This Sunday at SummerSlam, Dean Ambrose will go one-on-one with Money In The Bank briefcase holder Seth Rollins. The two were set to face each other last month at BattleGround, however Ambrose could not wait for the action to go down in the ring as he attacked Rollins backstage during an interview Rollins was conducting. Triple H made his way onto the scene and tossed Dean Ambrose from the building, which later prompted Rollins to make his way to the ring and force the announcement that he was declared the winner via forfeit. As he celebrated and made his way to the top of the ramp, Ambrose emerged and once again attacked Rollins. This time, Triple H made sure Ambrose was tossed out by having security literally carry him out.
The Stipulation
Both Ambrose and Rollins competed in a Beat The Clock challenge; where both members compete in separate matches against different opponents, the first setting the time it takes to beat his opponent and the second attempting to win his match in less time than the prior match. Dean Ambrose competed first, taking on Alberto Del Rio. At the time of 15:42, Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds on Del Rio and pinned him for the win. Later that night, in what seemed like an unfair comparison to whom Ambrose had to take on, Rollins met the challenge of Heath Slater in singles competition. Things didn’t go as smoothly however as Ambrose made his way to ringside and had some fun. First, he took the Money In The Bank briefcase that was kept at ringside during Rollins match and removed the contract from inside the briefcase, slowly tearing it up into pieces and tossing it into the air. If that wasn’t enough to get the attention of his SummerSlam opponent, Ambrose then “borrowed” a drink from a fan sitting in the front row and poured the beverage into the briefcase. As Rollins multi-tasked between focusing on keeping Slater down and telling Ambrose how upset he was, Ambrose grabbed a bucket of popcorn from someone else in the front row, ate a handful and then tossed the rest into the briefcase. Finally, Ambrose stole JBL’s cowboy hat and put it on his head, strutting over to the briefcase. He took the hat off, placed it into the briefcase and closed it shut. As Rollins looked on in horror and time ticking down, Ambrose climbed up on the announce table, swung the briefcase in the air and taunted Rollins. In that time, Slater managed to make his way back to his feet, roll up Rollins and earn the shocking pinfall and beating Seth Rollins.
The win earned Ambrose the right to choose the stipulation for their match at SummerSlam, which he did a couple of nights later on Friday Night Smackdown. Never ceasing to amaze the audience, Ambrose chose a route that did not necessarily favor himself nor Rollins; a lumberjack match. Ambrose went over a list of possibilities including a comic “JBL cowboy hat on the pole match” which I am sure would be Vince Russo approved but ultimately Ambrose decided on the stipulation that best prevented either man from getting away. The interesting detail of this is that the lumberjacks surrounding the ring will be all of the victims that The Shield targeted during their run as a dominant trio. Such names like Ryback, Big Show, Sheamus, Kane, Randy Orton and even Ric Flair. Perhaps we could see surprise guests like The Rock and The Undertaker, both whom were targets of The Shield and were triple-powerbombed. The main point of Ambrose’s decision is that he wants to make sure there is no way out for Rollins and that the lumberjacks surrounding the ring want to witness Ambrose and Rollins tear each other apart.
The History
What more can be said about this on-going feud between these two men. When Seth Rollins turned on The Shield, he set himself up for wonderful things by aligning himself with The Authority but he also placed a target on his back. While Roman Reigns set his goal on taking out those two were behind Rollins decision and winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship as a sign of over-ruling The Authority’s plans, Dean Ambrose made his plans perfectly clear; take Seth Rollins out. In the Raw episode following the attack, Ambrose let the world know what he would do to Rollins, including the re-arrangement of his face and the amounts of hair he’d pull out of Rollins head.
To the pleasure of the crowd, Ambrose cut several promos — both in the ring and backstage — to let Rollins know about the dangers that awaited him. Rollins managed to win the Money In The Bank briefcase but with that came the promise from Ambrose that any time he would attempt to cash in, Ambrose would be there to intervene. His promise came through as Rollins continued efforts to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion were thwarted by the crazed Ambrose.
At BattleGround, Ambrose and Rollins were set to face each other for the first time in a one-on-one encounter but as previously mentioned, that never happened. While Rollins appeared to have the last laugh, with a win to his name and watching his opponent get dragged out of the arena, Ambrose got the final word in. As Rollins was leaving the arena, Ambrose — who had been hiding in the trunk of a car in the parking lot — attacked Rollins, lead pipe in hand, sending the Money In The Bank winner running for his life. As Rollins escaped by driving off in a car, it was evident that Ambrose was not even close to being done with his once- friend now turned enemy number one.
The Match
While the two have yet to go one-on-one in the WWE, Ambrose and Rollins have a history against each other in singles competition, dating back to their days in FCW. Rollins holds the advantage, defeating Ambrose twice via pinfall and losing once, while two other matches were determined as a draw due to the set time-limit at the time. The two also appeared in several matches involving other wrestlers like multi-person tag team matches, triple threat matches and fatal four ways but Seth Rollins holds a favorable record against Dean Ambrose, being crowned the victor of the match in 11 times out of 13, losing just once and finding himself on the losing side along with Ambrose in a triple threat match which saw Leakee — now known as Roman Reigns — in a triple threat match.
The former “brothers” now turned hated enemies contrast each other in style. Seth Rollins is a solid technician and a risk-taker, butin the same sense he is controlled. Fans often think of a persona like Jeff Hardy when the title “risk-taker” is thrown out there but Rollins is more disciplined. While he loves to climb to the ropes and use his body to cause as much damage as possible, he is also careful at how he goes about it. If the risk of hurting himself far out-weighs the result of hurting his opponent, he won’t take it. Rollins is quick and methodical, using the tools he has to cause as much damage as possible in any given circumstance. With his strengths comes his weaknesses, Rollins is vulnerable when he is left to handle business on his own. Often when Rollins has been left to deal with matters by himself, Ambrose has gotten the better of him. The only times Rollins has managed to stand tall over Ambrose is when he has had the help from either Kane or Randy Orton, or sometimes in situations that involved both.
Dean Ambrose, on the other hand, is cerebral with the way he goes about his attack. In his sick and twisted mind, Ambrose calculates where he can cause the most damage and then attacks. If Rollins right arm hurts on the night of SummerSlam, Ambrose will single out the limb and cause as much torture and punishment as he can, drawing out as much pain and agony as humanely possible. Ambrose is more of a brawler, someone that will throw the weight of his body at an opponent and then follow it up by flailing his fists at his opponents head. If there was a term to coin this type of style for Ambrose, it would be known as Controlled Chaos. A wrestler that is absolutely insane and on the surface he’ll seem like he has lost his mind, but inside he knows exactly what he is doing. This, of course, leaves him open to a counter-attack. Rollins is just as smart and when he sees an opening, he will take it. Ambrose has had shoulder problems in the months leading up to this match, so it will be interesting to see if that plays a factor in the outcome of their match.
The Prediction
In a way, both men need to win. Seth Rollins has a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at any time he so chooses, within a year from the time he won it, but since his win he has been the subject of ongoing torment and frustration at the hands of Dean Ambrose. No matter how many times he has Curb Stomped Ambrose, he’s always looking over his shoulder and questioning whether or not it is a good idea to cash in his chance, regardless of John Cena’s condition. The momentum of Rollins run as the future of this business could be back-stopped substantially to the point that some might not even think he could be a threat to defeating Cena and becoming the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. What better way than to put a road block to Ambrose’s attempt at ending him than to win this SummerSlam match as a pre-cursor to winning the Championship? A SummerSlam victory followed by becoming the new face of the company shortly afrer, one could have not written it better.
On Dean Ambrose’s side, he absolutely needs this win. Not just for himself, but for the legacy he has created. His entire singles campaign has surrounded itself with the sole purpose of not only defeating Rollins, but making him pay for his sins. The BattleGround situation was a perfect way to extend the suspense at getting to witness these two men tear each other apart but after weeks of Ambrose tormenting and causing Rollins to lose it, now is the time to capitalize on the situation. If Ambrose wants to be taken seriously as a solo wrestler, he absolutely needs this win to set his run permanently. Often compared to Stone Cold Steve Austin in terms of fan reception and the way his career seems to be headed, you simply can not keep a wrestler of Ambrose’s caliber reduced to dropping matches continuously to the point of no return.
Count me in for a hard-fought, close encounter that sees Dean Ambrose standing tall. In the end, Rollins has his briefcase and ensured a Championship match, so what does Ambrose have? He has this match. This match against Rollins to fulfill his promises of torturing Seth Rollins and making him regret the day he decided to turn on The Shield and put an end to their domination of the WWE. Afterwards, Dean Ambrose can work on his big SummerSlam win while Rollins can put the loss behind him and concentrate on the bigger picture; becoming Champion. At the end of the day, both men need this win but Rollins will be affected far less by a loss than Ambrose would.
In any case, one thing is known — The WWE Universe is in for one hell of a ride that will culminate in a match where two men guarantee they will put on an excellent show and do whatever it takes to win the match. The talent is there, the special aura of a big-time match is there, now it’s up to Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins to deliver what could very well be a classic match that will be looked back on in 20 years and be remembered.
Photo via WWE.com
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