Daily DDT
Fansided

Is Dean Ambrose Too ‘Comfortable’ in WWE?

By Rob Wolkenbrod

facebooktwitterreddit

Dean Ambrose’s interview with Steve Austin may not have been the best Stone Cold Podcast, but the closing left an interesting point of discussion.

The Stone Cold Podcasts have become a hit on the WWE Network since airing in 2014. Guests like Vince McMahon, Triple H, and Brock Lesnar have provided intriguing interviews that gave us insight into their professional careers. The August 8 interview with Dean Ambrose did so as well, but not to the extent of others.

However, Steve Austin’s comments to Ambrose about needing to “push the envelope”, “be edgier”, and especially saying he’s a little too “comfortable” seemed to have struck a crowd. The Lunatic Fringe didn’t react well at first, before accepting the remarks.

More wwe: WrestleMania 33 Match Card Projections

It’s a fair question to ask, though—is Dean Ambrose too comfortable in WWE?

Since The Shield broke up in 2014, the Cincinnati star has been placed in prominent spots. He was a hot commodity on WWE programming. The same went for Seth Rollins, who split the group. They would be put into a feud that was red-hot.

Take a look back at the footage of this program, because it was arguably Ambrose’s best work.

Dean seemed to be motivated. His promos were passionate, fresh, and some of the best heard in WWE all year. You could believe that he really wanted to get his hands on Rollins and destroy him.

More from WWE

When they fought each other, some of their best work came out. While Rollins has gone onto have excellent matches with other stars, Ambrose has put on his highest quality matches with Seth. He always clicked with his former stablemate, and they would thrive in the main event scene due to this. Matches at Hell in a Cell 2014 and Elimination Chamber 2015 were some of their best. The match on Raw before Payback 2015 was possibly their most exciting one.

Ambrose seemed like he was on top of his game in this feud with Rollins. However, the rest left plenty to be desired.

When the former EVOLVE talent hasn’t worked with Rollins or in the title picture, he seemed to be lost. A better word may be “coasting”, which is something that can’t ever be properly attributed to a WWE star. We don’t know what their mindset is at every show, so it’s difficult to asses. After seeing Ambrose’s work for the past handful of years when he’s not in the title scene, though, maybe “coasting” is the right word.

Outside of Seth Rollins and the current Dolph Ziggler program, here is a list of everyone Ambrose has feuded with since The Shield broke up:

  • Bray Wyatt
  • Wade Barrett
  • Luke Harper
  • Kevin Owens
  • Triple H*
  • Brock Lesnar
  • Chris Jericho
  • Roman Reigns*

The Superstars with asterisks mark those that were for the WWE World Championship. Ambrose had great segments with Triple H, and worked a solid match with Roman Reigns (and Rollins). However, all the other feuds left a lot to be desired. None of them were main event title matches.

Ambrose seemed to coast or be comfortable through the feuds with Wyatt, Barrett, Harper, Owens, Lesnar, and Jericho. None stood out due to a lack of exciting moments or the matches being nothing out of the ordinary. The Lesnar one may not be all Ambrose’s fault, and maybe the former didn’t want to push the envelope so he can be preserved for UFC 200, but there was still something missing on the other end. It could be a lack of intensity or desire to go all-out to make the match great before losing.

However, there’s also when Ambrose is in a match he’s going to win. Like at Extreme Rules with the Asylum match. This was given 26 minutes. From start to finish, though, there wasn’t a significant moment from the current champion. Chris Jericho had his own, with the 69 tacks going into his skin. He was the star of the match and had something to look back on afterward. Ambrose’s performance was forgettable.

Even taking away the pay-per-view matches from the mix, Ambrose doesn’t have a landmark moment in his other feuds. Nothing came away from the build up with Owens, Wyatt, Barrett, Harper, Lesnar, and Jericho. There isn’t anything where fans are going to reminisce about “remember that time when Ambrose and [insert name here] did this?” Ambrose and Owens’ feud was fun, too, but nothing special came away from it.

More from Daily DDT

A common denominator in this is the match work from Ambrose. His bouts can be repetitive, especially resorting back to the Lunatic Lariat in every match—sometimes twice. The moment he leans through the ropes, you know what’s about to happen. It was a fun move, but it has become anti-climatic. It’s not quite like John Cena’s five-knuckle shuffle sequence, but if this is given a few more years, it may reach that territory.

As of August 2016, Ambrose is approaching a SummerSlam match where he walks in as the WWE Champion. He’ll face Dolph Ziggler. The early work from Ambrose has been effective, as he hasn’t taken Ziggler too seriously, and has tried messing with him. It’s borderline heel tactics and a bit of an edgier side. While Austin’s comments about needing to be edgier came after some of these segments, it’s something that Ambrose should be consistent with. Like the mid-card feuds from the past few years, it just wasn’t there.

Related Story: 5 Reasons Dolph Ziggler Should Defeat Dean Ambrose at SummerSlam

There will be a time where the WWE title is no longer on Ambrose’s waist. Is he going to fall back into coasting, or being comfortable? If so, Stone Cold’s words might have more water to them.

Home/WWE