The Shield: Why keeping them together is a good thing

One of the biggest news items from this past Raw was the apparent abandonment of the Shield breakup with their equally surprising face turn.  This had a lot of people scratching their heads, but personally, I think this is a great thing.  I had said this in the past during my LIVE Raw reviews, but I've REALLY started getting into the Shield as a unit now that they've all adopted their own looks and personalities.  For example, each person has their own unique spin on the tactical gear look.  Roman Reigns goes shirtless with the vest.  Dean Ambrose abandoned the vest altogether.  And Seth Rollins wears an athletic shirt (whether it's long sleeved or short sleeved) with gloves.  And they all have their own personalities - Reigns is the confident tough guy.  Ambrose is the crooked pot stirrer.  Rollins is the peace keeper that holds it all together.  They even have their own fighting styles, with Reigns being the powerhouse, Ambrose being the dirty fighter, and Rollins being the risk taker.  To have them go their separate ways now would actually hinder their individual growth.  As odd as it may seem, they're growing as individuals BECAUSE they're in a group.  We see three evolutions in one segment.

Perhaps even more importantly, despite WWE's struggle to push new stars....they've done a pretty phenomenal job of keeping the Shield strong for over a year now.  Until EACH member is strong enough to make a go at it alone, we're destined to see Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns turn into Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, and Wade Barrett.

Trust me, I think the apparent reason why this team is being kept together is beyond strange (so the New Age Outlaws can wrestle them?!?!?!), keeping a team together after already building up their separation is not without precedence -- and it's perhaps the greatest tag team success story in WWE's history.  I'm talking, of course, about Edge and Christian.  Prior to WrestleMania 2000, WWE had already started planting the seeds behind Edge and Christian's break up.  Yet, inexplicably, they won the tag team titles at WrestleMania.  And the next night, they rechristened themselves with awesome new characters that turned both of them into massive stars.  The team wouldn't break up for another year or so, and during that time they won more championships than any tag team in the company's history.

And for that reason, keeping the Shield together a little longer might not be a bad thing.