WWE Night of Champions: Will The Third Man Come From NXT?

PWP Nation Contributor Jordi Davies reckons that an NXT wrestler will make their main roster debut as the mystery partner to join Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose at Night of Champions.

As we have seen since the Raw after SummerSlam, the current feud of The Wyatt Family versus what remains of The Shield is at this very moment in time a two versus three man feud. Whilst this concept has often been done in the past, a third man usually gets thrown into the mix to even the playing field, and with the addition of former strongman and all round freak of nature Braun Strowman, the feud is definitely handicapped at this moment in time in favour of The Wyatt Family

With Braun being proclaimed as “The Black Sheep” of the family and manhandling both Reigns and Ambrose, WWE are obviously hinting at adding an additional member to the former Shield Elites in order to level the playing field. here a list, in semi Tom Phillips fashion, of THREE NXT competitors could make the jump to aid Reigns and Ambrose.

Baron Corbin

Whilst on the NXT scene Corbin is known as a lone wolf opposed to helping anyone and as a man who only cares about himself and not the fans or the people he faces, I feel that Baron has the capacity, the look and the demeanor to align himself with Ambrose and Reigns as the new third member of a reborn Shield. His motivation to start with would probably be fairly simple.

Corbin strives to prove he is without a doubt the best competitor and athlete in the WWE, and doesn’t care who he has to hurt or displease to get there. Knowing the history of The Shield’s dominance in the WWE, he would probably see this as ample reason to join up with the former hounds of justice, whilst at the same time disposing of top competition in Bray’s Family of Fear mongers.

Whilst his intentions may start clear, eventually he could find a sense of camaraderie and brotherhood with his two partners, steering him away from his lone wolf brand of antihero/heel and more towards the family style mentality of Dean and Roman.

The only problem with Baron as the third member is that he doesn’t fit the space left by Rollins following his betrayal of his brothers. Rollins is a fairly technical wrestler, with an arsenal of unorthodox but clever moves and a touch of high risk thrown in. Corbin is a powerhouse with little technical ability, and whilst he would be a great big man for any team to have, Roman Reigns already fills the powerhouse niche pretty well.

For Corbin to join The Shield, it would take WWE creative deciding to shed the emphasis on the idea of Reigns as the powerhouse and instead have him as the star power, the leading man of the group who is always front and centre. This would pave the way for Corbin to shine as the stopping power of the group.

Rich Swann

A competitor who does fill the high risk gap left by Rollins however is new signing Rich Swann. An Indie darling who made his name in such promotions as CZW and DRAGON GATE, Swann boasts an arsenal of moves very similar to WWE legend Rob Van Dam, with the frog splash, rolling thunder and a range of kicks, as well as some more risqué attacking maneuver’s such as a standing 450 splash and a rather impressive backflip kick, Swann could provide the flair (WOO) that the group lost along with Rollins.

He would also provide a refreshing big name to the group instead of the WWE manufactured Corbin, and is more likely to get fan support due to Corbin being a heel at this current moment in time and a sudden switch having the potential to annoy and confuse the audience.

The only problem with Swann being the third member is that he hasn’t actually debuted yet, or even been announced by the WWE, and with their focus being on creating NXT main event stars and then subjecting them to a main roster audience rather than just chucking out well known names, it would be difficult to justify them choosing to put Swann out there rather than bringing up Samoa Joe or Finn Bálor or anyone else who has already conformed to and shown their worth as the character WWE wants them to be. Speaking of Balor….

Finn Bálor

Finn is by far my most logical choice for the third member of The Shield. A technical wrestler who started his career in Britain before being reborn from the dojo’s of New Japan, a former leader of a worldwide faction with The Bullet Club, The same kind of aerial offense as Rollins and with a finisher that is also just as realistic looking in the double foot stomp, Finn mirrors the role Rollins played when he was one of the Hounds.

He also brings to the table an ability to play both the heel and the face effectively, something all three original Shield members had to exercise a lot in their tenure as a group, and he has proved time and time again he can take part in some amazing match ups and contribute to them just as much as the best person in the ring.

And then there’s the paint. The body paint of Finn Balor is a very unique trait in the WWE and could be passed on to his Shield brothers in order to make them their own group instead of just a rehash of the original trio. They could play the face and all share a paint style that shows this alignment of, or they could play heels and paint themselves as hellhounds or something else that the group has connotations with. Who doesn’t want to see Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns all painted up as black dogs from hell

Finally, Finn being brought up to the main roster also fits the trend of the current NXT Champion being the next person to get sent up to the main roster in a significant role, so I fully hope and expect that this idea comes to fruition.

Do you agree with me on any of these choices? If not, who is your ideal pick for the newest member of the Shield? retweet this article with your thoughts or tweet them to me

@Jordi_DGAF and make sure to follow me and @PWPNation for the latest non spoiler news and opinions from the world of professional wrestling.