Like most Dean Ambrose fans, I was weeping quietly at the end of Money in the Bank. What do you mean, no one else was crying? Nonsense!
Seeing Dean hold the title aloft, seeing him finally win the title that’s been passed between his two Shield brothers for the past two years was electrifying. I might have a lot of feelings about how deserving Dean is of the title, what a good worker he is, how great he is to watch, and how over he’s been for so long with WWE not taking advantage of that – but I’ve got one big, big problem.
They’re playing Dean Ambrose as a joke.
I wanted to write this article before Money in the Bank, because I was so afraid that we wouldn’t get the spectacular finish that we did. Dean’s been played as a bit of a joke lately, and it’s been hard to watch. I worry a lot that he’s becoming the next R-Truth, with his gimmick overtaking him. It feels awkward and Dean seems less important due to it. It’s difficult to take someone seriously when every storyline tells you that they’re hilarious but not very smart, and even harder when Michael Cole is saying ‘Ambrose just does stuff’. Sure, Cole. Call me when you reliably know the difference between a Michinoku Driver and a Blue Thunder Bomb.
The Problem
The issue with Dean as the champion is that while he’s strong, vicious, moves well and talks well, he’s also something to laugh at. With MitB, we had the promos leading up to it, full of comments where Dean said he’d fight a bear, where his words were to be laughed with, but also laughed at. He’s comic relief in a way that Kevin Owens isn’t, because Owens is seen as a visible threat, and his running sarcastic commentary doesn’t stop in the ring, just serves to punctuate his viciousness.
Dean Ambrose, on the other hand, was let down by his friendship with Reigns previously.
The friendship between Ambrose and Reigns was great for a little while, because it served to make Reigns (marginally) more likeable, and Ambrose had someone whobacked him up when his mouth got him into trouble. However, it soon became apparent that Reigns was getting the better part of the deal, riding on Ambrose’s popularity and enjoying having someone to run in for him, while Ambrose was busy being destroyed by Lesnar pre-WrestleMania and Roman was nowhere to be seen.
Giving us no resolution to why the friendship dissolved in kayfabe made it look strange, and once again made Dean look like a fool. He gave up time and energy to help out Roman, and in his time of need, the man was nowhere to be seen. Once he’d got the title back, Dean was left out on his own, even in situations where, really, help would have been beneficial.
Now, can we have a champion who is seen as a fool?
It seems we do – already WWE has had Dean forget the title in the back of a cab. I’m not opposed to a lighter view, and wrestling has always been able to play up comic value, but in light of Reigns’ suspension, there’s a fear that Ambrose won’t be holding the title for very long. That Seth Rollins will be taking it back off his shoulders at Battleground.
With that as a possibility, perhaps WWE should work on building back the Dean Ambrose of his feud with Rollins, the way he was dangerous and almost frighening in his intenstiy. If we can bring back that Ambrose, rather than the hilarious prankster we have now, then we have a real fighting champion on our hands, and one that I’d love to see hold the title.