Views From The Turnbuckle: What Does WWE Have In Store For Dean Ambrose?

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of WrestlingInc or its staff.

With Roman Reigns recovering from nasal surgery, WWE decided to fill the void left by Reigns with his cohort, Dean Ambrose. After Reigns was put on the shelf after an attack by Triple H, Ambrose stuck up for his friend and challenged Triple H for his WWE World Heavyweight Championship at a WWE Network event, Roadblock.

The interesting thing about this development is that it is clear to pretty much everyone except for those in charge, that Ambrose and not Reigns is the babyface that is more popular with the audience, and that Ambrose should be the one that is challenging for the title at WrestleMania and not Reigns. This is not an opinion, this is a fact. Ambrose is much more popular with fans than Reigns is.

If you need any example of this, take a look at the last two episodes of Monday Night RAW. Two weeks ago, the episode ended with Triple H administrating a severe beating on Roman Reings. Despite the fact that the apparent fan favorite was getting his face smashed in by the evil, corporate, bully heel, the fans cheered for Triple H for destroying Reigns. It wasn't just a few fans that were close to the microphones either, it was a majority of the audience and Triple H played into it by delivering a D-Generation X crotch chop, which was met with a thunderous response.

The next week on RAW, a very similar situation took place, except this time it was Ambrose and not Reigns who was getting his ass kicked by Triple H. Although this was largely the same formulaic beat-down that Reigns received, Ambrose was cheered by the audience for valiantly fighting back and Triple H was booed the way the bully heel is supposed to be. Yes they were two different audiences, but this is not an unprecedented event. When Roman Reigns is involved in any major angle, the crowd at best reacts mixed and at worst boos him to oblivion. When Ambrose is involved in something the crowd cheers, even when he combats the most popular wrestler in the company, Brock Lesnar, he is still able to get the crowd behind him.

If the overall philosophy of wrestling booking is to get an individual to be cheered by the masses and his opponent to be booed, than the answer is very clear: Dean Ambrose is clearly the more popular hero to the audience and thus deserves to be in a more prominent spot. Logically it is that simple, but politically WWE makes it much more difficult.

For years WWE has anointed Reigns as the future babyface of the company, this decision was largely based on the projected support he would get from the audience, mainly due to his looks, his family history and his athleticism. The problem with projections is that they are just that, educated guesses on how the crowd is going to react. The fact of the matter is that those projections have been wrong, Reigns is not connecting with the audience the way a top level babyface should. Even if WWE still believes that Reigns has the potential to reach those original projections, there is evidence mounting against him that he will never be the next flag-bearer for the company, despite what WWE believes.

The argument for Reigns is that those natural tools that WWE is so high on are still there and in the long run, Reigns' popularity could outweigh Ambrose's popularity. Just because Ambrose is more popular now does not mean that he will be more popular five years from now. Considering both Ambrose and Reigns are only 30 years old, they should be a factor in the company for the next decade or so, and it would be hasty to sacrifice long term popularity for short term gain, even though WWE does that all the time anyways. I'm 100 percent sure WWE believes that Reigns' popularity will outlast Ambrose's, although I personally believe that Ambrose will remain more popular at their current rates.

Ambrose will face Triple H for the championship at Roadblock, which will have a predictable ending. Triple H will defeat Dean Ambrose and probably humiliate him in some fashion, setting up the return of Reigns to defend his friends honor. However, because Reigns' reactions have been so lukewarm and because last year WWE got cold feet with Reigns' and changed the original plans for WrestleMania, instead giving the title to Seth Rollins, some fans believe that there is a chance WWE backs down again and has Ambrose win the championship at Roadblock. While that idea sounds exciting on paper, it is not the way WWE is going to do things. Ambrose has as good of a chance of walking out of Roadblock the champion as I do.

A curious development is that Ambrose has already announced his intentions to fight Brock Lesnar in a No Disqualification match at WrestleMania. It is strange that Ambrose would announce this before his match at Roadblock, since obviously his WrestleMania plans would change if he were to win the world title. I imagine Lesnar may run interference in the main event of Roadblock, setting up their match at WrestleMania. I don't know why WWE wouldn't just wait till after Roadblock for Ambrose to announce his challenge to Lesnar, unless they are looking to boost ticket sales in advance so they semi-announced a big match for the event without really confirming it.

Predicting Ambrose's next few months leaves him with a bleak outlook for the summer. I think he gets his ass kicked at Roadblock, not only because Triple H needs to retain but because Triple H will want to look strong and dominant as the heel champion heading into WrestleMania. At WrestleMania I think Ambrose will undoubtedly get his ass kicked by Lesnar, certainly losing that match although he will definitely absorb a lot of punishment and keep on coming. After WrestleMania, coming off two big losses in a row, it is rumored that he could turn heel and begin to feud with Reigns over the championship. If that happens, Ambrose will unquestionably lose to Reigns, giving him his third lost feud in a row. For a guy that is one of the most popular babyfaces in the company right now, that doesn't look like a great opportunity, even he is working main events.

Ambrose has gotten somewhat of a raw deal recently. Despite the fact that he is getting more support from the audience (and at the very least equal support) as Reigns, he has been reduced to sidekick duty for Reigns, only because of some pre-ordained conception of what should make a world champion, not what actually does. Ambrose has great charisma, is a confident talker on the microphone and most importantly has shown the ability to react to a crowd and adjust his promos accordingly, a rare skill that only the top level stickmen ever accomplish. As a wrestler he has sometimes relied too much a few signature moves, but when called upon he has shown that he can be an above-average technical wrestler. Ambrose is extremely talented and has the skills to become a big name for WWE, I think it would be a shame if WWE continues to use those skills to get someone else over.