Last year at WWE Money in the Bank, after missing out on the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by, literally, the tips of his fingers, Dean Ambrose offered a heartfelt speech about his trials and tribulations. Many likened it to the iconic “Hard Times” lament of Dusty Rhodes, who had just passed away at the time. “One day, I’m going to be WWE World Heavyweight Champion,” Ambrose vowed as he staggered out of the ring, having failed for the third consecutive pay-per-view to wrest the title from his former brother-in-arms Seth Rollins.


After failing to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank 2015 against Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose delivers an intense, emotional post-match statement.

Well, a little more than a year to the day after that promise, Ambrose is WWE World Heavyweight Champion, having cashed in his freshly won Money in the Bank contract on none other than … Seth Rollins. Don’t say he didn’t warn you.

He cashed in on Rollins, by the way, because The Architect had just defeated Roman Reigns in the main event of Money in the Bank 2016 to become WWE World Heavyweight champion, though he barely had any time to celebrate before The Lunatic Fringe came calling. Rollins’ victory was, in its own way, the culmination of a climb that was just as grueling as Ambrose’s. He had redesigned and rebuilt for seven months after destroying his knee last November in Dublin. All that was left on Rollins’ list was “Reclaim.”


Seth Rollins makes his entrance for his match with WWE World Heavyweight Champions Roman Reigns at WWE Money in the Bank 2016: Courtesy of the award-winning WWE Network.

So that’s what he did: The Architect fought like a man looking to reclaim both his title and his pride, facing Reigns for the first time without The Authority or J&J Security ready to intervene on his behalf. Some early ring rust aside, Rollins quickly showed he still possessed the skills that took him to the top. But going toe-to-toe with “The Guy” proved to be a poor strategy when Reigns used his strength advantage to overpower his foe with clotheslines, headbutts and a tilt-a-whirl slam to the reeling Rollins.

The Architect remained defiant, if not competitive, slapping the increasingly confident Reigns across the face while the champion tried to worm his way into Rollins’ head. The Big Dog responded with yet more power maneuvers, forcing Rollins to the outside and battering him about announce tables of varying languages before flattening him with the sit-out Razor’s Edge Powerbomb.

At this point, with Reigns in the driver’s seat, Rollins dipped into a fourth “R”: Recover. He reversed a Superman Punch into a turnbuckle STO and was off to the races, with a blur of flailing kicks and flapping hair as he hit Reigns with an enzuigiri, dropkick to the outside, suicide dive, a tope’ over the top rope and a Sling Blade.


Seth Rollins looks to dethrone WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns at WWE Money in the Bank 2016: Courtesy of the award-winning WWE Network.

Even a Superman Punch that found its mark couldn’t stop Rollins, who now seemed fully in control of the match and confident in his abilities. So much so that he even successfully executed the sunset flip that put him out of action in the first place, even putting some extra English on it by transitioning right into a buckle-bomb. On his heels, Reigns resorted to physically shoving Rollins away, but The Architect pressed on, forcing Reigns off the top rope with the supersuplex, Falcon’s Arrow combination.

It was going to take an extraordinary strike from one of them to turn the tide, and Reigns was the one to throw it. It’s too bad he missed: After a Superman Punch gave him some breathing room, The Big Dog pursued Rollins outside the ring and sprinted full-tilt into a Spear, only Rollins dodged the move and Reigns plowed face-first through the ringside barricade.


Reigns attempts a massive Spear outside the ring, but Rollins dodges and The Big Dog plows through the barricade instead.

The impact knocked Reigns loopy … but not so much he didn’t have the wherewithal to shove Rollins into the official to stop his momentum. That ended up backfiring, ironically, when said referee was too slow to crawl and complete a three-count after Reigns hit a Spear a few moments later, leaving Rollins alive and with, perhaps, one last gasp left in him.

It’s too bad for Reigns that Rollins didn’t miss. The Big Dog attempted another Spear, only Rollins leaped up and miraculously transitioned into a midair Pedigree. A second Pedigree moments later spelled the end of Roman’s reign, and Seth Rollins was once again the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

For about two minutes.


See WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns face Seth Rollins for the steemed title at WWE Money in the Bank.

Dean Ambrose’s music roared to life in the middle of The Architect’s celebration, but The Lunatic Fringe, rather than face Rollins head-on, took a page out of his old brother’s book and struck him from behind with the Money in the Bank briefcase he had only won hours earlier. Ambrose cashed in the contract on the spot. Despite Rollins’ frantic protests, the bell rang, and tolled, in quick succession, as Ambrose obliterated the new champion with Dirty Deeds and claimed the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.