Dean Ambrose Turns Heel on Seth Rollins After Winning Raw Tag Team Championships

Dean Ambrose shocked the WWE Universe on Monday night as he viciously beat down Seth Rollins in the closing moments of Raw.

On the same night that Roman Reigns announced he was relinquishing the WWE Universal Championship due to a leukemia diagnosis, Ambrose and Rollins challenged Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler for the Raw Tag Team Championships. The two Shield members won the titles thanks to some assistance from Braun Strowman, but the celebration was short-lived when Ambrose nailed Rollins with his Dirty Deeds finisher.

But the “Lunatic Fringe” was far from finished. He repeatedly attacked Rollins in and around the ring, culminating in him removing the protective padding from ringside and hitting Rollins with Dirty Deeds on the concrete floor.

He then ripped off his Shield shirt and walked out of the arena through the crowd.

An Ambrose heel turn had been teased for well over a month, though the former WWE Champion had repeatedly rejected the idea. During The Shield‘s feud with Strowman, Ziggler and McIntyre the villainous trio tried to convince Ambrose to betray his partners since he was the only one without a championship to his name. Ambrose swore he wouldn’t turn his back on the group, but walked out on the two after they lost a six-man tag match to the Dogs of War on the Oct. 15 edition of Raw.

All signs of a heel turn were wiped away at the beginning of Monday’s show when Reigns came out in street clothes and announced his cancer diagnosis.

“But I want to make one thing clear, by no means is this a retirement speech,” Reigns told the fans in attendance. “Because after I’m done whooping leukemia’s ass once again I’m coming back home. And when I do, it’s not just going to be about titles and being on top, no it’s about a purpose. I am coming back because I want to show all of you, the whole world, I want to show my family, my friends, my children and my wife, that when life throws a curve ball at me, I am the type of man that will stand in that batter’s box, I will crowd the plate, I will choke up and I will swing for the fences every single time. Because I will beat this and I will be back and you will see me very, very soon.”

As Reigns made his way up the ramp he was met by Rollins and Ambrose, who tearfully embraced their friend.