Reigns made his main roster television debut as on November 18 at Survivor Series alongside Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, assaulting Ryback during the triple threat main event for the WWE Championship, allowing CM Punk to retain the title.[27] The trio declared themselves The Shield and vowed to rally against "injustice", while also denying working for Punk, even though they would routinely emerge from the crowd to attack Punk's adversaries, including Ryback and WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane).[28][29][30][31] This led to a six-man tag team Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 16, in which Reigns, Ambrose and Rollins defeated Team Hell No and Ryback in their debut match.[32] The Shield continued to aid Punk in January 2013, attacking both Ryback and Reign's real-life cousin The Rock.[33][34] On the January 28 episode of Raw, it was revealed that Punk and his manager Paul Heyman had been paying The Shield and Brad Maddox to work for them.[35]
The Shield then indistinctly ended their association with Punk while beginning a feud with John Cena, Ryback and Sheamus that directed to a six-man tag match on February 17 at Elimination Chamber, which The Shield won.[36][37][38] The Shield had their first Raw match the following night, where they gained success against Ryback, Sheamus and Chris Jericho.[39] Sheamus then formed an alliance with Randy Orton and Big Show to face the trio on April 7 at WrestleMania 29, where The Shield emerged victorious in their first WrestleMania match.[40][41] The following night on Raw, The Shield attempted to attack The Undertaker, but they were stopped by Team Hell No.[42] This set up a six-man tag team match on the April 22 episode of Raw, which The Shield won.[43] On the May 13 episode of Raw, The Shield's undefeated streak in televised six-man tag team matches ended in a disqualification loss in an elimination tag team match against Cena, Kane and Bryan.[44]