Dean Ambrose escapes through the crowd with his prize. / credit: wwe.com
[dropcap]D[/dropcap]ean Ambrose has the WWE Championship belt. Dean Ambrose is not the champion.
Quite the conundrum to wrap your head around, right?
Trying to get mine around the fact that he even got to walk out of the arena with the belt has been damn near impossible. I’m probably one of the biggest marks for him out there, but when the 1-2-3 hit, no sound came out of me, no fangirling or flailing. Just a slack jaw, staring at the screen while thinking, “What the hell just happened?” I was fully expecting Reigns to turn; I think the entire WWE Universe was. They made it seem too apparent with the (now false) foreshadowing Ambrose was throwing out on Smackdown, calling Reigns his only friend. Seems they’re still hell bent on keeping him face – which isn’t too bad, seeing as he’s finally starting to be over in the way they wanted all along.
Then, the refs started arguing and we all saw what was coming: Ambrose won, but Rollins retained. We all know where it goes from here. He gets stripped and put through hell to get his shot at the belt again. Which ought to be great, considering Reigns has been announced as a participant in this year’s Money in the Bank – which mind you, has had NO build and is in two weeks.
Funny thing, just a couple of weeks ago, I was discussing with a friend how they’re essentially going to have to make this situation like The Daniel Bryan Saga 2.0, but without all the injuries. Starting tonight, it looks like it may end up being that way.
Part of me is happy he’s in the spotlight. Part of me is worried that Creative isn’t going to book this right and this angle will be mishandled, much like nearly every angle involving Ambrose since it’s become more and more apparent over the past few months that they clearly don’t know what to do with the guy, so he does job after job. I have to remind myself that up until the end, they did a brilliant job with his first singles feud, which began about…oh…a year ago, and with Rollins.
He’s gonna have to give back the belt, if not tonight, then soon. That’s a given. The Authority will have to fight tooth and nail to get it back, most likely, but it will happen. Where do we go from here?
The fanbase is running rampant with the rumor mill stating that Brock is coming back early. He is still owed a rematch for the WWE Championship belt. Didn’t say who he was owed a fight with, just what it was for. So naturally, we can assume it’s going to be Rollins getting his ass handed to him. Also, unless they suddenly enter Ambrose into MITB, we can safely assume Roman is getting that briefcase, and we will end up getting Brock vs Reigns 2.0. So once again, Ambrose is shoved back to the midcard.
Let’s entertain fantasy for a moment. What alternatives could we see?
- Somehow, some way, Ambrose gets to keep the belt. Maybe The Authority gets condescending and does a rematch, which he wins clean and they can’t protest. Brock comes back, demands his rematch. Suddenly, we have the “craziest” mofo on the roster against the 1 in 21-1. Viable? Maybe. So far, no one’s been able to slay the beast, but perhaps it takes a special brand of insane to get the job done, since he’s being portrayed as the type willing to sacrifice himself and a win if it means putting someone down. So long as it doesn’t involve electronics. Personally, for this, I’d love to see his borderline cartoony insane shtick get reeled in in lieu of a more dangerous, unpredictable sort of crazy that could actually set Brock on edge. Less Jack Nicholson, more Heath Ledger. This just leaves the question of where Reigns factors in though, because we all know he will.
- While the brothers dynamic is awesome, The Authority could see the benefits of allowing both Ambrose and Reigns participate in the MITB match. After all, only one can win. With Ambrose constantly getting screwed over and trampled on, Reigns getting shot after shot, and considering the fact that they’re both alpha males, eventually one would have to give into jealousy. Have Reigns win, which causes Ambrose to snap and a rift develops between the two. They can feud with each other, perhaps put the briefcase on the line, and therefore that’s two less issues for The Authority to worry about. Makes for a weak storyline though.
- Ambrose is stripped. Reigns wins at MITB. Brock gets his rematch against Rollins. There’s been a rumor that they’re going to set up a feud for Rollins vs Trips. Allow Rollins the win at the rematch, be it at Battleground or Summerslam (the latter preferred), so he’d have that one thing over Trips, since Brock won that feud, which can set the tone, but have that come later. But this needs to be an all out war that pushes Rollins to the absolute limit – bodies everywhere, a total slobberknocker. Ambrose needs to be part of this, warring with J&J and Kane on the outside to keep them from interfering. After Rollins gets the pin, have Reigns cash in with Ambrose giving the assist. He wins…and then Ambrose beats the ever-living hell out of him for an amazing heel turn (in which we all know Ambrose will still be cheered on by the crowd ala Stone Cold) and the start of our beloved Shield triple threat that we all want and need in our lives.
Daniel Bryan was – and still is – the most over face on the roster. The mere mention of his name elicits “YES! YES! YES!” chants that threaten to overtake whomever is speaking on the mic. But he is out of the picture indefinitely. WWE is in a position where they need to fill that void and fast. At this point, Dean Ambrose is literally the only other person on the roster who is a face and is just as over as Daniel. He doesn’t need a direct mention; anything referring to him gets just as hot a reaction from the crowd. He beats out Ziggler, Cesaro, and anyone else that the fanbase has rabidly attached themselves to. He’s also in the unique position of being a face with heelish tactics.
If Creative has learned anything over the past few months (because last week aside, Raw has been steadily improving), they’ll use this. They’ll capitalize on this and catapult Ambrose to the top. They need to not make him look like a chump though, which seemingly is hard for them.
Right now, they’re walking a fine line. I hope they get this angle right and do our Lunatic Fringe justice.
Got any alternative bookings of your own? Agree or disagree with my thoughts? Sound off in the comments below!
