Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose Will Happen in 2013

For a faction that consists entirely of wrestlers with whom the mainstream pro wrestling fans weren’t familiar just eight or nine months ago, The Shield is as good as it gets.

As a group, the trio of former NXT studs has been one of the most entertaining aspects of WWE TV since its debut. As individuals, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose have been equally as impressive. 

Regardless of who your favorite Shield member is, you have to give each member some serious props for making what has amounted to a huge splash in a really short span. 

If all goes as planned, the time that Ambrose, Reigns and Rollins have spent in The Shield will turn them all into singles stars down the road.

But that day won’t come until The Shield dissolves, and no one seems to be sure exactly when that will happen.

It will happen at some point, though, and when it does, a highly anticipated match and feud is bound to begin: Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose.

Considering that The Shield has already been around for eight months now, it’s going to be awfully hard for the group to last to the end of 2013. After all, the formerly dominant trio has lost a lot of momentum recently.

The Shield went undefeated in six-man tag team action for a very long time. But over the last two or three months, it’s lost three big matches—one by DQ and two cleanly. 

All of the group’s losses were quite surprising, none more so than their loss to Christian and The Usos on last week’s SmackDown. The Usos have hardly been on TV as of late and Christian isn’t viewed as the same caliber star as most of the major names The Shield had previously defeated, so that loss was very shocking—perhaps a sign of things to come, too.

The Shield’s run as such a dominant group will have to end some day, and given its recent losses (combined with a ton of DQ finishes via run-in in singles matches), it certainly appears as if the group could be over and done with come 2014.

Whenever The Shield does come to an end, it’s likely that the group will implode from within and end up feuding with one another. It is a natural booking philosophy in pro wrestling for former friends and stable-mates to feud, after all.

And the most anticipated and perhaps most interesting feud that could come from the demise of The Shield would be a battle between the two most touted members of the group, Rollins and Ambrose.

The former indy studs would make perfect rivals for each other for a multitude of reasons, but mainly because Ambrose is The Shield’s most natural heel while Rollins is its most natural babyface. 

Everything that Ambrose does just screams heel—from his mannerisms to his facial expressions to the way he wrestles to his promo style. He moves, talks and acts in a deliberately odd manner that makes him—as many fans will tell you—a must-see villain not unlike Heath Ledger’s famous “Joker” character.

On the flip side, Rollins isn’t the natural heel that Ambrose is. He’s, in fact, much more conducive to being a babyface. 

Think of Rollins like you may have thought of Justin Gabriel when he was a part of The Nexus.

As a member of the WWE’s top heel faction in 2010, Gabriel wasn’t winning everyone over for his incredible abilities as a heel. Instead, he was seen as a guy who was very impressive in the ring, but was just so much more natural as a babyface. 

The same can be said about The Shield’s Seth Rollins. 

By no means has Rollins been a bad heel. But everything about him would make him a much better fit in a babyface role. 

He’s a phenomenal seller. He’s crazy athletic and agile. He’s small. He’s charismatic. Those are all qualities you look for in a babyface.

Rollins is essentially a babyface who’s stuck performing in a heel role that doesn’t suit him as well, which is exactly why he figures to be the member of The Shield who turns babyface once the group splits.

As a babyface, Rollins should really get over as a favorite of the crowd. Meanwhile, Ambrose figures to rise up as a singles heel star because he’s a well-rounded performer who can truly do it all.

A feud between the two is a logical step for both men once The Shield ends.

Rollins will need a major storyline to get over as a babyface after spending so much time a heel, and if he’s kicked out of The Shield by Ambrose and Reigns, that’s a good way to start his transition into being a good guy for the first time. 

As Rollins transitions to his new role, the history that he’s had with Ambrose could serve as the perfect catalyst for the two rising stars to feud.

It’s rare that a natural and simple-yet-entertaining storyline just falls into the WWE’s lap. But that’s exactly what will happen when The Shield ends.

Rollins will be a face. Ambrose will be a heel. 

Do the math, and the answer is obvious: They will feud in 2013.

Drake Oz is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter!