5 Best Ambrose vs. Rollins matches

It finally happened, Dean Ambrose turned heel! He said he might be waiting for the perfect moment when nobody is watching, to slip the knife in his brother's backs, and Reigns semi-retirement night was just that. After winning the Tag Team Championships with Seth Rollins in honour of Roman Reigns, Ambrose mauled Rollins beating him from pillar to post.

For the better part of four years, Ambrose and Rollins have not seen eye to eye, as Ambrose has never forgiven Rollins for breaking up the Shield in the first place. These two former brothers in arms have fought many times and Ambrose was always dangerous and unpredictable, but now with the face-heel dynamic reversed, how will Rollins fend off the unhinged Lunatic Fringe.

In anticipation for the renewed rivalry about to unfold before us lets look back at the greatest bouts these two superstars produced in their blood feud. This list will focus only on one-on-one matches, and only ones from the main roster. Unfortunately, the excellent series of iron man matches they put on in FCW does not count.

Honourable Mention: Lumberjack match, Summer Slam 2014

This match just misses the cut by a narrow margin. The lumberjack match states that a group of superstars, referred to as the Lumberjacks, will surround the ring to keep the two competitors inside the ring...that didn't happen. While the Lumberjacks did their job at first, the hatred that these two men possess with every fibre of their being is too powerful to be contained.

Ambrose and Rollins took out the lumberjacks and brawled through the crowd as the Lumberjacks ran through the stands to drag them back to the ring. Ambrose hit Rollins with a Curb Stomp, but after Kane broke up the pin chaos ensued, allowing Rollins to run in with his Money in the Bank briefcase and knockout Ambrose for the win.

5. WWE Championship match (Monday Night Raw - 7\18\16)

Following the historic events of Money in the Bank 2016 where all three former Shield members held the WWE Championship all on the same night, Ambrose defended his title against Rollins. With the highly anticipated Shield triple threat for the title on the horizon at Battle Ground, Ambrose and Rollins would compete to determine who was walking into that match as the champion. After over to years, Ambrose finally got retribution on Rollins for breaking up the Shield, and he was maintaining a death grip on the title. With the brand split looming, being WWE Champion was more important at this time than it had been in years past.

In a dramatic match Ambrose rebounded from a buckle bomb to hit Dirty Deeds for a nearfall. The two competitors teased a Pedigree on the apron but Ambrose fought out of it. Ambrose came off the top rope but leapt right into a Pedigree by Rollins, but Ambrose kicked out. After a superplex Rollins and Ambrose both attempted to roll each other up. After much confusion and debate it was announced as a double pinfall, resulting in a draw and Ambrose retaining his WWE Championship.

4. WWE Championship match (Elimination Chamber 2015)

Ambrose had the odds stacked against him as he battled Rollins in the ring, and Kane and J&J security on the outside. While Rollins had the Authority in his corner, Ambrose was going in alone as Roman Reigns was banned from ringside. Rollins took everything away from Ambrose when he destroyed the Shield, now Ambrose had a chance to take everything away from Rollins in the form of this WWE Championship match.

The crowd was fully behind Ambrose as he both toyed with Rollins and systematically dismantled him, before later breaking down into his signature frenzied brawling style. Rollins displayed both confidence and fear as he and Ambrose knew each other so well, countering each other's maneuvers and trying new ones.

Momentum shifts were plenty, and near falls were scattered throughout the match. When everything devolved to chaos Rollins pulled the referee in front of him to shield himself from a diving elbow from Ambrose. After the ref bump Ambrose planted Rollins with Dirty Deeds, a new ref ran to the ring to make the three count. Ambrose was announced as the new champion, but the original ref over turned the call, disqualifying Rollins for using him as a human shield. Ambrose's win was by disqualification instead of pinfall, meaning Rollins retained the title. Ambrose refused to hand back the title, and Reigns ran down to the ring to help him fight off the Authority as they tried to take it back. The sight of Ambrose and Reigns absconding with the WWE Championship closed the show, but was far from the end of their story.

3. Hell in a Cell match (2014)

A Lunatic and an Architect locked in a steel structure

After returning from his kayfabe injury, Ambrose was again out for revenge on Seth Rollins. While Ambrose calls Rollins the "Scum of the Earth" he fancies himself as the wrath of hell. Ambrose came out with a kendo stick strapped to his back and immediately climbed to the top of the cell.

Rollins wanted no part of Ambrose on top of the cell, sending J&J security up after him before rising up to the challenge. While Ambrose was swinging for the fences with his trustee kendo stick, it ultimately broke down to a 3-on-1 on top of the cell. As they attempted to climb down, Ambrose and Rollins fell off the side of the cell through the announce tables. Ambrose refused to be stretchered out of the arena and attacked Rollins on the stretcher, finally bringing the fight inside the cell structure.

Ambrose was yelling "you stabbed me in the back" as he clobbered Rollins with a steel chair. The pain, anger, and hatred exuded from Ambrose as he continued to scream "Now you're gonna pay", "You took everything from me".

Ambrose was unstoppable, and even kicked out of the Curb Stomp. Hell bent on destroying Rollins, Ambrose was about to stomp Rollins' head through cinder blocks when Bray Wyatt interfered. The lights went out, a hologram appeared in the ring, then Wyatt flattens Ambrose with a Uranage. After Wyatt's puzzling ambush Rollins covers for the pinfall. The interjection of Wyatt somewhat degrades an otherwise great match.

2. Falls Count Anywhere (Monday Night Raw - 8\18\14)

The night after their lumberjack match at Summer Slam yielded an even better bout than the pay per view. If a sea of humanity still could not keep these two in the ring, then why bother? On this night Ambrose and Rollins were let loose, the chains were off and the inmates were going to tear each other apart, in a Falls Count Anywhere match.

Ambrose and Rollins beat each other all up and down the arena. Ambrose suplexed Rollins on the steel ramp of the stage. The two adversaries showed great weapon innovation. Dismantling each other with chairs, kendo sticks, tables, even cinder blocks.

Rollins nailed a sit-out powerbomb on a pile of steel chairs, and Ambrose superplexed Rollins through a table. Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds but Kane broke up the pin, as he normally did during this time period. Brawling in the crowd the two found themselves back at ringside, where Kane chokeslamed Ambrose. Kane then removed the time keepers table, exposing the cinder blocks underneath. Rollins Curb Stomped Ambrose's head through the cinder blocks, causing a Referee stoppage.

1. WWE Championship Ladder match (Money in the Bank 2015)

Ambrose issued the challenge to Rollins to put the WWE Championship on the line in a ladder match so there would be no excuses and a decisive winner. Ambrose had been battling Rollins and his henchmen for months, and every time he got close to taking the title from Rollins, the Authority reared their ugly heads and helped keep the title on their golden boy. At Money in the Bank Rollins would go-it alone, no J&J, no Kane, no Triple H, just him and a ghost from his past.

starting off with some technical wrestling, things picked up when Ambrose blocked a suicide dive with a ladder, leading to suplexes onto the ladder, and Ambrose dropping an elbow onto Rollins from on top of the ladder.

Rollins began working the leg of Ambrose so he couldn't climb. There was fighting in the crowd, because of course there was, and then a back body drop from Ambrose sent Rollins over the top rope bending a ladder as he came crashing down on top of it. Ambrose struggled up the ladder on one leg but Rollins would stop him.

Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds on the announce table to a chorus of "One more time" chants, showing how much the WWE universe supported the Lunatic. Towards the end Rollins laid out a ladder outside the ring, stacked a bunch of steel chairs on top of it, then powerbombed Ambrose onto the scrap, then buried Ambrose under the wreckage. The two men fought for the belt at the top of the ladder, then fell to to ring still clutching the belt. Upon crashing to the canvas Rollins was finally able to pry the title out of Ambrose's clutches yet again. For the first time, Rollins did it himself. This was no doubt the best match between these two men, it was technically sound, hardcore, rich with storytelling devices, and cemented the rivalry as one of the best in the company.

After the show Ambrose gave a speech, vowing to one day win the title (which he would do a year later on the same show), but that this wasn't his night...maybe Ambrose shouldn't have walked under that ladder on his way to the ring.

Edited by Sagnik Monga