Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins: Winner, Reaction from WWE Money in the Bank 2016

Nearly seven months after a knee injury forced him to drop the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Seth Rollins briefly returned to the top of WWE by beating Roman Reigns on Sunday night at Money in the Bank to become the world champion for the second time.

But his reign was short-lived, as Dean Ambrose cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase for a shot at Rollins and quickly pinned him with a Dirty Deeds.

WWE provided a look at the exhausted new champion in the aftermath: 

WrestleZone.com and Will Pruett of ProWrestling.net provided their takes on the epic turn of events that led to Ambrose becoming the new champion: 

Lost in the aftermath of Ambrose's big night was a key moment for Rollins, as Bleacher Report's Graham Matthews pointed out:

With Ambrose's pin of Rollins, every former member of The Shield has an interesting connection now, as WrestleZone.com noted:

Reigns and Rollins have been at odds for the better part of two years since Rollins' decision to end The Shield in favor of joining Triple H and The Authority.

Rollins was scheduled to wrestle Rollins last year at Survivor Series, but a severe knee injury forced The Architect to vacate the world title. Reigns has held it on a few occasions since then and won it from Triple H in the main event at WrestleMania 32.

Having never technically lost the championship, Rollins came back for what he believed was rightfully his at Extreme Rules, as he attacked Reigns and hit him with a Pedigree following The Big Dog's victory over AJ Styles.

During the weeks leading up to Money in the Bank, WWE drew on the lengthy history between Reigns and Rollins at every turn.

While Rollins drove a wedge between himself, Reigns and Ambrose, The Guy insisted he was no longer focused on the past:

Rollins got ahead by screwing his Shield brethren, and he did it again at WrestleMania 31 when he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract during a world title match between Reigns and Brock Lesnar. And now Rollins is the one who has lost his title via the cash-in briefcase. 

Some felt The Man stole Reigns' moment, but Rollins has a clear conscience regarding the situation, per WWE Universe:

Reigns maintained that Rollins resorted to sneak attacks and dirty tactics to get the upper hand on him, and he vowed to finally get the best of his former friend and greatest rival when they met face-to-face at Money in the Bank.

While the fan reaction toward Reigns was negative at WrestleMania, his feud with AJ Styles did a lot to bolster his credibility, as he made strides on the mic and put on two fantastic matches with The Phenomenal One.

Like Styles, Rollins is among the best in-ring workers in the world, and he helped continue the recent trend of Reigns putting on match-of-the-night-caliber bouts.

There was a great deal of uncertainty regarding who would come out on top during the buildup toward their main event clash at Money in the Bank.

Reigns had run through all comers and looked dominant in the process. But Rollins was fresh off an injury, and top stars in that position are generally protected and given some big wins upon their return.

The creative team allowed Rollins to get one over on Reigns once again Sunday night, but the feud took a sharp left turn with the inclusion of Ambrose. The Shield was WWE's hottest act a few years ago, and the three men are again at the forefront of the company. 

It seems likely that Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose will lock horns again at Battleground, and their rivalry could carry over to SummerSlam.

The feud between the three will essentially write itself and have a long shelf life, so perhaps Money in the Bank was just the beginning of a long battle between three former best friends. 

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