#91: The Wyatt Family vs. The Shield, WWE Elimination Chamber (2/23/2014).

21 Aug, 2024

This is a match that I look back on with the fondest of memories.

I was a huge fan of the original iteration of The Shield when they first debuted. Long before the John Cena US Open Challenge made Monday Night Raw must watch TV, the trio of Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose turned the Six Man Tag Team Match into an art form, and consistently gave wrestling fans some of the best TV matches in ages.

Meanwhile, I was completely captivated by the presence of Bray Wyatt and his family. Bray himself is a tank inside the ring, but then you have Luke Harper - the late Brodie Lee - who is a sensational wrestler, as well as Erick Rowan, a big man who has only gotten better with time. It was inevitable that these two factions would square off.

A brief face off in November of 2013 was the first time they came to blows, but when the Wyatts accidentally cost The Shield a shot at the Elimination Chamber Match, that's when things started to get crazy. For weeks leading to this, both teams would say a lot to the other, but neither would come to blows. It build the anticipation for those first punches perfectly, and by the time they did come to blows on the go home episode of Raw, the fans rightly exploded with glee.

But, who would leave the big PPV victorious?

The Shield make their entrance through the crowd first to a great pop. Dean Ambrose was United States Champion at the time. WWE COO Triple H spoke about this match in the lead up and said that this match would be “armageddon.”

Bray Wyatt leads Luke Harper and Erick Rowan to the ring with his trusty lantern in pitch black darkness. Michael Cole says this match is all about dominance, and who is the most dominant faction in WWE.

The fans are chanting “this is awesome,” and the bell hasn’t even rang yet. That’s how you build a fucking wrestling match, people!

Dean Ambrose makes the first move, and now both factions are brawling all over the ring. The Shield gets the first W of the night, clearing the ring of the Wyatts.

The bell finally sounds, and Seth Rollins is starting with Erick Rowan. Rollins uses his speed to avoid the big man, before unloading with punches and kicks. He hits a drop kick to Rowan, as Roman Reigns tags in to attack Rowan, before tagging Rollins back in. Rowan bulldozes Rollins down, and he tags in Luke Harper. Harper hits a headbutt to Rollins, and scratches and claws at his face. Harper tags in Bray Wyatt, and he unloads on Rollins in the corner.

Rollins slides away and tags Reigns back in. The two have a standoff in the middle, and Reigns makes the first move, taking Wyatt in the corner and punching away at the Eater of Worlds. Reigns hits a hard clothesline to Wyatt for a 2 count. Wyatt with a hard right hand to the jaw, as Harper tags back in. Harper attempts a suplex multiple times, but Reigns powers out and hits one of his own. Reigns tags Ambrose in, and he goes crazy with offense on Harper in the corner. Rollins tags in and launches himself off of Ambrose into Harper, tags in Reigns and he nails a great right hand to Harper for another 2 count.

Ambrose back in, and they double team Harper on the ropes. Nice frequent tags from The Shield. Rollins tags in, and he headbutts Harper’s back. Ambrose in again, and they are tearing Harper apart one by one. Ambrose comes off the top rope with a back elbow. He goes to attack Rowan off the apron, and Harper hits a nice dropkick to Ambrose. Wyatt tags in, and he brings Ambrose down to the mat with punches. Dirty forearms and headbutts in the corner as Wyatt splashes right into Ambrose in the corner.

Rowan tags in and drops his knee on Ambrose’s chest. Rowan digs both of his fists into the sides of Ambrose’s head. The crowd is white hot as Rowan hits a nice sidewalk slam for a nearfall. A headbutt follows, as Harper tags back in. They exchange nice chops, before Harper hits a suplex for a nearfall. Ambrose nails a neckbreaker to Harper, and Rollins tags in now, taking Harper down with several variants of kicks.

He goes to the top rope for a dive, but Rowan distracts him long enough for Harper to follow him up there. Harper goes for a German Suplex off the top, but Rollins lands right on his feet, sends Harper to the outside, and then dives to the outside on Harper. Back in the ring, Rollins dives off the rope and hits a diving knee to Harper’s head. Rollins runs at him, but Harper catches him in a Black Hole Slam for a nearfall.

Wyatt tags in, and he’s got Rollins on the outside, nailing a big Senton splash to the Architect. Back in the ring, Wyatt tags Rowan back in, and now The Wyatts are on the offensive. Rowan hits a power slam to Rollins and then hits a diving forearm to the kidney. Harper is back in and they double team Rollins for a bit. He slaps Rollins down, and sends him in the corner, splashing him. He brings him to the ropes and guillotines him against the middle rope.

The leader of the Wyatts is back in, and he locks in a sleeper hold. Both are back up now, and Rollins kicks Wyatt out of the corner. He goes to fly off the top, but Wyatt catches him in a Urinage for a nearfall. Ambrose comes in to attack, but Harper responds with a malice like boot to knock him out of the ring. Harper tags in, he goes to stomp away at Rollins. He’s up, though, flipping around to nail a spin kick to Harper. Rollins tags in Reigns, and Harper tags in Rowan, and Reigns takes out all of the Wyatts.

A back suplex to Rowan, but Wyatt breaks up the count. Ambrose storms in and attacks Bray, and now Harper joins the fray, diving to the outside onto Ambrose. Rollins follows up with a Senton to the outside. Reigns and Rowan take each other down with a double clothesline. Rollins starts taking apart the Spanish announcer’s table, as everything is breaking down now. Bray attacks Rollins, and Ambrose goes right after Wyatt and Harper, and he sends himself and Bray into the crowd. They fight amongst the fans in the Target Center.

Reigns and Rowan slug it out in the ring, with Rowan sending Reigns into the steel post shoulder first. Reigns hits a flying clothesline for a close nearfall. Rollins hits Harper with a monitor, but Wyatt is back from the crowd, and now they’re tearing apart the other announcer’s table. Rowan hits a fall away slam to Reigns, sending him out of the ring. The Wyatts stand tall, and The Shield is down. Ambrose is nowhere to be found.

Harper and Rowan bring Rollins up on one announcer’s table, and they lift him up and toss him through the other table, breaking it apart! With Rollins down, and Ambrose missing, the Wyatts surround Reigns in the ring. Defiant, Roman fights back against all three. Harper makes the tag in, and hits a big boot to Reigns. Bray tags in, and goes for Sister Abigail, but Reigns powers out of it! Wyatt goes for headbutts, but Reigns hits a Samoan Drop. He tosses Harper out of the ring and hits a Superman Punch to Rowan, and one to Bray!

Roman waits in the corner, setting up for the Spear. He goes for it, but Harper takes the spear for Wyatt. Bray takes advantage of the distraction, and hits Sister Abigail for the win! The numbers were finally against The Shield tonight! The Wyatts celebrate, as Rollins and Reigns recover. Ambrose is still nowhere to be found.

This is an astonishing accomplishment in hindsight. It's likely going to be the best six man tag team match in WWE history for a very long time. It elevated all six men to a different level. Everybody came out of this looking better, and considering where four of these men are now, it's not hard to see why they have become stars. And when it comes to the late Wyatt and the late Harper, they fucking ruled when they were alive for a reason.

The duration of this match felt like a controlled powder keg of violence. It took its time, but when things exploded, it was utter chaos. The chemistry here was unbelievable. The story being told worked wonders, too. The Shield was coming apart, and the Wyatts knew that. They turned the numbers advantage against them, and poor Roman Reigns was a sacrificial lamb by the end.

Great fucking match. It's still talked about highly over 10 years later, and it should be discussed for decades to come. It's brilliant.