Former WWE Star Talks Rumored Plans To Be In The Shield

Former NXT star Chris Hero has opened up about rumours of him being in the original Shield line-up, and what annoys him about this gossip.

On The Art of Wrestling podcast in 2018, CM Punk revealed that he pitched Chris Hero (FKA NXT’s Kassius Ohno) to be in the original line-up of The Shield. As we know, Roman Reigns was picked for the three man team instead, alongside Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley).

Hero has recently revealed that these rumours annoy him. Speaking with Inside The Ropes, Hero noted that CM Punk’s pitch was for three NXT stars to work with him on the main roster.

Hero argued that The Shield, as they came to fruition, differed to the team that Punk pitched. Consequently, Hero reasoned that he was never an “original member” of The Shield, so rumours that he was one annoy him.

Here is the full quote:

“A little thing that annoys me about this is that people heard the podcast with [CM] Punk, and then they put that information out there, and it just kind of took a life of its own. When Punk pitched the trio of myself, [Dean] Ambrose and [Seth] Rollins, there was no ‘Shield’ concept. It was just, ‘Hey, let’s pair these three guys with me.’ Right? So, technically, I was never supposed to be a member of The Shield because The Shield didn’t exist when this was pitched.”

Stating that the rumours deviate from what the original source meant, Hero revealed that he still sees these rumours spreading on social media almost daily.

Revealing that he and Punk had never spoken about this pitch, Hero revealed this was all news to him in 2018 too, saying:

“So, listening to that podcast was the first time I had heard that. I’ve never had a conversation with Punk about this. Still, to this day, I have not – because I don’t really know what the point of the conversation would be. People ask me if I think I could have been successful in The Shield and, of course, my answer is, ‘Yes, of course.’ I think I can take anything that’s given to me and make the most out of it.”

Hero went on to note that he doesn’t like the consequent comparisons that fans make between himself and Roman Reigns. Praising the current Universal Champion, Hero noted that he believed that Reigns would’ve became a star, with or without The Shield.

Chris Hero wrestled in both NXT and NXT UK before being released by WWE in April 2020.

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• wwe
• cm punk
• shield
• Chris Hero

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