View Photos from the Feature: Shield with Joey Mercury Photos

Where are they now? (WWE.com Feature)
by Bobby Melok

*Please Note: This article only includes the portions where the Shield was mentioned, since it was a long article. To read the full feature please go to WWE.com

“There’ll be a dozen Hall of Famers who thank Joey Mercury first and foremost in their acceptance speech,” Dean Ambrose told WWE.com.
For those who simply know Mercury as one half of MNM alongside John Morrison, Ambrose’s statement might be a little shocking. However, Mercury’s greatest impact on sports-entertainment came after he stepped out of the ring, and into his new role as one of WWE’s most respected producers, as well as a mentor to breakout Superstars like The Shield.

“He is a mastermind when it comes to wrestling psychology, and the ins and outs of being in the ring,” Seth Rollins explained. “He loves teaching people how to do things and do them better. He’s a talent maximizer. He takes your best assets and makes them better. He takes the things you’re terrible at and helps you improve.”

It’s a position that Mercury relishes, even at the age of 34, when most in-ring performers are in their prime.
“One of the things I was concerned about with being a coach and producer so young was thinking, ‘Am I missing out on that feeling of being in the ring and making the fans pop out of their chairs?’” he said. “I don’t, because it’s very fulfilling to live vicariously through the guys you help. If I give an idea about gameplan or strategy, and they implement it and it works well and they get that reaction, I feel it twofold.”

…..

“Joey can make a bad match good, a good match great and a great match classic,” Ambrose said. “You would come to the back and think you had an awesome match, and he would be like, ‘Well, that was OK, you worked hard, but let me tell you how it could have been better.’”
Mercury formed a close bond with the three members of The Shield in NXT, which continued as The Hounds of Justice joined the main roster and Mercury became a producer on the road.

“He’s like a fourth member,” Roman Reigns said. “Any time Joey’s around, it could be a five-star match, but he’ll nitpick us. That’s what makes us better. He keeps us honest.”
“He’s definitely a hero to us,” Ambrose added. “At this point, if he tells me a way to do something, I do it that way first, because he’s right 99 percent of the time.”
After all that Mercury has been through, it’s easy to forget that he’s not even 35 yet. His combination of youth and experience makes him a valuable asset to WWE.
“He brings an old man’s wisdom and a young man’s vibrance,” Heyman said.

Though many grapplers his age are still battling in the trenches, those closest to Mercury don’t think he’s itching to get back in the ring any time soon.
“I think he’s found peace,” Rollins said. “He once told me that he’s never had a feeling in the ring by himself that compares to the feeling he gets [working with Superstars].”
Joey Mercury echoes Rollins’ sentiment. “I look at them like they’re my babies,” he said. “I have a lot of children out there. To see them grow up and make it to what they’ve been working for and tear the house down, that’s really rewarding.”

Two followers have kindly donated a number of their best photos in the past couple weeks; it took me a while to get these uploaded because I had some internet issues in the past week preventing me from doing so. But they are here now, sorry for any inconvenience with the delay but these are still gorgeous photos!

Monday Night Raw Photos:
Seth Rollins vs. Batista

Seth Rollins vs. Batista
The Shield appears backstage cutting a promo, they say they will continue hunting Evolution. Seth Rollins says Batista tried to end his career and he beat the living daylights out of him while he could barely stand. They end the promo with a strong “believe in the shield”.
HHH tries to get around the decree that only WWE personnel are allowed at ringside by making himself the guest ring announcer and Randy Orton the guest timekeeper. Seth Rollins has a plan of his own saying he has his own special guests tonight, he introduces Ambrose and Reigns as the guest commentators.
The action gets physical outside the ring quickly as Batista bounces Seth off the stairs knee first. This is followed up by Seth’s head bouncing off the steps as he tries to regain his balance on his feet. He tries to re-enter the ring but get’s booted off the apron courtesy of a baseball slide. HHH and Randy Orton approach a downed Seth but are backed off by the referee.
Back in the ring Seth fights out of a sleeper hold, refusing to die out. Seth gets irish whipped hard into the corner and HHH takes the opportunity to mock him. When the action goes to the top rope Seth counters Batista’s attempt to throw him off with “skywalker” his version of a neck-breaker. After a series of counters, Seth hits his suicide dive and brings Batista back into the ring. As he goes for his next offensive move Randy Orton tries to yank him off the apron but Seth jumps over Orton’s hands. Ambrose and Reigns lose their headsets to move closer to the action. Batista goes to hit a spear in the ring and runs into Seth’s boot. Seth hits his high knee and nearly gets the pin on Batista as the fans chant “let’s go Rollins.”
As Seth attempts to end Batista, HHH launches him off the top rope with a push. This creates the mayhem outside of the ring as Ambrose attacks HHH to make him pay. Orton attacks Ambrose and throws him over the announce desk. Reigns attacks Orton but get’s smacked with a steel chair, Ambrose runs across the desks to attack Orton. And as Seth tries to launch himself onto HHH he runs into a fist in the face and a spinebuster. The match ends in a DQ.

Check out the new Interview the Shield did with MTV UK; the interview covered topics such as which member of the Shield is the biggest ladies man, how they like the UK fans and what they think of Roman Reigns being called the next big thing!

Shield Interview on MTV UK Photos: Interview Captures