Projecting How Long Dean Ambrose Will Be WWE Champion

At Money in the Bank, Dean Ambrose shocked the world by claiming both the all-important briefcase and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. But the question has to be asked: Is he a transitional champion?

Ambrose undoubtedly has a massive number of supporters among the WWE Universe.

However, it's also fair to say that he doesn't fit the bill as the successor to John Cena in quite the same way that Roman Reigns does.

Reigns was suspended on Tuesday, which suggests that he was always going to lose the title at Money in the Bank. WWE couldn't afford to have its world champion off television for the draft on July 19, as the event is intended to reinvigorate sluggish SmackDown viewing figures and jump-start its move to Tuesday nights.

Credit: WWE.com

Splitting Raw and SmackDown into two distinct brands is a huge move for WWE. In a time when the company is striving to present a refreshed product, there's a huge advantage to the world champion being a man crowds adore—and Ambrose fits that role well.

However, The Lunatic Fringe doesn't seem like the sort of champion who's embarking upon a record-breaking run with the gold.

Many feared that Reigns would break the impressive 434-day stretch as champion enjoyed by CM Punk, but it's clear that Ambrose doesn't have quite the backing that his former Shield stablemate has enjoyed for the best part of two years.

Ambrose could be a transitional champ, with his reign perhaps ending as a shocking piece of added drama for draft week. After all, what better way is there to establish that SmackDown is relevant once again than having the WWE World Heavyweight Championship change hands on its inaugural live broadcast?

Even if his reign extends past the first week of the new brand extension, we might see a title change on one of the first single-brand pay-per-views.

Even though the co-promoted shows are likely to take precedence, WWE will want to stress that the rest of the pay-per-view schedule isn't skippable.

Credit: WWE.com

All this being said, there's still the prospect of the Shield Triple Threat match hanging in the balance. That match is still scheduled for Battleground, and any rushed title change just before would further dilute the build of a bout fans have been anticipating for a long time.

On the other hand, that match seems unlikely to offer up a title change. Given that Reigns and Rollins have held the belt so recently, seeing it swapped around like this would mark a sharp change of direction compared to the way the championship has been handled over the past few years.

Ambrose's best asset as champion is the fact that fans are behind him—something that hasn't really been true since Daniel Bryan held the gold in 2014.

As such, he's the perfect candidate to be beaten by an up-and-coming heel as they transition into the main event.

With Reigns, there was a risk that a heel like Kevin Owens or Bray Wyatt would become the de facto face in any title feud. However, a good proportion of fans would be furious to see those same competitors rob Ambrose of the title.

It would be great for the main event as a whole if Ambrose's reign could elevate another villain to add to the mix. However, he'll need a few months to become established as world champion for this program to really get the job done.

While there's still a slim chance that WWE calls an audible and has Ambrose drop the belt to shuffle the deck during the summer, all signs point to him being on top until at least SummerSlam.

However, the company is in the process of fleshing out its roster—and believable heel challengers to the world champion are in short supply.