the same wavelength, and that was the moment that showed the three of us were of one mind and one goal. That allowed us to be The Shield. Without that mindset, there is no Shield, and the last ten years look a lot different."