Should have just slid it onto a piece of glass instead of picking it up.
I agree; it's just good luck that it didn't collapse.
Most housewives learn to turn over a pineapple upside-down cake or a pie crust by placing a sheet of parchment and a dinner plate on it to hold it and then flipping it over. They needed to sandwich the shield between two layers of that black foam, add light strapping, turn it and then unwrap it.