For months, it seemed like Dean Ambrose was a lost cause in WWE, destined to compete in meaningless midcard matches and losing under ridiculous circumstances. WWE had a white-hot wrestler on their hands last summer and immediately cooled him off by having him lose to Seth Rollins because of a hologram, then lose to Bray Wyatt because of an exploding TV set. He was stuck in middling feuds that had no lasting impact. All the while, he was portrayed as a cartoonish figure rather than a dangerous individual. Despite those multiple missteps, WWE seemingly went all-in Monday night with a major character rehabilitation effort, having him pin WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins in a phenomenal match to earn a spot in the title match at Payback. Then, Ambrose stood tall at the end of Raw, flattening Randy Orton with a Dirty Deeds DDT. Its about as strongly as hes been booked since last fall. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4PyGBjsl4o Whether this is part of a long-term plan to elevate Ambrose past the midcard foolishness into the upper level with the rest of his Shield brethren or just a temporary move, it felt like Dean was being treated like a big deal, and the fans responded accordingly. Ambrose might not be the ideal main eventer for WWE, but the company that purports to listen to the WWE Universe really should take a minute and put their ear to the ground, lest they miss out on an opportunity.
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fortunately became a fan in time for WrestleMania III and came back as a fan after a long high school hiatus before WM XIV. Monday nights in the Carlson household are reserved for viewing Raw -- for better or worse.
