WNS Column: 2014 - The Summer of Ambrose?

On Sunday 18^th November 2012, the debut of The Shield shocked the wrestling world. The arrival of Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins at the Survivor Series Pay-Per-View immediately paved the way for the journey that wrestling’s newest faction would take. Having interfered in the triple threat WWE Championship Main Event between the reigning champion: CM Punk, John Cena & Ryback, all three men were immediately catapulted into superstardom. Being involved in storylines with the likes of John Cena, Randy Orton & later, the likes of The Undertaker & Daniel Bryan would successfully help to elevate the presence & notability of the faction, cementing the longevity of The Shield & it’s dominance within WWE throughout 2013 & well into the current year. After successfully being involved in feuds against the likes of The Wyatt Family & Evolution in 2014, the heel turn of Seth Rollins brought an end to one of wrestling’s most devastating factions. Aligning himself alongside The Authority, Rollins would go on to prevail in the WWE Championship Contract Money in the Bank Ladder Match, leaving Ambrose and Reigns to disband and follow their separate & individual paths. As Reigns was immediately thrown into the WWE Title picture, Ambrose was left to embark on a heated rivalry with Rollins, his former tag team partner turned bad guy. Months on, can we collectively say that Ambrose has been proven as the true star in the immediate wake of The Shield breakup?

As most wrestling fans will agree, Ambrose is considered to be one of the greatest workers of the microphone from the current crop and generation of superstars. His promos are often touted as one of the saving graces of the current WWE product, often positively regarded by many fans and critics alike. For some older wrestling fans, his work is sometimes comparable to that of Roddy Piper during the 1980’s & 1990’s. Ambrose has stated on more than one occasion that Piper has influenced his career and would often watch ‘old school’ promos, fascinated by the showmanship, charisma & talent that Piper oozed by ‘drawing the crowd in’. His in-ring style compliments his character. The move set, the attire & even down to the location of many of his promos successfully help to give the character of Dean Ambrose an individual identity. Many fans root for the character because he’s unique & different; he isn’t simply a ‘carbon copy’ of traditional WWE styled gimmicks or personas.

Momentarily referring back to the significance of The Shield in relation to the current WWE product – the reason that all three members of the faction are successfully pursuing singles careers as we head into the second biggest Pay-Per-View of the year (SummerSlam), is because of their own identity and individual traits. Reigns was always considered as the ‘muscle’ of the group, Rollins as a creative, hybrid & agile performer while Ambrose was the talker & brawler of the group. When together, The Shield was considered a potent mixture due to contrasting personas yet a strong unity and bond which helped to bring legitimacy and significance to the group as a whole. Yet, now that the group has disbanded, all three performers are being presented with the opportunity to showcase themselves as individual talents. The heated rivalry between Rollins & Ambrose is one of the strongest and most anticipated rivalries of the summer and this is due to two factors: 1) The storyline has a back story & has a specific reason to be happening, it hasn’t just been thrown together, & 2) The more we see both characters exchange with one another on camera without being involved in an official sanctioned match, the more that the wrestling community will want to see the anticipated contest.

At Payback, the contest between Rollins & Ambrose was expected to take place. By taking that opportunity away on the live broadcast made the wrestling community realise just how much they wanted to see the match. By building the feud throughout the duration of the night, the eventual outcome amounts to the anticipated contest between the two at SummerSlam, a match that now means much more than it would have if the two had fought at the Payback Pay-Per-View. The mixture of Ambrose and his madman persona in pursuit of the weasel-like Rollins is exciting for fans to experience as many want to see Ambrose finally reap the rewards after being screwed over for a duration of months. Its logical booking, but a storyline that many care about due to its simple yet effective approach. There is no need to insult the intelligence of the wrestling community with bizarre storylines or characters any more, but realistic and believable storylines make for a better overall product.

Many were aware of the Dean Ambrose character prior to his split from The Shield. His promos within the context of the faction were often praised but never truthfully presented Ambrose with the opportunity to fully express himself due to the involvement of two other individuals. Now following his own path, he is presented with the freedom and time to provide the wrestling community with much more excitement within the context of the future. Following the culmination of the feud with former teammate: Seth Rollins, a number of options could be taken. Not many will truthfully want to see Ambrose feuding over the US or IC Championships once again. Having previously held the US Championship for a solitary year (having only lost the belt earlier in 2014 to Sheamus), a potential feud over one of WWE’s ‘second tier’ titles would most likely be considered a step back for the former Shield member. His in-ring style and charisma on the microphone mean that Ambrose could potentially achieve much more than average midcard feuds. A WWE Championship feud could be considered too early at this particular stage, but an outcome that will come sooner rather than later. The rivalry between Ambrose & Rollins has cemented both men of their talents, it’ll soon be time to see both branch out and concentrate on upper-tier programs with the likes of Orton, Cena or eventually: Daniel Bryan (dependent upon surgery & recovery times). Only time will tell to see how successfully the former Shield members can truly become.

So, has the summer of 2014 been one to showcase Dean Ambrose as a future potential WWE Champion? Absolutely. Has the heated rivalry with Seth Rollins successfully catapulted both athletes to the next level? Definitely. Is the summer of 2014 truly the summer of Dean Ambrose? I’d like to think so. Despite the imminent push that the company is using for Roman Reigns, both Rollins & Ambrose are showcasing themselves as great individual workers. Both are consistently stealing the show with their promos and presenting the wrestling community with a freshness that we haven’t experienced in many years. If the Ambrose & Rollins feud is an indication of things to come within the context of the WWE product, I’d say it’s in pretty safe hands. The future looks very bright indeed.

- Andrew Fletcher, @Fletchyyy on Twitter.