diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/replication/TransportReplicationAction.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/replication/TransportReplicationAction.java
index 930a43fd840..b2972201808 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/replication/TransportReplicationAction.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/replication/TransportReplicationAction.java
@@ -889,7 +889,7 @@ public abstract class TransportReplicationAction<Request extends ReplicationRequ
                                         }
 
                                         @Override
-                                        public void onShardFailedFailure(Exception e) {
+                                        public void onFailure(Throwable t) {
                                             // TODO: handle catastrophic non-channel failures
                                             onReplicaFailure(nodeId, exp);
                                         }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/action/shard/ShardStateAction.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/action/shard/ShardStateAction.java
index 035c21a20b4..b10f6416a9e 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/action/shard/ShardStateAction.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/action/shard/ShardStateAction.java
@@ -84,25 +84,14 @@ public class ShardStateAction extends AbstractComponent {
         transportService.registerRequestHandler(SHARD_FAILED_ACTION_NAME, ShardRoutingEntry::new, ThreadPool.Names.SAME, new ShardFailedTransportHandler(clusterService, new ShardFailedClusterStateTaskExecutor(allocationService, routingService, logger), logger));
     }
 
-    public void shardFailed(final ShardRouting shardRouting, final String indexUUID, final String message, @Nullable final Throwable failure, Listener listener) {
-        ClusterStateObserver observer = new ClusterStateObserver(clusterService, null, logger);
-        ShardRoutingEntry shardRoutingEntry = new ShardRoutingEntry(shardRouting, indexUUID, message, failure);
-        sendShardFailed(observer, shardRoutingEntry, listener);
-    }
-
-    public void resendShardFailed(final ShardRouting shardRouting, final String indexUUID, final String message, @Nullable final Throwable failure, Listener listener) {
-        logger.trace("{} re-sending failed shard [{}], index UUID [{}], reason [{}]", shardRouting.shardId(), failure, shardRouting, indexUUID, message);
-        shardFailed(shardRouting, indexUUID, message, failure, listener);
-    }
-
-    private void sendShardFailed(ClusterStateObserver observer, ShardRoutingEntry shardRoutingEntry, Listener listener) {
+    private void sendShardAction(final String actionName, final ClusterStateObserver observer, final ShardRoutingEntry shardRoutingEntry, final Listener listener) {
         DiscoveryNode masterNode = observer.observedState().nodes().masterNode();
         if (masterNode == null) {
-            logger.warn("{} no master known to fail shard [{}]", shardRoutingEntry.getShardRouting().shardId(), shardRoutingEntry.getShardRouting());
-            waitForNewMasterAndRetry(observer, shardRoutingEntry, listener);
+            logger.warn("{} no master known for action [{}] for shard [{}]", shardRoutingEntry.getShardRouting().shardId(), actionName, shardRoutingEntry.getShardRouting());
+            waitForNewMasterAndRetry(actionName, observer, shardRoutingEntry, listener);
         } else {
             transportService.sendRequest(masterNode,
-                SHARD_FAILED_ACTION_NAME, shardRoutingEntry, new EmptyTransportResponseHandler(ThreadPool.Names.SAME) {
+                actionName, shardRoutingEntry, new EmptyTransportResponseHandler(ThreadPool.Names.SAME) {
                     @Override
                     public void handleResponse(TransportResponse.Empty response) {
                         listener.onSuccess();
@@ -111,10 +100,10 @@ public class ShardStateAction extends AbstractComponent {
                     @Override
                     public void handleException(TransportException exp) {
                         if (isMasterChannelException(exp)) {
-                            waitForNewMasterAndRetry(observer, shardRoutingEntry, listener);
+                            waitForNewMasterAndRetry(actionName, observer, shardRoutingEntry, listener);
                         } else {
-                            logger.warn("{} unexpected failure while sending request to [{}] to fail shard [{}]", exp, shardRoutingEntry.getShardRouting().shardId(), masterNode, shardRoutingEntry);
-                            listener.onShardFailedFailure(exp);
+                            logger.warn("{} unexpected failure while sending request [{}] to [{}] for shard [{}]", exp, shardRoutingEntry.getShardRouting().shardId(), actionName, masterNode, shardRoutingEntry);
+                            listener.onFailure(exp.getCause());
                         }
                     }
                 });
@@ -131,21 +120,32 @@ public class ShardStateAction extends AbstractComponent {
         return ExceptionsHelper.unwrap(exp, MASTER_CHANNEL_EXCEPTIONS) != null;
     }
 
+    public void shardFailed(final ShardRouting shardRouting, final String indexUUID, final String message, @Nullable final Throwable failure, Listener listener) {
+        ClusterStateObserver observer = new ClusterStateObserver(clusterService, null, logger);
+        ShardRoutingEntry shardRoutingEntry = new ShardRoutingEntry(shardRouting, indexUUID, message, failure);
+        sendShardAction(SHARD_FAILED_ACTION_NAME, observer, shardRoutingEntry, listener);
+    }
+
+    public void resendShardFailed(final ShardRouting shardRouting, final String indexUUID, final String message, @Nullable final Throwable failure, Listener listener) {
+        logger.trace("{} re-sending failed shard [{}], index UUID [{}], reason [{}]", shardRouting.shardId(), failure, shardRouting, indexUUID, message);
+        shardFailed(shardRouting, indexUUID, message, failure, listener);
+    }
+
     // visible for testing
-    protected void waitForNewMasterAndRetry(ClusterStateObserver observer, ShardRoutingEntry shardRoutingEntry, Listener listener) {
+    protected void waitForNewMasterAndRetry(String actionName, ClusterStateObserver observer, ShardRoutingEntry shardRoutingEntry, Listener listener) {
         observer.waitForNextChange(new ClusterStateObserver.Listener() {
             @Override
             public void onNewClusterState(ClusterState state) {
                 if (logger.isTraceEnabled()) {
                     logger.trace("new cluster state [{}] after waiting for master election to fail shard [{}]", shardRoutingEntry.getShardRouting().shardId(), state.prettyPrint(), shardRoutingEntry);
                 }
-                sendShardFailed(observer, shardRoutingEntry, listener);
+                sendShardAction(actionName, observer, shardRoutingEntry, listener);
             }
 
             @Override
             public void onClusterServiceClose() {
-                logger.warn("{} node closed while handling failed shard [{}]", shardRoutingEntry.failure, shardRoutingEntry.getShardRouting().getId(), shardRoutingEntry.getShardRouting());
-                listener.onShardFailedFailure(new NodeClosedException(clusterService.localNode()));
+                logger.warn("{} node closed while execution action [{}] for shard [{}]", shardRoutingEntry.failure, shardRoutingEntry.getShardRouting().getId(), actionName, shardRoutingEntry.getShardRouting());
+                listener.onFailure(new NodeClosedException(clusterService.localNode()));
             }
 
             @Override
@@ -253,21 +253,10 @@ public class ShardStateAction extends AbstractComponent {
         }
     }
 
-    public void shardStarted(final ClusterState clusterState, final ShardRouting shardRouting, String indexUUID, final String reason) {
-        DiscoveryNode masterNode = clusterState.nodes().masterNode();
-        if (masterNode == null) {
-            logger.warn("{} no master known to start shard [{}]", shardRouting.shardId(), shardRouting);
-            return;
-        }
-        ShardRoutingEntry shardRoutingEntry = new ShardRoutingEntry(shardRouting, indexUUID, reason, null);
-        logger.debug("sending start shard [{}]", shardRoutingEntry);
-        transportService.sendRequest(masterNode,
-            SHARD_STARTED_ACTION_NAME, new ShardRoutingEntry(shardRouting, indexUUID, reason, null), new EmptyTransportResponseHandler(ThreadPool.Names.SAME) {
-                @Override
-                public void handleException(TransportException exp) {
-                    logger.warn("{} failure sending start shard [{}] to [{}]", exp, shardRouting.shardId(), masterNode, shardRouting);
-                }
-            });
+    public void shardStarted(final ShardRouting shardRouting, String indexUUID, final String message, Listener listener) {
+        ClusterStateObserver observer = new ClusterStateObserver(clusterService, null, logger);
+        ShardRoutingEntry shardRoutingEntry = new ShardRoutingEntry(shardRouting, indexUUID, message, null);
+        sendShardAction(SHARD_STARTED_ACTION_NAME, observer, shardRoutingEntry, listener);
     }
 
     private static class ShardStartedTransportHandler implements TransportRequestHandler<ShardRoutingEntry> {
@@ -392,9 +381,9 @@ public class ShardStateAction extends AbstractComponent {
          * Any other exception is communicated to the requester via
          * this notification.
          *
-         * @param e the unexpected cause of the failure on the master
+         * @param t the unexpected cause of the failure on the master
          */
-        default void onShardFailedFailure(final Exception e) {
+        default void onFailure(final Throwable t) {
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/cluster/IndicesClusterStateService.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/cluster/IndicesClusterStateService.java
index 80ad8c766e6..901fa403ba2 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/cluster/IndicesClusterStateService.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/indices/cluster/IndicesClusterStateService.java
@@ -563,8 +563,9 @@ public class IndicesClusterStateService extends AbstractLifecycleComponent<Indic
                             indexShard.shardId(), indexShard.state(), nodes.masterNode());
                 }
                 if (nodes.masterNode() != null) {
-                    shardStateAction.shardStarted(state, shardRouting, indexMetaData.getIndexUUID(),
-                            "master " + nodes.masterNode() + " marked shard as initializing, but shard state is [" + indexShard.state() + "], mark shard as started");
+                    shardStateAction.shardStarted(shardRouting, indexMetaData.getIndexUUID(),
+                        "master " + nodes.masterNode() + " marked shard as initializing, but shard state is [" + indexShard.state() + "], mark shard as started",
+                        SHARD_STATE_ACTION_LISTENER);
                 }
                 return;
             } else {
@@ -645,7 +646,7 @@ public class IndicesClusterStateService extends AbstractLifecycleComponent<Indic
             threadPool.generic().execute(() -> {
                 try {
                     if (indexShard.recoverFromStore(nodes.localNode())) {
-                        shardStateAction.shardStarted(state, shardRouting, indexMetaData.getIndexUUID(), "after recovery from store");
+                        shardStateAction.shardStarted(shardRouting, indexMetaData.getIndexUUID(), "after recovery from store", SHARD_STATE_ACTION_LISTENER);
                     }
                 } catch (Throwable t) {
                     handleRecoveryFailure(indexService, shardRouting, true, t);
@@ -663,7 +664,7 @@ public class IndicesClusterStateService extends AbstractLifecycleComponent<Indic
                     final IndexShardRepository indexShardRepository = repositoriesService.indexShardRepository(restoreSource.snapshotId().getRepository());
                     if (indexShard.restoreFromRepository(indexShardRepository, nodes.localNode())) {
                         restoreService.indexShardRestoreCompleted(restoreSource.snapshotId(), sId);
-                        shardStateAction.shardStarted(state, shardRouting, indexMetaData.getIndexUUID(), "after recovery from repository");
+                        shardStateAction.shardStarted(shardRouting, indexMetaData.getIndexUUID(), "after recovery from repository", SHARD_STATE_ACTION_LISTENER);
                     }
                 } catch (Throwable first) {
                     try {
@@ -733,7 +734,7 @@ public class IndicesClusterStateService extends AbstractLifecycleComponent<Indic
 
         @Override
         public void onRecoveryDone(RecoveryState state) {
-            shardStateAction.shardStarted(clusterService.state(), shardRouting, indexMetaData.getIndexUUID(), "after recovery (replica) from node [" + state.getSourceNode() + "]");
+            shardStateAction.shardStarted(shardRouting, indexMetaData.getIndexUUID(), "after recovery (replica) from node [" + state.getSourceNode() + "]", SHARD_STATE_ACTION_LISTENER);
         }
 
         @Override
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/action/shard/ShardStateActionTests.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/action/shard/ShardStateActionTests.java
index 0a00620fcc3..c59405f2345 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/action/shard/ShardStateActionTests.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/action/shard/ShardStateActionTests.java
@@ -88,9 +88,9 @@ public class ShardStateActionTests extends ESTestCase {
         }
 
         @Override
-        protected void waitForNewMasterAndRetry(ClusterStateObserver observer, ShardRoutingEntry shardRoutingEntry, Listener listener) {
+        protected void waitForNewMasterAndRetry(String actionName, ClusterStateObserver observer, ShardRoutingEntry shardRoutingEntry, Listener listener) {
             onBeforeWaitForNewMasterAndRetry.run();
-            super.waitForNewMasterAndRetry(observer, shardRoutingEntry, listener);
+            super.waitForNewMasterAndRetry(actionName, observer, shardRoutingEntry, listener);
             onAfterWaitForNewMasterAndRetry.run();
         }
     }
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ public class ShardStateActionTests extends ESTestCase {
             }
 
             @Override
-            public void onShardFailedFailure(Exception e) {
+            public void onFailure(Throwable t) {
                 success.set(false);
                 latch.countDown();
                 assert false;
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ public class ShardStateActionTests extends ESTestCase {
             }
 
             @Override
-            public void onShardFailedFailure(Exception e) {
+            public void onFailure(Throwable e) {
                 success.set(false);
                 latch.countDown();
                 assert false;
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ public class ShardStateActionTests extends ESTestCase {
         CountDownLatch latch = new CountDownLatch(1);
         AtomicInteger retries = new AtomicInteger();
         AtomicBoolean success = new AtomicBoolean();
-        AtomicReference<Exception> exception = new AtomicReference<>();
+        AtomicReference<Throwable> throwable = new AtomicReference<>();
 
         LongConsumer retryLoop = requestId -> {
             if (randomBoolean()) {
@@ -243,9 +243,9 @@ public class ShardStateActionTests extends ESTestCase {
             }
 
             @Override
-            public void onShardFailedFailure(Exception e) {
+            public void onFailure(Throwable t) {
                 success.set(false);
-                exception.set(e);
+                throwable.set(t);
                 latch.countDown();
                 assert false;
             }
@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ public class ShardStateActionTests extends ESTestCase {
         retryLoop.accept(capturedRequests[0].requestId);
 
         latch.await();
-        assertNull(exception.get());
+        assertNull(throwable.get());
         assertThat(retries.get(), equalTo(numberOfRetries));
         assertTrue(success.get());
     }
@@ -280,7 +280,7 @@ public class ShardStateActionTests extends ESTestCase {
             }
 
             @Override
-            public void onShardFailedFailure(Exception e) {
+            public void onFailure(Throwable t) {
                 failure.set(true);
             }
         });
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/discovery/DiscoveryWithServiceDisruptionsIT.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/discovery/DiscoveryWithServiceDisruptionsIT.java
index 2af9cdc87a4..e9fa8e495d9 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/discovery/DiscoveryWithServiceDisruptionsIT.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/discovery/DiscoveryWithServiceDisruptionsIT.java
@@ -922,7 +922,7 @@ public class DiscoveryWithServiceDisruptionsIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
             }
 
             @Override
-            public void onShardFailedFailure(Exception e) {
+            public void onFailure(Throwable t) {
                 success.set(false);
                 latch.countDown();
                 assert false;