Jon Moxley (Dean Ambrose in WWE) made an impactful WWE debut in 2012, showing up alongside Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins as The Shield. The trio showed up at Survivor Series and took out Ryback, helping CM Punk retain the WWE Title.
The Shield became one of the hottest acts in the company and though Moxley and Rollins had a following from the Independent scene, they weren't as exposed on WWE television.
Speaking to Alistair McGeorge of Metro, Moxley was asked if WWE could have a debut like The Shield again, meaning an act that wasn't a known commodity in the WWE universe.
"Anything could work. I mean, it’s different because you’re a known commodity on NXT now, whereas when we came in we were complete nobodies. So, there’s a benefit to that. On the one hand, nobody knows who you are, but on the other hand, you have a completely fresh slate, you’re a complete mystery. You can come right in and starting whooping whoever’s ass you want! The Shield might be the last big act that came from that old way of doing things before NXT really. You can do anything with anybody if you commit to them," said Moxley. "The problem is – it doesn’t matter if they’re on NXT, if people know who they are or they don’t. If somebody’s getting over, you’re giving them the opportunity to get over, you’ve gotta actually follow through on pushing a guy or girl. It doesn’t really matter where they came from! That could definitely happen again, it’s just they gotta follow through with it all the way!"
Not only did The Shield find success as a trio, but all three men went ton to become singles stars in the company with each holding the WWE Title at one point or another in their careers.
Reigns and Rollins continue to thrive in WWE while Moxley is one of the top stars in AEW.
