Dean Ambrose In-Ring Work - Is he being Limited or is he Overrated?

[L@RISANO]

Just have to discuss with you guys who have been watching the Shield since they arrived, and some that watched Dean Ambrose before he debuted with the Shield(ROH and NXT).

In the matches I have seen him, Rollins and Reigns have looked way more eye catching overall compared to Ambrose. I know he is brilliant with a mic in his hands, but in the ring he hasn't impressed anywhere near to how Rollins and Reigns have. He punches and punches, and maybe some submission moves, but nothing that gets me(personally) excited and have any urge to watch him.

My question to you guys is; Has Dean Ambrose been limited in the ring by the powers that be, maybe use a move set that doesn't portray his in-ring skills, or is he just overrated and is over solely due to his character portrayal and mic-work?

 

[NegativeFeedback]

Just have to discuss with you guys who have been watching the Shield since they arrived, and some that watched Dean Ambrose before he debuted with the Shield(ROH and NXT).

In the matches I have seen him, Rollins and Reigns have looked way more eye catching overall compared to Ambrose. I know he is brilliant with a mic in his hands, but in the ring he hasn't impressed anywhere near to how Rollins and Reigns have. He punches and punches, and maybe some submission moves, but nothing that gets me(personally) excited and have any urge to watch him.

My question to you guys is; Has Dean Ambrose been limited in the ring by the powers that be, maybe use a move set that doesn't portray his in-ring skills, or is he just overrated and is over solely due to his character portrayal and mic-work?

Legitimate question here. What was the longest singles match Ambrose has had? Because I can't remember any time he has been given enough time to show off.

 

[Jaffa]

Legitimate question here. What was the longest singles match Ambrose has had? Because I can't remember any time he has been given enough time to show off.

I think his longest match was against Daniel Bryan on an episode of Raw and it went for about 20 minutes it was leading up to one of his many PPV matches against Randy Orton last year.

 

[Iced]

I would guess that the longest singles match Ambrose had was vs. Daniel Bryan to open up Raw awhile back, and that was an excellent match. His few title defenses weren't exactly against the easiest competition to have a stellar match with, Big E Langston and Kane. I enjoyed his title defense against Kofi Kingston and he and Dolph had a very good match on Raw at one point. Given his performances in FCW, I'd say he is certainly capable of having a tremendous match and proved that in developmental, as well as on the Independent circuit. He's really the only guy I ever saw use old school type selling in deathmatches, at least in CZW anyway.

Ambrose doesn't necessarily bring the promise of an amazing match to the airwaves but his strongest points are obviously his mic skills and, something I believe has been overlooked by many, top notch psychology. He has the ability to make the situation seem more realistic instead of a rehearsed, sub par acted wrestling angle.

He can't equal the high flying offense and dazzling physical agility of Rollins, nor be as intimidating with sheer power and aggressiveness as Reigns. He has the intangibles locked down however. This combination is what makes The Shield a near perfectly rounded 3 man unit.

To answer your question, I don't think he's been given enough opportunities in singles competition to fairly judge how good of an actual wrestler he is, barring mic work and psychology.

 

[LascoX]

I would agree with the others that have said he hasn't been given the opportunity to really show what he can do. In the match against Bryan I was impressed and thought that he did good. I think Ambrose is pretty solid all around in the ring. In his matches with Punk he has also looked solid in the ring. Part of it I think is him being booked to put over his opponents to help build them and solidify his heel status. In that respect I think he has been limited since you put him with Punk or Bryan and you get a solid match. He might not be displaying the aerial work or power of his team mates but that's not his role in the group. His role is to be the crazy unstable one that helps keep the Shield on the dangerous unpredictable edge. He is also obviously the one that costs them the matches due to that same trait as seen on the last Raw.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think the question is part of a broader question that's got to be applied to all members of The Shield: how will they do as singles competitors in the long run? Of the three members, Ambrose has had the most number of singles matches but, all in all, WWE has generally booked The Shield in various degrees of tag team matches. The Shield, and Team Hell No to a lesser degree, have been set up as the foundation for the emergence of WWE's renewal in tag team wrestling in 2013.

From an overall perspective, to me at least, Seth Rollins has looked the strongest as far as in-ring singles competition. Rollins is something of the Daniel Bryan of the group in the sense that he's the most overall athletic, can do the high risk stuff, can brawl well and can mat wrestle. Ambrose's biggest strengths lie in using psychology & storytelling during his matches. He's probably the most interesting of The Shield as a character with, again in my eyes, something of a loose cannon inspired kind of guy. I've seen Ambrose have strong, competitive matches against guys like Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler.

Ambrose doesn't use a lot of high spots and there's nothing wrong with that. I know that high spots can be used by some as something of a measuring stick to judge how good someone is in the ring but, as I said, Ambrose is much more of a psychologist & storyteller. Ambrose wasn't a spot monkey even on the indie scene. A lot of what we see from him in the ring is what he's done on the indie scene like the Fujiwara armbar, the running dropkick while the opponent is up against the ropes, a few variations of the superplex, the headlock driver, etc. Doing a ton of high risk moves with WWE's schedule is a good way to wear your body out a whole lot faster.

 

[Cody Trail]

Overrated in the ring and over due to his mic-work/character.

Ambrose is definitely a good wrestler, and like many former indy talents, the WWE style of matches actually limits what he's capable of doing, but there are people in the IWC that run around acting like this guy is on the same level as Bret Hart or Mr. Perfect in terms of in-ring ability. Just because you're known for having long matches, that doesn't make them the greatest matches to ever arrive on God's green earth.

Like I said, his ringwork is fine, but overrated. It's his mic-work and character that makes him stand out.

 

[Tyler3750]

I dont think there is a need to have him stand out in the ring just yet, By making him less attractive in the ring and more of a "stale gritty, even boring" type wrestler, he will make reigns and rollins stand out more, which is what is happening, hence the comparisons. Once the shield break up and he gets put into a meaningful feud im sure we will see a bit more of his talent. I dont see why anyone should show their full hand so early, if he and the other member of the shield are long term main eventers keep them limited until the right moment to get the big pop

 

[The Dragon Saga]

One, Dean Ambrose/Jon Moxley was never in ROH, he was in DGUSA.

Two, he was never known prior to WWE for his in-ring talent like say a Daniel Bryan or CM Punk coming into WWE. He was known for his promo skills which is why Gabe Sapolsky (DGUSA head booker) admits is the reason he initially booked him. He saw a promo of his and thought his character was edgy and something people would want to see. Ambrose was known for hardcore matches, such as the ones in Combat Zone Wrestling which is where he was Heavyweight Champion. If anything hes probably gotten better as a wrestler since joining WWE.

 

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

Reigns moveset is nothing special. He is just a big guy, who is more agile than most other big guys. He can move fast, he has an intimidating look and can definitely bring him to the top. BUT still, his moveset is nothing special. He does a Superman punch which looks cool, he does some clothesline, shoulder tackle and his spear finisher, but apart from that, he seems to be a Cena #2 when it comes to in-ring skill.

Rollins has showed that he is easily the best in-ring performer out of the three of them and possibly int he top 3 in the WWE at the moment. BUT, the different here is that they let Rollins go toe to toe with Punk and Cena for what? 15 minutes? Maybe even more. He had a chance to show what he can do and whenever a match goes on for more than 15 minutes, it is always going to be a 4 star semi-classic.

Ambrose, same as Reigns hasn't shown us much of his in-ring abilities as long as the moves he uses are concerned. He is golden on the mic, his facial expression in the match are amazing, his body movements, everything he does, psychology and stuff is amazing. The moves he applies though are not many. Is this because he isn't as talented as Rollins or Bryan? Well, he isn't as talented as them, but he can definitely be a Cm Punk in the ring. He knows enough moves to carry a match around for 20-25 minutes. BUT, same as Reigns, he hasn't been given enough time to show them, like Rollins has.

Thing is, Ambrose seems very comfortable in the ring, no sloppy movements, everything he does seems natural and he makes it look easy. BUT he needs to be given more singles matches, especially defending the title. This will show his moveset (the typical 5 moves of doom that everyone has and applies in all of their matches), along with what else the more technical guys do. Being a heel, he will dictate most of the pace and will have to apply most of the moves, and if he is given 10-15 minutes of TV time, for a solid 2 months period, he can show us what he can do.

So, to answer the question, I think he is being held down by the powers that be. They don't give him enough time in matches and that means he can't show us what he can really do. Personally, the Double Underhook Superplex he does just does it for me every time.

 

[JayBailes]

I defiantly don't believe he is overrated, once the Shield split and he gets given his own singles feud he will slowly build adding things to his move-set and being able to grow as the singles star he has been hyped up to be.

 

[Kidpolean]

Just have to discuss with you guys who have been watching the Shield since they arrived, and some that watched Dean Ambrose before he debuted with the Shield(ROH and NXT).

In the matches I have seen him, Rollins and Reigns have looked way more eye catching overall compared to Ambrose. I know he is brilliant with a mic in his hands, but in the ring he hasn't impressed anywhere near to how Rollins and Reigns have. He punches and punches, and maybe some submission moves, but nothing that gets me(personally) excited and have any urge to watch him.

My question to you guys is; Has Dean Ambrose been limited in the ring by the powers that be, maybe use a move set that doesn't portray his in-ring skills, or is he just overrated and is over solely due to his character portrayal and mic-work?

This thread seems strange to me. The way that you wrote this seems as though you dont know anything about Ambrose pre-wwe. Which leads to me this question, why even make a thread such as this if you dont have the knowledge to make a valid argument.

First off...Ambrose was never in ROH which I believe someone else has already pointed out, and he BARELY wrestled for NXT as well. He is most known for DGUSA and FCW but you dont mention either one. Yes I know FCW is now NXT but Ambrose was apart of the FCW days much more than NXT.

Secondly...he was never ever considered a good wrestler. Moxley was always a promo guy. He was known by indy fans for his hardcore matches and ability to take pain which doesnt translate well to the wwe's pg product. Honestly, I was really surprised that wwe ever signed a small "death match" type of wrestler.

And finally....I dont thnik anyone overrates his in ring ability however I do find his mic skills a bit overrrated. He seems very good at one type of character but I feel as though the greats on the mic such as Rock, Punk, and Piper would be great on the mic regardless of character. The same goes for Bray Wyatt I think that he plays that character so well that it makes his mic skills seem better than they truly are. I dont believe that Bray or Ambrose mic skills would remian as good as they are if they had a major character change.

 

[Pedigree1]

I like Dean Ambrose. I know Rollins,is probably the spot monkey of the group,and has been doing the best of the group,but that doesnt mean he is the best.. Ambrose is a tremendous underrated competitor,and a great story teller in the ring.. His style is not exciting but its smart and will not wear his body out.. Ambrose picks you apart,armbars headlocks he is a throwback to the old style of WWE..

A great psychologist in the wrestling business,is mister Ambrose.. I think he is one of the few guys that could go for a full hour as it seems,it takes him a few minutes to get warmed up..

 

[Mustang Sally]

I have no problem with Dean Ambrose and don't really see who it is that's said to be "overrating" him in the first place.

He's good; a decent ring worker who, for a young guy, is very much adept at keeping a match flowing by working well with his opponents. That factor might not sound overly exciting, but the degree to which a performer possesses that quality is what gets him more exposure in pro wrestling.

The way the Shield was being presented to us at the beginning, I thought the group was planned as a launching point for Ambrose, perhaps even at the expense of the other two. Since then, while Dean is still upwardly mobile in his career path, his star has dimmed somewhat. I would say Rollins is the most flexible ring worker of the group while Reigns is turning out to be the breakout star, even though he has the least ability of the three to work fluidly with opponents.

Meanwhile, Dean Ambrose will be fine even if he's not the shooting star some thought he would be. He's not being limited, because we always see and hear him......and he's not overrated because he has the useful ring skills necessary for a solid career.

 

[Dirk]

What I'll give him is he does a great job of staying in character in the ring. That slide-step-thing he does looks great and it's a nice touch. Also, the Shield as a unit (but mostly Ambrose and Rollins) is also great at in-ring trash-talk.

 

[GeneralKarim]

He was never overrated.He's is a good in ring worker with a more oldschool style + his antics in the ring are awesome and it adds value to the time that he is on screen.

I think all Shield members are great in the ring.Rollins is defenitely not just a spot monkey the dude can go , as showed by his numerous matches and his latest incredible match with Cena.

Reigns for a bigger guy is excelent as well and I love that he already has 2 signature moves and already has a "prelude" to them.

What really stands out , in my opinion, ( because a lot of people are good in the ring ) is their trash talk. I swear these guys never stop, out side of the ring, inside of the ring.Especially Reigns, he is not a big dude who just stomps people, he stomps them while constantly being a smart ass in the ring.All of them seem to know the power of trash talk and at such a young age they can only get better and better.

But, no Ambrose isnt overrated.Yea im sure WWE wont allow him to do all tha the can do, since that's what the WWE does for most wrestlers.But Ambrose is a guy that can go for 1+hours and is a good storyteller in the ring and has a oldschool-ish style to him, more calculated and very aggressive once he gets going.Especially now that he is being pegged as the loose cannon of the Shield with him going off in almost every segment with Rollins stopping him, which I find pretty amusing.

 

[MCMG]

Before his debut, the majority were excited by his mic-skills. He is very unique and it is clear he has immense potential. He is definitely capable in the ring. We have seen that from each member of The Shield and Ambrose has been the one member who has wrestled the most one-on-one.

When The Shield eventually disbands we will get to see all three of them as individuals. In the ring and on promos. This is how they are likely to stay and being an individual allows more room to shine (unless the stable is built around one guy)

So when The Shield split, we will get to see Ambrose wrestle more singles matches: the same for Rollins and Reigns. I think Ambrose has star potential and is definitely good enough in the ring. He certainly isn't overrated.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

Have I missed something? From the inception of the Shield, Ambrose has always stood out as the workhorse to me, the guy who works the longest shift while allowing Rollins to come in and do the showboat cruiser moves and Reigns to come in and do his power move shtick. He is also the guy who has carried the vast majority of promos, because (IMO) he is head and shoulders above the other two here. To me, Ambrose is an Arn Anderson or Roddy Piper type - great promo guys who never had to showboat in the ring to be in compelling bouts.

Of the three Shield guy, he's the one I'd have most confidence in having a lengthy HoF worthy WWe career. Rollins strikes me as running the risk of being the next Dolph Ziggler - great to watch (so likely to struggle as a heel) but struggles to get over on the mic (so likely to struggle as a face) and I'm still not sold on Reigns as he is still hits me as the next Sheamus/ Ryback/ Big E etc type and is yet to provide that promo that might indicate he may rise above that assessment.

 

[L@RISANO]

This thread seems strange to me. The way that you wrote this seems as though you dont know anything about Ambrose pre-wwe. Which leads to me this question, why even make a thread such as this if you dont have the knowledge to make a valid argument.

First off...Ambrose was never in ROH which I believe someone else has already pointed out, and he BARELY wrestled for NXT as well. He is most known for DGUSA and FCW but you dont mention either one. Yes I know FCW is now NXT but Ambrose was apart of the FCW days much more than NXT.

Secondly...he was never ever considered a good wrestler. Moxley was always a promo guy. He was known by indy fans for his hardcore matches and ability to take pain which doesnt translate well to the wwe's pg product. Honestly, I was really surprised that wwe ever signed a small "death match" type of wrestler.

And finally....I dont thnik anyone overrates his in ring ability however I do find his mic skills a bit overrrated. He seems very good at one type of character but I feel as though the greats on the mic such as Rock, Punk, and Piper would be great on the mic regardless of character. The same goes for Bray Wyatt I think that he plays that character so well that it makes his mic skills seem better than they truly are. I dont believe that Bray or Ambrose mic skills would remian as good as they are if they had a major character change.

As I alluded to in the Headline and the Opening Sentence. I don't know much about Ambrose beyond his time in WWE. However, I started this thread to get the general opinion on him based on what I have heard compared to what I have seen from him.
The answers I have gotten have been a great help in that I can now look forward to Ambrose as a Singles wrestler with the knowledge that he isn't the most flashy in-ring performer and never has been as per opinions I have read in this thread.

 

[Kidpolean]

As I alluded to in the Headline and the Opening Sentence. I don't know much about Ambrose beyond his time in WWE. However, I started this thread to get the general opinion on him based on what I have heard compared to what I have seen from him.
The answers I have gotten have been a great help in that I can now look forward to Ambrose as a Singles wrestler with the knowledge that he isn't the most flashy in-ring performer and never has been as per opinions I have read in this thread.

You could always YouTube some of his old stuff. Honestly, I didn't really like him before the WWE because I'm not a huge fan of hardcore wrestling. He kinda over does his promos sometimes and they come off as fake and silly. Overall, he will be a solid mid carder nothing more nothing less. Don't let Indy fans trick you into believing he's a future WWE champ. He's nothing special. Average in the ring, average look, slightly above average mic skills. Right now is the most relevant he will ever be.

 

[L@RISANO]

You could always YouTube some of his old stuff. Honestly, I didn't really like him before the WWE because I'm not a huge fan of hardcore wrestling. He kinda over does his promos sometimes and they come off as fake and silly. Overall, he will be a solid mid carder nothing more nothing less. Don't let Indy fans trick you into believing he's a future WWE champ. He's nothing special. Average in the ring, average look, slightly above average mic skills. Right now is the most relevant he will ever be.

I have to say, your opinion on Dean Ambrose goes against the normal notion that he is a future Top Heel in the business. However, you do back the opinion up and I give you props for that. Some time ago, I also saw him as the ideal opponent to Roman Reigns in the future if they both made it big. However, as I have said, on recent observations of his in-ring performances, your prediction of him being a solid mid-carder might well ring true. I guess if the upcoming IC-US Unification angle is true, it will be interesting to see what type of role Ambrose ends up with. Ambrose actually has been the one to take the pin-falls and finishing moves in the Shield's recent losses,even more than Seth Rollins whilst Roman Reigns has been protected due to his alleged Big Push ongoing.

Cheers.

 

[boywithbluehanger]

I'm not immensely impressed with Ambrose but I do think I'm impressed enough with him to say that I think he'll be good as a mid-card heel. So pretty much, I view him the way I view Alberto Del Rio. By that I mean that he's a guy who has a decent heel gimmick but doesn't seem to portray any signs of being able to get the live crowds to greatly react or lash out against the things he's saying or doing.

That said, I think he's OK in the ring but only because you expect more of a ground and pound style of fighting from a heel his size. He's not supposed to be flashy because he's not a babyface-type and he's not supposed to use a lot of powerful slams because he's not a monster-type. He's a heel-type pokemon...err I mean wrestler. So I'd say that he's just where he needs to be and he should get comfortable because I believe that he could quite possibly be there for a while in the midcard.

 

[ALIE]

Needs a bigger move set.
Specially when moving too singles competition, same can be said with Roman.

Really Seth Rollins should be getting Romans push.

 

[ALIE]

First I think Dean needs a bigger move set for singles competition,

And Rollins should be getting the push Roman is looking at..

He's one off the in ring worker period in the WWE, and he's improved a lot on the Mic.

Roman like Dean needs a bigger move set, and honestly needs too be built different,
Stop the POWER HOUSE OF THE SHIELD Crap!! compared too Lesnar, Batista, Bobby, BigE, he's seems weak, straight wise he's more like Rock or HHH, guys who's strong but it wasn't there Focus.

Huh didn't know I already posted ^_^

 

[russoswornouteraser]

Obviously being limited. Check out anything he did as John Moxley or even his FCW matches. Either that or he's taking his time to adapt to the 'wwe way'. (wretch).