Azir ult and Braum shield interaction

I was in a game with an Azir and an enemy Braum. The Azir ulted while Braum had his shield up and no soldiers had appeared. The shield had blocked the damage and Azir's ult was on cooldown. I can understand blocking the damage but I don't think the interaction is meant to remove the soldiers from the game. This was just surprising and I have seen Azir push a Braum with his shield up before.