10 Things AEW MUST Do To Compete With WWE
1. Go All Out To Sign Dean Ambrose
As AEW formally announced itself, and Reddit posters and content producers alike listed the names most likely to jump ship, Dean Ambrose's wasn't mentioned.
A former WWE Champion, perennial upper midcard fixture, and member of the Shield, Ambrose was a lifer. His zany, breezy disposition felt at odds with Jon Moxley, but memories of that incendiary character waned to an extent that they barely resembled the same person - a perception his apparent contentedness intensified. That Steve Austin podcast appearance and various reports of his lack of ambition painted a picture of a man happy to operate in and commit to a certain, limited role. As he himself made clear on Chronicle, before he attempted to work an angle creative botched to a near-hilarious degree, he just likes to "grapple". WWE provided both financial security and, with its lunatic schedule, several opportunities to do just that. The detailed update provided by Wade Keller on the PWTorch hotline, following the shocking news of his imminent departure, reads like a CV to AEW - not that they'd need to read it, exactly.
Ambrose, allegedly, has experienced creative frustration for some time. He wants freedom to express himself. He isn't burnt out. His perception of his character isn't shared by Vince McMahon ("I'm crazy"; "Zany, gotcha"). He will most likely stay in wrestling because he remains enamoured with it. This isn't just a coup in terms of Ambrose's ability. We know he can excel outside of the WWE bubble; arguably, he never even approached the buzz with which entered it.
This is a perception thing. A precedent thing, even.
Ambrose is a top WWE guy, insofar as anybody is these days. He's synonymous with the company's PG Era. More so than Chris Jericho, who hasn't felt like a WWE guy in an age, this is Lex Luger-on-Nitro stuff - an image of the wrestling world so uncanny that it can't belong to but can only change it.