The Shield def. Evolution

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Soldiers, it turns out, do win wars.

At Extreme Rules, the WWE Universe watched in astonishment as The Shield adapted and Evolution — at least on this night — perished during a raucous six-man brawl. For more than 20 minutes of uncontainable action, two of the most destructive factions in WWE history warred in a grueling fight that sprawled throughout New Jersey’s IZOD Center and culminated with Michael Cole’s call, “The times, they are a-changing!”

View photos of the insane action!

Indeed, the old guard fell to the new guard, as Roman Reigns pinned Batista after a Spear, demonstrating exactly what “true power” looks like.

The road to victory, however, was anything but easy for The Hounds of Justice. Despite speculation that their admittedly “massive” egos would be their downfall, Evolution’s veritable all-star lineup of WWE COO Triple H, Randy Orton & Batista — with a combined 31 World Title reigns among them — worked cohesively, and dominated much of the bout.

Early on, Evolution effectively isolated first Seth Rollins and then Dean Ambrose. The Game turned The Shield’s Architect inside-out with a vicious clothesline, and with Rollins hanging off the ring apron, Batista found opportunity to boot the blond-and-black-haired highflier in the skull. Ambrose managed to lock in a Figure-Four Leglock — alluding to “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, a founding member of Evolution who publicly endorsed The Shield days ago — but the advantage was short-lived.

Reigns’ Spear attempt outside the ring was sidestepped by The Game, causing The Powerhouse to slam into the steel steps. A dive to the floor by Rollins was similarly avoided by The Cerebral Assassin, leaving Rollins in a heap on the floor.

 

Evolution worked over their opposition methodically. “Bootista” chants from rained down as The Animal worked over his prey, and Ambrose looked downright punch-drunk after an exchange with Triple H, which ended with a fierce spinebuster by the 13-time World Champion.

The Hounds of Justice would not be denied, though. The trio’s Lunatic Fringe turned the tides with a DDT on Triple H, and once Reigns found his way into the contest, he turned into a one-man wrecking crew, taking out Orton, Batista and Triple H in succession.

The Shield looked to have the match locked up when they struck Batista with a Triple Powerbomb, yet savvy veterans Orton and Triple H prevented the pinfall. Reigns subsequently ate a Pedigree and an RKO, but thanks to his teammates’ efforts, he was never pinned.

At that point, all hell broke loose.

As the match’s legal competitors, Reigns and Batista, struggled to get to their feet inside the ring, the other four combatants embarked on a wild free-for-all that spilled out of the ring and, eventually, into the WWE Universe. All the while, a loud “This is awesome!” chant took over the arena.

Ambrose ran the length of both announce tables and leapt onto Triple H and Orton. Within minutes, Orton rebounded and sent the unstable Shield member flying down a flight of stairs. As The King of Kings and WWE’s Apex Predator worked over Ambrose hundreds of feet away from ringside, the collective jaw of WWE fans dropped as Rollins came flying down with an incredible cross body block off the balcony!

Back inside the ring, Batista dropped Reigns with a spinebuster and prepared for the Batista Bomb. But The Shield’s Punisher — perhaps mindful of this year’s Royal Rumble Match, which The Animal won after eliminating Reigns — shoved off Batista, recoiled and launched into a Superman Punch. A bone-rattling Spear later, and The Shield cemented their status as WWE”s new torchbearers.