Did WWE Inquire to AEW About Borrowing Jon Moxley For a Complete Shield Reunion at WrestleMania 40? (Exclusive)
AEW was not contacted by WWE about borrowing Moxley.
Stars of WWE's past, present and future ran through Philadelphia to help Cody Rhodes finish his story at WWE WrestleMania 40. Jey Uso took out his brother Jimmy. John Cena eliminated Solo Sikoa. The Undertaker squashed Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. While those aforementioned names evened the odds against Reigns's stablemates, it was Seth Rollins who played one final mind game to distract Reigns himself.
"SIERRA, HOTEL, INDIA, ECHO, LIMA, DELTA" echoed throughout Lincoln Financial Field as fans in attendance looked throughout the stadium for The Shield. In the end it was just Rollins, donning his Shield gear and wielding a chair, that emerged from the crowd to play one last mind game on Reigns.
Noticeable by his absence was Dean Ambrose. From 2012 until 2014, Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns ran roughshod on WWE as The Shield, a trio of ruthless rookies bent on making a name for themselves on WWE's main roster. After Rollins broke up the faction ten years ago, all three members of The Shield would become bonafide main-venters in their own right, reuniting on a couple of occasions. Their last reunion came in 2019 as Ambrose departed WWE after his contract expired. He has competed for AEW as Jon Moxley ever since.
Did WWE Inquire About Using Jon Moxley at WrestleMania 40?
There was never a chance of a full Shield reunion at WWE WrestleMania 40.
Speaking to ComicBook.com, AEW President Tony Khan confirmed that WWE did not reach out to AEW about using Jon Moxley for a one-off appearance during the Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns main event.
While the two companies exist in their own exclusive ways, there have been times that AEW and WWE have come together to do business. Billy Gunn was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of D-Generation X in 2019 while he was on an AEW contract. AEW stars Bryan Danielson, Chris Jericho, and Paul Wight all sent pre-recorded videos to WWE Monday Night Raw to celebrate John Cena's wrestling anniversary in 2022.
"I don't think The Shield will ever be recreated or brought back," Roman Reigns said in a 2020 interview. "We were so good and honestly I think we did the reunion thing a few years ago a little too much. We're one of the only factions who came into it as no-namers and then walked out and had our final group hug as world champions."