credit: wwe.com

Roman Reigns' partnership with Dean Ambrose will face perhaps its biggest test at SummerSlam against Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper. While many fans likely assumed their pairing was all about getting Reigns over as a top babyface, the exact opposite may be the case.

Reigns is in prime position to betray his brother and become the top heel in WWE.

Of the two men, Ambrose seems to be more inclined to walk on the dark side, to turn his back and go his own way. Reigns has been portrayed as a stand-up guy with a good heart for so long that to imagine him doing anything else may seem a bit of a stretch.

But SummerSlam is a night of twists and turns, of going left when everyone thinks the company will go right. Daniel Bryan's win over John Cena at 2013's SummerSlam ended in wicked betrayal from Triple H and Randy Orton. 2014's edition saw Brock Lesnar completely dominate and devastate Cena to the point of no return and become the new WWE world heavyweight champion.

Neither of these events could have been fully predicted, and really, that's the whole point: shock value.

How many truly expect WWE to abandon Reigns as a top face and go in the other direction? Surely, enough work has been done by now to convince fans otherwise. They have seen him face huge odds and consistently rise to the occasion.

The fight he showed against Lesnar at WrestleMania 31 was proof positive that his character possesses immense heart, heart that has kept him among the most popular of WWE's Superstars in recent months. He never complained about the fans hating him, never whined about not defeating The Beast Incarnate and never made any excuses.

All he did was keep getting back up and going to work each and every week.

He has become the quintessential protagonist in that way; he always fights and always keeps his head up, despite how many are against him. The fact that he has gotten better in the ring and has become a real workhorse has only added to his reputation.

Today, Reigns' standing across the ring from Lesnar would probably be more well-received than it was at WrestleMania 31.

So all the elements are there to keep building him as a top face. It has been a slow building process, but slow and steady does win the race; this could very well have been the idea for Reigns all along.

But to turn him heel now would be a much different approach, one that would have huge payoffs in the end.

The work that was done to get him over could easily be reversed. As good as he's been in the role, there is a lot of ground for him to cover as a heel, and it would be the first time fans have ever seen him as a heel apart from The Shield.

The best way to get him to that point is by turning him on his Shield partner.

The friendship between the two men has been emphasized on WWE programming for several weeks now. The company constantly reminds everyone of how tight the guys are, of how much they're like family.

The point has been driven home so much it's become obvious that something big is in the works. But that something is Reigns' decision to leave his friend in the lurch at SummerSlam. Ambrose's making the switch is too easy, and if WWE went that route, it would be sacrificing a hugely popular babyface in the process.

Fans buy into Ambrose more as a face than Reigns, but they expect Ambrose to turn his back. If Ambrose did turn on Reigns, the move could possibly backfire on WWE; Ambrose may actually baby out instead.

Despite the effort made by Reigns and the work done to get him where he is now, one wrong move, and it would all fall apart. He may be more popular than before, but he's not on a rock-solid foundation just yet.

There is more drama in Reigns' turning on Ambrose right now than any other move WWE could make in this storyline. Reigns has shown what he can do as the big and powerful heel from his Shield days, so it is not that hard to imagine him in that role once again.

Jealousy over Ambrose's popularity and anger over his own main event shortcomings could be the reasoning behind the turn. This would be very believable to many fans who feel Reigns is only getting over because of the company he keeps.

With Lesnar's incredible popularity despite facing The Undertaker, a hole has definitely been made for a heel to come to power. Reigns would rise up rather quickly in WWE, especially if endorsed by The Authority. If Seth Rollins loses to Cena at SummerSlam, it could be all the motivation The Authority needs to support Reigns instead.

Cesaro's rise as a top face is being met with great crowd response, which could make him an ideal opponent for Reigns. The same can be said of Dolph Ziggler and Ryback, as well as Ambrose himself, who would wage immediate war with his former Shield brother.

A heel turn would benefit Reigns in the long run, as his character would become more compelling and complex. He would get the chance to grow in a new role, and WWE would get the chance to do what it has often done at SummerSlam: wow the audience with some serious shock value.

Tom Clark can regularly be found on Bleacher Report and his podcast, Tom Clark's Main Event, is available on iTunes, Google Play, Windows Phone, Amazon Android and online here