Why Are Fans Not As Interested in Dean Ambrose?

In the Summer of twenty eighteen Dean Ambrose made his return to action after months away from the ring due to injury. An anticipated return full of fan theories around it meant the lunatic fringe was welcomed back by a vocal crowd excited for his return. Sporting a new haircut, a change in appearance and attitude it was clear a heel turn was inevitable and while the turn was timed and done perfectly, as of right now there is a lack of interest in the Intercontinental Champion, but why? Why are fans struggling to find an interest in the story of Dean Ambrose and what are the WWE doing wrong during this new era for the lunatic fringe?

The Stages Before His Absence

In twenty seventeen Ambrose suffered an injury that saw him out of action for nearly a year. The time away from WWE TV was an interesting one as while he was dealing with those injuries’ fans were able to not forget about the lunatic fringe but miss him meaning this absence was in actual fact a blessing in disguise. For months prior the injury Ambrose had struggled to find himself in a story/rivalry that truly grabbed fan attention. At that point of his career, it was difficult to remember the last time Ambrose was genuinely entertaining and the reason fans were buying tickets for shows. Overshadowed, lost, and lacking direction the time away was as we previously mentioned, a blessing in disguise, however, we have already been reminded of that period in his career as we witness it mirrored today. The truth is, we weren’t given a strong enough reason to truly miss Ambrose as a character and strong member of the roster. His found himself straight back in the position before his injury.

A Crowded Roster

While Ambrose is an incredibly talented WWE Superstar and Wrestler there is no denying the simple fact that he is being overshadowed massively! With a stat studded roster consisting of the likes of McIntyre, Strowman, Lesnar, Balor and Rollins amongst many fans are expressing a stronger demand for names other than Ambrose and unfortunately, he appears to be fading deeper and deeper into the background. Now, the story between him and Rollins not to mention what they can do in the ring together should be enough to grab fan attention but the sheer fact this is something we have seen many times before means fans are swaying towards bigger and fresher storyline’s going on elsewhere on the roster. Ambrose is massively credible talent with loads to offer but with many superstars stealing the spotlight he’s just become another name on the roster and needs stronger booking and direction in order to grab the attention of the WWE Universe more.

Gimmick Problems

Personally, I like the changes the WWE have made to Dean’s character. A change In direction and steering away from the lunatic fringe gimmick was key in moving him forward upon his return. The change in clothing, the Bane vibes, and even the silver change are all mini changes I have honestly liked witnessing however, there are problems around the character and the way in which the WWE are booking him. We’ve mentioned how important it is Ambrose stands out from a big crowd and his character right now isn’t doing that. Adopting the role of typical heel fans have already grown bored of the direct insults to the crowd and the stale bad guy heel work that Ambrose is failing to pull off as well as many before him. What the WWE needs to do is look at what has always made Dean unique and given him that star quality. Going against authority, breaking the rules, barbaric actions, and using a more hardcore style. Moving forward we have to see Ambrose do more of everything we just mentioned, brutal attacks, introducing a hardcore scene in this era of the WWE, and going against everything the typical WWE Superstar is supposed to do.

What is the Real Problem?

When Ambrose and Rollins originally kick-started their rivalry years back I was arguably the biggest fan of everything the two provided the WWE universe with. The story was entertaining, it was personal, and what we saw from the two in the ring was something very special. This time around, however, the magic just doesn’t seem to be there. The way in which Ambrose’s heel turn was done was quite literally perfect. The timing meant this was a more personal start to their story than ever before and the betrayal hit fans in a personal and emotional way also, but this got lost in the weeks the followed. It became unclear as to why Ambrose was so mad in the first place, there was a lack of consistency in the story itself, and the WWE has struggled to show us what makes this second rivalry so different to their previous encounters. Keeping all this in mind why should we be interested? What is Ambrose doing in this story that truly grabs our attention? This should have been a huge, touching, emotional and intense rivalry but it's in actual fact been rather messy and gotten lost amongst the shuffle.

TLC

The TLC pay per view was an important one for Ambrose. It was clear he needed to walk out with this title and the win itself wasn’t a surprise at all. Now, this could have been the match of the night if done correctly but it wasn’t. Some fans really enjoyed what we got from this bout while others including the live crowd were left bored and lacking interest. I personally had mixed feelings. I felt as though while the match wasn’t bad it wasn’t something that grabbed my attention massively either and that was the problem. This needed to be the night Ambrose truly got under the skin of fans, it had to be the night he reminded the WWE universe why he has been considered an important and major factor in the future of the WWE, and he had to take part in one of the best matches of his career so far and none of that happened. A cheat win, more intensity, something had to be different in this match, something that did live the audience chanting “boring” mid-way through.  This match didn’t do what it needed to for Ambrose and has made things even more difficult for the now IC Champion.

Moving forward I genuinely do believe things can turn around for Dean Ambrose and I will be posting an article looking at how that can be done. As of right now it’s a stale and slow-moving character, lack of strong matches, and a sense of fading into the background that is causing Dean to have a difficult run on Monday night RAW. He has the fanbase, he has the skill, and he has the charisma but his return hasn’t quite done as well as many expected but things can turn around completely if and when the WWE push the button and take Ambrose to the next stage. 

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