Where WWE Can Take The New Dean Ambrose

RAW needed a big moment to end their go-home show for SummerSlam, and boy did they get it! The Lunatic Fringe, Dean Ambrose, returned from a nearly year long recover from a nasty triceps injury back in December. For months, the Ambrose Asylum had been teased and tormented by rumors of his impending return, only to be disappointed when he didn’t materialize, to the point where most of us stopped listening. Monday, our prayers were answered when Dean was revealed be the man in Seth Rollins’ corner when Rollins takes on Dolph Zigger for the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam. That surprise was big enough, but Dean’s new appearence: Shaved head, more muscles, and a seemingly new attitude, was another surprise altogether, but not an entirely unwelcome one.

It’s clear from the audience’s reactions to Rollins’ promo leading up to Ambrose’s return that Ambrose is still as popular with the WWE Universe as he was back in December when he got hurt, which is always a relief to a performer who has lost nearly a year of their career. However, Ambrose showed a more hard-nosed attitude and hard hitting style than he’d shown before his injury, which can lead to all sorts of fun possibilities.

1. Heel Turn on Rollins. Okay, fellow Asylumers, hear me out. I’m not saying he should turn heel right away, but his new look doesn’t lend itself well to the funny, goofy Lunatic of pre-December 18, 2017. The original plan WWE had for Ambrose and Rollins was to have Ambrose turn on Rollins at the Royal Rumble, but with Ambrose getting hurt, that plan was scrapped. However, WWE could revive it now that Ambrose has been cleared.

2. Stay Face, New Attitude. Given the response to Ambrose’s return, WWE might decide to keep him as a face, but make the new look and attitude work in a babyface capacity, maybe have him be more like how Austin’s character was.

3. Heel Turn a la Mojo Rawley. While I get what Rawley’s new gimmick is supposed to be, I don’t think Rawley, who has had a mediocre run at times, is the right person for it. With Ambrose’s track record and popularity, he could probably fill that role better than Rawley. Having him call out guys for being ‘lazy’ o

4. Shield Reunion. I know even a lot of Shield fans have mixed feelings about this since the last Shield reunion was hampered by bad luck with both Reigns and Ambrose getting hit by illness and injury. However, with Survivor Series a few months away, finding a way to reunite the Shield, even if it’s just for Survivor Series, would be nice.

There’s no telling what WWE is going to do with Ambrose now that he’s back. The fact that he’s been brought in as part of a big storyline, and the audience’s reaction to his return shows that the Lunatic Fringe is still as over with the WWE Universe as he was before he got hurt. Given his new look and seeming new attitude, there’s many possibilities for the Lunatic Fringe to semi-reinvent himself.