Why Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose will be one of WWE's biggest rivalries of all time

Always one for the ages

It seems like just yesterday that The SHIELD made their presence felt when they interrupted the WWE Championship match at Survivor Series 2012. It seems like just yesterday when Ambrose won the United States Championship and Rollins and Reigns won the Tag Team Championships on the same night. It seems like just yesterday when the trio put on a stellar match against The Wyatt Family. It seems like just yesterday when they stood tall over Evolution for a second time, sweeping them clean in an elimination tag team match. And it seems like just yesterday when it all came crashing down.

The SHIELD were a breath of fresh air in the WWE. It was a lot like The Nexus, but in a way, completely unlike them. These were just three men, and all three were destined to be big names.

With a burden like that on their backs, it was certain that the three would cross path numerous times. And that has already happened, numerous times.

As soon as The SHIELD split, Roman Reigns went after the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and Ambrose and Rollins went after the Money In The Bank briefcase. Both men were the stars of the match, with Rollins coming out on top thanks to an assist from Kane. Their match at Battleground never happened because Ambrose attacked Rollins several times backstage, and at SummerSlam, they changed the way everyone looked at Lumberjack matches, with Rollins coming out on top, thanks to an assist from Kane.

The next night on Raw, after putting on another amazing match, Ambrose was taken out with a kayfabe injury caused by Seth Rollins, and would return at Night Of Champions, when Roman Reigns was legitimately injured, and attacked Rollins, who was supposed to face Reigns.

This is where the rivalry took a turn for the better. In a pay-per-view that had Randy Orton facing John Cena, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose main evented it, and put on a classic Hell In A Cell match, one which truly settled their differences, for the meantime. Rollins won again, with an assist from Bray Wyatt.

Rollins and Ambrose stole the show at Hell In A Cell

Up until this point, Rollins had won in every encounter, but never clean. This was a very interesting aspect of the story.

Ambrose would go on to battle Bray Wyatt for the next few months, who he also main evented with (and lost to) at TLC. After this, he would make it to the final four of the Royal Rumble, steal the Intercontinental Championship at Fastlane, steal the show at WrestleMania, and win in a Chicago Street Fight against Luke Harper.

Rollins, on the other hand, would captain Team Authority (and lose) at Survivor Series, lose to John Cena at TLC, put on one of the best Triple Threats ever at the Royal Rumble, and lose at WrestleMania to Randy Orton, only to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship later in the night, thanks to his Money In The Bank briefcase, which many thought he stole from Dean Ambrose. He would successfully defend against Orton at Extreme Rules, and then he would meet Ambrose yet again.

Before getting to that, let’s look at some of the WWE’s most successful rivalries of all time.

What springs to mind in an instant is The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin, Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels, maybe Shawn Michaels vs Triple H, perhaps CM Punk vs John Cena, certainly Lita vs Trish Stratus, and many more, all depending on opinion. But there is one thing common in all of these feuds, one catalyst that applies to all. It’s that the wrestlers involved have had feuds multiple times. The Rock and Austin had met in three WrestleManias, Hart and Michaels spanned for nearly a decade, Shawn Michaels and Triple H almost went through the entire Ruthless Aggression Era, Punk and Cena met in 2011, 2012, and even briefly in 2013, and Lita and Trish have simply become one with the other. That’s what makes a rivalry special. The sheer chemistry between both wrestlers makes them destined to meet again, because you can never have enough. That’s what makes one’s name synonymous to the other’s, it’s the fact that they both needed each other to make the best they could.

That’s where this rivalry will shine. It could have easily become restricted to what it was, and have had both men go their separate ways, but that just can’t happen. Sure, both men are easily able to create gold on their own, such as Ambrose’s match at TLC, and Rollins’ at the Royal Rumble, but it’s not the same as when they’re together.

Leading up to Payback, Seth Rollins was supposed to defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns and Randy Orton. However, things changed when Kane allowed Ambrose a chance, but only if he beat Rollins on an episode of Raw, which he did. This generated arguably the loudest pop of the year, and made the match a Fatal Four-Way. This moment was even more special however, since it was the first time Ambrose beat Rollins.

At Payback, both men and Reigns delivered a nostalgic Triple Powerbomb to Randy Orton, but that would be the only time Rollins and Ambrose were on the same page. This match may have focused more on Roman Reigns and Randy Orton, but it did help in building the heat between Rollins and Ambrose more. Rollins won, but he pinned Orton.

The next night, Ambrose tormented Rollins to earn a match at Elimination Chamber, this time, one-on-one. This would be the second time the two men main-evented a pay-per-view together, and it was a shocker. At some point through the match, Ambrose jumped off the top rope to deliver an elbow drop, but Rollins dragged the referee into the way, making Ambrose take him out. Ambrose delivered a Dirty Deeds, and a new referee came down to the ring and counted to three. While we all thought Ambrose won, which he thought he did, the old referee said he won by disqualification, as Rollins had touched him first, making Rollins retain his title.

Ambrose, in classic Ambrose fashion, stole the championship and left. This invoked a ladder match for the championship at Money In The Bank, and Rollins, out to prove himself, said he wanted nobody’s help. In the build-up, Ambrose mocked Rollins continuously with his championship, and supposedly fueled Rollins even more.

Ambrose’s mind games leading up to Money In The Bank

In their third main event against each other, Rollins was made to look like a different man in a long, gruesome match. He utterly destroyed Ambrose, using, of course, ladders, and resiliently took a few bumps himself. Both men were made to look strong, and they both almost pulled off a stalemate, with Ambrose and Rollins both gripping the title and falling off the ladder, with the impact causing Ambrose to let go of it, and Rollins winning the match. This was the first time Rollins beat Ambrose clean without any help, and certainly adds a new, twisted chapter in their rivalry’s book. As of now, they’ve gone their separate ways again, but will meet again, without any doubt.

The best part is that this is only the beginning. Both men have years and years ahead of them, and could definitely build the greatest rivalry of all time through it. The promise is intriguing, with Ambrose still not able to beat Rollins clean on pay-per-view, and Rollins now looking like a stronger man. This is a rivalry that could go on forever and never get boring.

Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose is only in the appetizer stage. There is certainly much more ahead, and it will be wrestling at its finest.