10 Big Lessons WWE Must Learn From 2016

People love Dean Ambrose. He has become one of WWE’s most consistent babyfaces since the Brand Split, and being separated from Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns has benefited him immensely. Nobody can match his huge crowd reactions, and for as long as Ambrose is on the blue brand, he’ll likely be SmackDown’s top babyface contender.

There are still problems with his character portrayal, however. The Brand Split has largely sharpened Ambrose’s focus and pulled him away from the oddball comedy angles he’d been working beforehand, but such segments still rear their head from time to time. Dean Ambrose got over as an off-kilter, Brian Pillman throwback, not a comedic jester who fights mannequins and loses to exploding televisions. Every time Ambrose shows-up with a hotdog cart or dressed as The Mountie, his credibility takes a hit, and it can’t continue.

There’s no conceivable reason for Ambrose’s character duality. He has been brilliant in both his role as Dolph Ziggler’s antagonist and AJ Styles’ chief irritant, but WWE keep dragging him back into clown territory. If they abandon this altogether and let Dean Ambrose be Dean Ambrose, WWE could have this era’s Stone Cold on their hands: if they don’t, there’ll always be a black mark against his career, and he’ll struggle to maintain the respect he deserves.