The curious case of Dean Ambrose

[NotoriousWWE]

Back in 2012 when The Shield debuted, everybody was raving about the potential Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose had not just as a group but as individuals. The trio would go on for the following few years to become one of WWE's most successful stables of all time. During their stint together, they would become champions, feud with historic teams such as The New Age Outlaws, The Brothers of Destruction, Evolution and The Wyatt Family. Things were looking good for all 3.

Back then however in my eyes, the guy that fans fully saw as a future world champion and the probable breakout star of The Shield, was Dean Ambrose. The stable would eventually split with Rollins becoming WWE's number one guy and Reigns quickly followed suit. Unfortunately for Dean Ambrose he would, like this coming Sunday at MiTB, have to take a backseat to the rise of two of WWE's top rising stars in Rollins and Reigns. So my question is, what is WWE doing that hasn't clicked SO FAR with Dean Ambrose?

He's the fan favourite of the three, the most experienced in the bussiness and perhaps the best on the mic of the three. So I don't understand what hasn't worked for him.

Perhaps it's the way he's been booked? A heel Dean Ambrose comes with shades of the insane Brian Pillman crossed with the rage of Stone Cold. However a face Dean Ambrose is goofy maybe too goofy for my liking. Prior to his interesting segment with Reigns and Rollins on this weeks Ambrose Asylum, I feel he really wasn't living up to the hype he had built during his time in the shield. Don't get me wrong the fans do love him, but something isn't clicking with him.

His feud with Jericho at times was unbearable, Jericho doing most of the work to make it interesting. WWE has for a long long while now teased an Ambrose main event run and never gone through with it. Ambrose has dwindled with the main event scene for far too long and it's now or never to push the button.

I guess my confusion as to why Ambrose is not the Ambrose of old, like the one back in NXT is the way he's being marketed? They're watering down his crazy persona for the current PG audience and I feel it's not working.

Fix this. Sunday at MiTB, I was fully behind Owens winning the briefcase but that promo where Ambrose teases winning the case and cashing in on either of his former buddies has swayed me. It's time to try an Ambrose run and to do so I think it's time Ambrose plays the bad guy. You don't even need to turn him heel, he just needs to stop caring about others and only about himself. It's time for Ambrose to break out finally fully live up to his hype.

What do you think WWE needs to do with Ambrose? Maybe you like his current character and are happy with his positioning? My thoughts are that I like main event Ambrose, not midcard happy go lucky Ambrose we've had for years now.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

I like Dean Ambrose's character, I like his mic work...I don't like Dean Ambrose wrestling matches. IMO he's had two good matches since breaking up with The Shield. His hardcore match vs Kevin Owens and his single match vs Triple H. There was a huge opportunity for Ambrose to be a big star at Wrestlemania, but fell short big time vs Brock. Then he got in a feud with Y2J and had a boring cage match with him.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

The shitty match with Lesnar at Wrestlemania played a big part in derailing whatever momentum Ambrose had two or three months ago. It's one thing if Lesnar beat the piss out of Ambrose, with Ambrose having a good amount of offense throughout the match, pushing Lesnar to the limit and to the point, where you could actually believe in Ambrose having a legit chance to beat Lesnar, but that didn't happen. The match was basically a glorified squash, with Lesnar taking another victim to Suplex City, and to make matters worse, it was hard to buy into Lesnar being in any real danger of losing throughout the match.

With all that said, Dean Ambrose MIGHT have a few world title runs in his career, but I have a hard time believing in Ambrose rising to the upper echelon for future main eventers. WWE is clearly grooming Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins for the top spots, with Roman being the face and a polarizing character, and Rollins as the heel, and you have to believe both guys will trade roles throughout the years to avoid becoming stale.

I'm a fan of Ambrose, but I get the feeling he'll fill the role of an interchangeable #2 guy with the likes Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, and CM Punk, and that's nothing to be ashamed of.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Neither Dean Ambrose nor Roman Reigns should be main event players. They're simply not good enough. Ambrose is a better wrestler than Reigns, but more than anybody else in wrestling history, he shatters the illusion of wrestling being real. My favorite thing to do while watching a wrestling match is to forget that it's staged and just enjoy it. Dean Ambrose makes that impossible, with his ridiculous over-acting and cartoonish facial expressions. He makes wrestling a parody of itself and I can't stand it. Ambrose just doesn't have what it takes to be a main eventer.

 

[xavyer]

I'm not saying i'm right, but if they book Ambrose correctly, and the right feuds he can pick up right where Stone Cold left off, the guy is a rebel like Austin, a loud mouth like Piper, and enjoys pain like Foley, he's got it all to be a top guy, i think is time to pull the trigger on him and start going on a different direction with him, the WWE got an opportunity to think outside the box with Ambrose....

 

[Rhodes2TheFuture3313]

I'm a Dean Ambrose fan. Have been since before the Shield. Dean's been US Champ. Had an awesome run with the IC title and has had some really good Main Event matches when he's been given opportunities. The problem is he's been a victim of stop/start pushes. The Ambrose Asylum is great and Dean is oozing personality, but I liked the serious turn he took tonight. I don't think a heel turn is coming. They just turned AJ Styles. Ambrose is a Top Face in the company. He sells merch and everything he does is entertaining. He has a unique wrestling-style which is what I think throws people off, but more than anything he has a BELIEF IN HIS CHARACTER. I've been pulling for Ambrose to win the MITB in 2016 since Royal Rumble time. Dean has been healthy and I think that SHIELD Triple Threat tease tonight whet the appetite of MANY in the WWE UNIVERSE. Definitely agree with the OP. Now is Time for the Age of Ambrose. Pull the Trigger Vince.

 

[Kyphael]

I agree that Ambrose's in-ring abilities are laughable, he used to be better in his Shield days when he was just a legit brawler, but the moment he donned the wife beater and those ridiculous jeans, and started acting like something you'd get if you cloned Brian Pillman and Roddy Piper with a double digit IQ, he turned into a bad cartoon character.

As he is now, he would only be any good in a bush league like 90's ECW. Plus, he dresses like shit. He'd be easier to take seriously as a competitor if he ditched the jeans and wife beater, he can't pull it off and would be better suited wearing black trunks and just beating people up and cutting deranged Foley-like promos (sans the God awful facial expressions.)

Then there's the hair... I mean, presentation is part of it. Has anyone noticed since he broke from the Shield, he can't fall down without pulling his hair down in front of his eyes to cover up his receding hairline? It's not even that bad, he used to have a good combed look in the Shield, but when he keeps pulling his hair in front of his eyes, it brings attention to the fact he's insecure about his damn hairline when he should be worried about dishing out punishment and selling. He gets German suplexed and first thing he does is fix his hair, that breaks the illusion.

I used to be a big Ambrose fan in the Shield, but he quickly soured on me since with his look, presentation, and character. Maybe he's to blame, maybe its creative, but if nothing else, he's at least partly to blame from the way he dresses, over-acts, and the above mentioned.

I'd like Reigns even more at this point if he wasn't over-exposed, bad on the microphone, and riding the Shield's corpse (gear and theme.) At least Reigns put on three or more great matches with (Lesnar and Styles.)

Unless Ambrose changes his look and fine tunes his character, I HOPE he doesn't get a title reign, Owens is much more deserving right now to be the third guy in the company if Reigns is first and Rollins second.

 

[The Samoan Heritage]

I saw this a while ago and again tonight in the Wz Raw comment section and can't help but agree...
"Ambrose is only ever relevant when Rollins or Reigns is involved".
Ambrose will be given main event matches here and there only because his former Shield brother'n are being groomed to be the top guys of wwe. Take MITB for instance, if he does win it, it will be because wwe wants to have a shield triple threat match. And even then I'm positive that if/when that match happens Ambrose won't be the one walking away as champ.

He's horrible in the ring. I've seen his fans completely destroy Reigns about his move-set, but then defend Ambrose by calling his move-set "unique". Reigns has had great matches with Lesnar/Rollins/AJ/Bryan/and even Big Show, yet the only good matches I've seen Ambrose have are against Owens.
Even on the mic, I feel like he can handle himself, which is good but he ruins it every time by making lame jokes or unnecessary expressions.

The shitty match with Lesnar at Wrestlemania played a big part in derailing whatever momentum Ambrose had two or three months ago.

I completely agree. WM was wwe's chance to make Ambrose a main eventer...and they ruined it! He had just fought for the world title a few weeks prior and was going against Brock Lesnar in a street fight. Even if he still lost, Dean taking Lesnar to his limits(something no one has done, recently) would have put him over big time. Instead he gets decimated and lose the little momentum he had.

I don't see Ambrose becoming a top star, a few main event matches with Reigns and Rollins but that's it. If Vince thought Christian wasn't championship material because of the way he looks, I wonder what he thinks about Dean Ambrose.

 

[Coco]

There is no "curious case" here. You've got a guy who has been given main eventer booking since day one. He's been groomed consistently. He's been teased constantly as just being a step shy of breaking through. His match at Mania lacked its final third (thanks for finding the perfect way to describe that, Sam), but he's still right there. He's one of the most popular guys in the company and a guy who has been built to the point where the trigger can be pulled at a moment's notice.

It's not now or never. It's now or whenever. They're committed to him and the paying audience is largely behind him.

I'd have him reign it in a little and maybe tighten up his strikes. But they've build a headliner.

What's the issue here?

He's got a lot in common with Bray Wyatt: Obsessive hardcore fans see a perennial jobber to the stars. But everyone else sees a guy who's always in big-time situations who they'll buy as a headliner in no time flat.

If they were to stay the course with Ambrose for another whole year (not how I'd do it, I'd elevate him before then), they'd still have an instant main eventer.

Patience, children.

 

[Navi]

I've always seen Ambrose as being in some sort of holding pattern. It's like if the other two didn't work out then they could put him in right away. When the Shield was together, he was the best on the mic, not in the ring Rollins was, but Ambrose can hold his own.

Rollins and Reigns needed the most help and got it. What I didn't like what the fact that Ambrose was sort of seen as some sort of lackey to Reigns when he really isn't. I understand the connection between the two, but Ambrose outguns him on the mic, and should in the ring as well.

I have no doubt he will hold the title at some point in time and he may win it during a Shield triple threat match. It all depends on Vince and Co. but right now they have their focus on others. Ambrose is still fairly young and while the other two have gone down with injuries, Ambrose has been very lucky and remained injury free despite all his sort of hard core matches.

Time is on his side for now and so are the fans. They haven't given up on him yet. He really has to do something with that hair of his though, it's just horrible.

 

[Blade]

I like Ambrose, a lot. But even as a strong supporter of the guy, I can admit his matches drag him down a lot.

Promo wise, the guy is great. And the work he puts into building up matches is really excellent. Manipulating Triple H into giving him a title shot, taking Lesnar's beatings and getting up from them, all god stuff. Admittedly, when he isn't working as the underdog, like against Jericho, it falls flat. But four times out of five, I think the guy delivers in promos and backstage segments.

The majority of the crowd love the guy. When he mentioned winning the briefcase, he got one of the biggest pops of the night. He connects with both genders, and all age groups. That's so rare in this day and age. In recent memory, only Daniel Bryan has managed to do that. Ambrose is obviously no Bryan, but he certainly has an X factor that connects with the crowd, and WWE has always seen that, to their credit.

But at the end of it all, his matches just aren't at a level they need to be. While his match with Triple H is one of the matches of the year, it's the only bright spot in a sea of 3 star PPV matches. And WWE really screwed the guy over at Wrestlemania. He's slowly recovering, but WWE's obsession with making Brock look godly is messing up their younger guys.

And despite all that, the crowd still gets behind Ambrose. Considering the amount of guys the WWE fans have got behind then given up on over the years (Ziggler, Kofi, Ryder, Ryback, etc.), Ambrose has never lost them, despite failures of booking and match quality.

So is being over the most important part of pro wrestling? If you put on mediocre matches, but people still love you, are you worthy of a main event push because of that fan reaction?

At the end of the day, Ambrose is a reliable work horse. He's never had a major injury, I've never heard of any problems with his attitude. He's weird, but he's a company guy. And while he's never going to be John Cena, I think he'll earn himself a few World Titles along the way.

 

[Bockwinkel's Class]

So is being over the most important part of pro wrestling? If you put on mediocre matches, but people still love you, are you worthy of a main event push because of that fan reaction?

Of course it is. Hogan put on godawful matches for years but kept his push in the WWF because he was over with the audience.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Of course it is. Hogan put on godawful matches for years but kept his push in the WWF because he was over with the audience.

Yes and no. His actual in ring flow and quality could easily be described as poor. But if you want to talk about psychology he's one of the best ever. He could get anyone behind him in a match. It really depends on what aspect you'd be referring to.

 

[ShinChan]

I've always seen Ambrose as being in some sort of holding pattern.

Exactly.

He is the worst booked out of The Shield. Still he has impressed me whatever he does. I agree that his matches aren't good enough. But Dean himself isn't at the wrong end. I have seem his matches outside of WWE and they are good enough.

Brock just decimated Ambrose at Wrestlemania which is awful booking.

I don't have any hope for him in future. I was surprised that some people were expecting Ambrose to go over Lesnar. I knew that he would lose but didn't expect such a squash.

I remember reading reports that in Cena's absence, he would be booked as the top baby face. But he wasn't.

I see no chance of Ambrose winning the MITB briefcase this sunday.

 

[BringThePain834]

Ambrose's character is supposed to be a loon, but he either doesn't know how to play a loon or WWE wants him to play it as a goofball, which is exactly what he's doing. He and WWE need to gather around and watch tapes of Pillman and Sid. They knew how to play a loon, and never indulged in quirky humor like Ambrose does. Even AJ Styles could learn from the likes of Pillman and Sid.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

Ambrose came into this year as the most popular wrestler in WWE in my opinion. That was completely due to his gimmick, his promo ability, and lack of competition (so many guys were hurt). Unfortunately, for some reason, his matches haven't quite lived up to their potential. That was most notably seen at WrestleMania 32, where the one match that people were actually excited for fell completely flat and made both Brock and Dean look bad. He has only really produced when paired up with Rollins or Owens, but the likes of Jericho, Roman, and Lesnar have given us all duds.

Despite the shitty matches he is still very popular. Despite the returns of Cena, Rollins, Cesaro and the debut of AJ Styles and the Club Dean is still very popular. Despite his promos becoming more corny and scripted he is still very popular. I just think his match quality would need to improve before we start talking about him being the man. I think Kevin Owens deserves the MitB contract and I think he should be champ sooner rather than later. As of now, no one is exhibiting more of the complete package than the "Prizefighter".

For Dean, he's already more than halfway there. Let's hope he can finally start entertaining us in the ring the way he used to entertain us on the mic.

 

[Blade]

Of course it is. Hogan put on godawful matches for years but kept his push in the WWF because he was over with the audience.

That's not true in the slightest. In many facets of pro wrestling, Hulk Hogan was probably the greatest there's ever been. Just because his matches weren't to your taste doesn't change that. You don't spend over a decade on top if you don't know what you're doing.

In fact, I'd say many of Ambrose's weaknesses were Hogan's strengths. Psychology and storytelling. Ambrose trying to transition from spot to spot can be really rough, as shown in his asylum match.

Can Ambrose get away with those very glaring weaknesses if the crowd are behind him in spite of them? Would they inevitably turn on him if he was pushed to the main event?

 

[AegonTargaryen]

. He's weird, but he's a company guy. And while he's never going to be John Cena, I think he'll earn himself a few World Titles along the way.

He's weird? Weird as in the character who pretends to be lunatic and grimaces and mumbles stuff to himself and walks awkwardly, or weird- the real guy who plays the character? Or both? : P

 

[OYDK]

Dean Ambrose has never been treated like a joke, in fact, he's actually been featured on the program heavily ever since the Shield split and never dropped below the upper-midcard. Yes Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns have surpassed him in terms of their spot on the card, but they've also gotten a ton of friggin help along the way. Ambrose hasn't. WWE has teased giving him the title for like a year and a half now and I think it's almost a given that he'll win the championship at some point in his career... I just don't know how soon that will be.

Somebody else mentioned Jericho, and I think that's the exact role Ambrose will play in his career. He'll have a few World title reigns mixed in, but mostly be relied upon to work the mid-card and inserted into the high-profile programs when they need a solid hand. A lot of comparisons can be made between Brock/Ambrose at Mania 32 and Michaels/Jericho at Mania 19, not in terms of match quality but more in terms of booking. Ambrose and Jericho were both kind of just inserted out of nowhere and both lost to guys (legends) that really didn't need to win. But that was their role.

I don't think Ambrose will ever be the top man in the company, primarily because I don't think WWE sees that in him. But that doesn't mean he can't have a legendary career.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Ambrose has received awful booking from WWE. He hasn't won anything, and he has mostly been treated as Reign's sidekick. He couldn't beat Wyatt. He couldn't beat Rollins. He couldn't beat Triple H. He couldn't beat Reigns. He couldn't beat Lesnar. He beat Jericho, but come on, everyone does. Even Fandango did. Ambrose is over (probably the most popular face in WWE), and he's talented. His matches have been somewhat underwhelming, but he makes up for them with his character and mic skills. Let's just hope WWE keeps on pushing him and really gets behind him.